few shots from Kais, Kullu

These pictures were shot during my only trip to Kais village situated between Kullu and Manali. These views were directly opposite the monastery where I was a guest for 10 days. 

At this level there are no houses because of presence of wild animals and snow. The lower and middle levels are hospitable.

Pine trees have monopoly at this level due to climatic conditions and absence of human settlements. Inside a pine forest, even the ground is covered in a thick layer of pine needles, other plants hardly have a chance to grow there.

In the Himalayas, sunrise and sunset times varies with the altitude. Settlements at lower altitude get lesser sunlight because of mountain shadows. The ones at higher altitude receive sunlight slightly longer but then they are colder as well. It's my personal experience.. as soon as shadow is cast on your place the temperature drops by 5 degrees easily.

Many houses light up their stoves minutes after sunset. The stoves are special- they are used to heat vessels and also the living room. As I watched the shadow climb a mountain, smokes rose from chimneys. This large column was probably from a big house.

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few shots of river Beas

December 5, 2019

Beas' originates at Rohtang Pass at an elevation of 4361 metres above sea-level. Beas travels through Himachal Pradesh and enters Punjab where it's 470 km long journey ends by merging into river Sutlej at 225 MAMSL. 

During my travels between Kullu and Manali, I learnt that all major roads of the state ply along the river, crisscrossing few times. The fresh mountain water appears blue or greenish blue in most places. During the cold months water level is low and the flow is narrow exposing the rock strewn riverbed. Here are few shots of Beas from my DSLR and mobile phone.

This is the river bed near Kais at a point where a stream joins the river. Countless mountain streams join along the journey increasing Beas' width and depth.

Just after the river-stream confluence is a hanging bridge, one of the many such bridges on this route.

I happened to see five or six bridges, identical in looks and build. A pair of anchor towers positioned opposite to each other on the banks hold the suspension cables and all the paraphernalia.

View of the downstream from the bridge entrance. The riverbed is about 100 feet wide or more at places. Presently the river is under 30 feet but it flows with great force here. One can't really wade through the water here.

The bridge is about 2 meter wide, enough for a Tata Sumo MPV to pass through it. As we were about to enter this bridge on a bike, a car entered from the other side, we gave way for the car. There are unspoken rules on these bridges. However, some bridges which are busy, like the one close to Kullu, have traffic controllers. Driving reverse on a narrow shaky bridge can be super tricky, so to avoid such incidents controllers handle the traffic.

Beas as seen from another point. Take a look at the riverbed color. Its whitish, if you go closer on a sunny day the glare can be blinding. Also, you can see shiny dots in the sand which is dues to the presence of mica which is quite high. Masonry works made of this sand and cement have shorter life compared to the ones built with mica-free sand. 

As we move higher up the hills towards Manali, the mountains have more vegetation, mostly fir, pine, and spruce. The local names are Cheel, Deodar, Kayal, Rye, Saal, and Safeda.

Blue-sky, snow-capped mountains and Deodar forest. It looks so scenic but the conditions on the mountains are not really friendly for humans. Yet the locals have their own survival techniques. 

Himachal being a favorite tourist destination offers many adventure sports like paragliding, hot-air ballooning, river rafting, trekking, skiing, and what not.

Few kilometres before Manali, we stopped for a break, went off the highway. Rajesh poses by the fresh gushing gurgling bluish water.

A pointy rock pokes out from the bed. One needs to be really careful while playing in such places. 

A natural washing stone held by the darker rock below.

The beauty of this place is so captivating that one might want to stay here for a long long time.

Do check out little bit of Himachali rural life.

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Himachali Topi

It was mid 1990s when I first saw a Himachali Topi. A friend had bought one during a trip to Himachal. I felt the cap was classy, elegant, it had a special look. That's the only time I ever saw one for real.

The second week of November-2019 I happened to visit Dhagpo Sheprupling Gompa, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Kais, a village between Kullu and Manali. The second day, I saw these people, the two ladies and gentleman had come to meet their boys who were monks here. I found the ladies attire lively. Until that moment I was assumed the cap was worn by men only, this was a pleasant surprise. With their permission I took a few pictures.

The nine-day visit was a great experience, thanks to the monks warm hospitality, and also to the kind & generous company of Rajesh, a business associate at the monastery. What little I traveled is all with him. This is Rajesh, at his home in Dharamshala. He looks handsome in the cap.

For many Himachali folks, topi is part of their daily wear, especially men folk. For the rest topi is reserved for special occasions. There are different types of Himachali Topi namely  Bushahri, Kinnauri, Kulluwi, Lahuli and Malana. I guess the names are specific to districts within Himachal. For example- Kulluwi might be specific to Kullu and its surrounding places. For me its just Himachali Topi.

When I expressed my wish to get one, Rajesh suggested Shanti's shop. Shanti is an electrician I'd met at the monastery, his shop is just a kilometer away, on the outskirts of Kais. The caps are stitched by his wife and other ladies while Shanti takes care of raw material and sales. Yes, this is his shop and he's always wearing a cap.

One can buy caps off the shelf or place an order. These caps come in different sizes and patterns. The patterns are basically two types- plain and geometric. Haven't seen any floral patterns. Its important to buy at cap that fits properly. My requirement was five caps, I'd to get the sizes (perimeter of head at forehead level) from two of my friends and Pushpa at home.. sizes, 4½, 6 and 7. For the patterns I wanted, Shanti needed three days to deliver.

Here are few shots Rajesh took while Shanti and I went over the sizes and patterns. The cap's body can be made of different types of material which varies from soft to stiff. Stiffer ones are better because they retain shape and last longer. So the first step is to make the open-end cylinder. Then the forehead band is stitched on to the side of the cylinder. Its not as easy as it sounds, lot of effort goes into stitching because of the shape. The last step is to iron the cap. A cylindrical block is used as a base to iron the caps.

Here are some of the patterns. To me all looked good but my selection criteria was Swastik.

Rajesh insisted a picture with Shanti and I wasn't it a mind to refuse. In spite of the bright sunlight, it was cold, had to be covered in warm clothing.

That's my school time friend Ramesh wearing a Kulluwi Topi. It suits him well, isn't it.

Apart from the Topi, I got a chance to check out some Himachali shawls at Manali. I was surprised to see the varieties in terms of pattern, colors and price. Since I was short on time, I selected five shawls in 20 minutes. One of the shawls was yak wool, off-white color. Then at the monastery, I got a Bhuttico shawl as a gift from a monk. The single color gents shawl was made of sheep wool, in fact it carried the smell of sheep when it was new. Of course the smell faded with use. Bhuttico is a society of thousand weavers which produces different types of shawls but specialize in Kulluvi shawls.

Stay warm, be lively.. that's the Himachali way. Do take a look at the rural life of Himachal Pradesh.

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a glimpse of Himachal rural life - part 2

..continued from a glimpse of Himachal rural life - part 1.

We were at the Jai Shamshar Mahadev Mandir. The structure is a good example of Kath Kuni building made of wood, stone, cement blocks and cement. The entrance doorway is made of solid wooden blocks. The wood used here would be Deodar, the most favored type for temples and homes. Above the doorway is a pair of goat horns and a brass bell.. this is a common feature in temples of Himachal Pradesh. The temple door was ajar but we did not step in. Removing the shoes wouldn't be convenient at that moment. The temple seems old but it has undergone some repair work recently.

The structure is about 30' long and 18' wide. The wooden walls should be a foot thick. On the side is a small platform for visitors to sit. Part of the roof is covered with a thick layer of pine needles (leaves). I'm guessing the inside of the temple to be traditional i.e. the flooring would be cow-dung coated.

In the front yard is this little Nandi looking towards its lord inside the temple. The sculpture is simple, its a symbolic deity. Even the platform is a simple stack of slabs.

My wish to touch a pine cone came true. We found fallen pine cones on the carpet of pine leaves. Rajesh pulled out a seed from one of the cones (see inset). These cones are not used for anything else apart from burning them in stoves.

Close to the temple was a house next to the road. Its roof was in level with the road surface. Its quite common to see such houses on these mountains. I wanted to check out the building closely. A man as standing in the balcony, looking into the distant valley. We got his permission to see the house's exterior.

The structure seems to be 10 to 25 years old. Its built in the traditional style. The quality of construction is questionable. For example, the upper level column do not align with the lower level column. This way the load transfers to the ground is not ideal.

The earthen wall is reinforced by a dry wall made of stone. The dry wall allows breathing. During rains or snowfall, water to pass through it without eroding the dirt. The wall also allows the ground to dry uniformly. Had it been concrete, the effect would be damaging. Hence dry walls and gabion walls work better in hilly places.

The house owner seemed to be have a tight budget. Saying that because only one of three sides has railings. Many of the houses even have walls with window so that the interior space is more and keeps the core of the house warmer.

The ground floor is where fire wood is stocked. Workmanship on this side is slightly better. The layers of wood and stone in the walls is clearly visible under the layer of paint. Weather conditions can be pretty harsh here.. wind, rain, snow.. the house is designed to withstand all that.

The door frame is solid! The threshold is a foot thick, covers the entire width of the building, and it shares at least 25% of the load. Truly a marvelous piece of civil engineering.

Rajesh pointed to be the dirt patch next to the house went into the village. He suggested me to take a tour of the village and he would catch up with me on the lower side where it touched the road. I wish Rajesh had joined but it was okay to go alone.

As soon as I descended the first stretch, I ran into this group of children going home after school. They were shy for a minute or two. I asked them if I could take a picture. They lined up neatly. The girl's uniform pattern is a nice combination. Looks like olive green trousers is boys uniform color. Sweet bunch of kids. I took several shots, they waited patiently until I finished. I told them I wanted to see the village, one of the older boys pointed out to the path.. go down there and turn right. There are lot of dogs in the village, so don't go in. I wasn't sure if it was okay to asked them to guide me. We spoke Hindi, language wasn't an issue so far.

Having rained the previous day, the dirt was still wet and slippery. One part of the path was too wet & steep and no handhold. To add to that there was a tree trunk across the path. One wrong step, I would slip and slide below the trunk. Slowly I managed to cross over. I was at a fork wondering what side to go and there wasn't anyone in sight. Suddenly three kids came down the same path running. Man, these little guys are super! The rest of the kids too had followed them. Nice.

There they are, lined up on the steps of a home. They guided me until the last fork in the path. I said bye to them. Wish I could come back with gifts for them some day.

In this picture there's one traditional house. The house with white walls and green colored corrugated roof is a modern one. People are ready to experiment with new material. The village had several trash bins, separate bins for wet and dry waste I guess.

The path leading down to the main road was a narrow one, fence on one side. A cow appeared in my path. Luckily the cow was calm. Surely it knew I was a stranger but it didn't bother me. I passed by safely, just my arm brushed its plump belly.

This seems to be common area of this village. The fallen tree must be Deodar. Not sure if the tree was aged when it was cut down. The core is hollow, the tree must've been in its last days.

I find this scene serene. Its silent and air is clear. God bless this land.

It was close to 2-30 pm. Rajesh and I decided to head back to the monastery since we had have lunch and catch up with his team at the site. On the way down, we stopped for a cup of tea. We sat in the balcony with a view of the village homes roof tops. 90% of the homes on these mountains are traditional homes. They make do with material available on the mountains except plumbing and electrical material.

Back at Dhagpo Shedrupling Monastery, I had food cooked by the monastery cook. Rice, vegetables and curry. Then a short rest in my room before heading back to the site.

Do check out my account of visit to Shuru Manali.

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a glimpse of Himachal rural life - part 1

Nov 29, 2019
This was my second day at Dhagpo Shedrupling Monastery, Kais. It was a business visit. We were expecting a consignment around midday but the truck driver informed that he would be arriving a day late. So we had to wait and be patient. I was in no mood to remain idle in this amazing place, exploring the mountains would be a nice way to use the time. Also a business associate here was willing to be my guide and host. I informed a senior monk about my plan and left the monastery by 11-30 or so. Our transportation was Honda X-Blade. Rajesh made sure I wore a helmet. I was riding a two-wheeler after a decade, that too in these steep mountain roads. The road was wide enough for two cars to pass by slowly. Three kilometers from the monastery we stopped for a short break.

The main objective of this trip was to see the traditional Kath Kuni houses. The houses were typically two-storied, made of stone blocks, wood, and slate slabs. The foundation comprised of shaped slate blocks neatly stacked. The gaps between the stones allowed water to flow through reducing the scope for soil erosion. The lower was built of heaver stone and wooden blocks and surrounded by beams and columns which acted as a canopy for the lower floor and flooring for the upper level. The upper level is where the kitchen and bedrooms are. The wooden walls and flooring would keep the interior warm. The roof was made of slate slabs with a long overhang so that rainwater and melted snow would fall away from the wooden walls and column. Most houses had a separate shed to store cattle fodder. The houses were simply fascinating.

Here's a mass of slate sticking out of the surface. Nature has provided semi-finished raw material for construction. This is similar to Cuddapah stone of Andhra Pradesh and Shahabad stone of Gulbarga district. Wondering how many more regions in India have such stones.

The mountains, the valley, and Beas river. This is the scene to many a homes here. How fortunate they are. They have their difficulties and hardships, but they are blessed to be breathing fresh air and viewing this landscape.

Our journey up the mountain continues with stops to shoot pictures like these. For that matter, one should simply walk these roads which would be a lot more comfortable to shoot. Wish I had that luxury of time. Anyway, I was trying to make the best of this visit. Coniferous are stylish looking trees, especially the pine trees. They are all over the mountains especially the upper levels. I guess the entire slopes of these mountains were covered by coniferous before humans started making apple orchards and building homes.

We stopped to see a slightly larger village. Except two house roofs covered with plastic sheets, all houses merge into the surroundings. Most houses are built in traditional method, there are few houses built of red brick and cement too.

A closer look at the houses. Some of the houses could be 50+ years like the house in the foreground with dark walls. The house next to it is a classic example of Kath Kuni walls. The walls has layers of stone and wood. The ancient builders devised this method to make walls are earthquake proof. The same house has stored hay in the balcony. By doing so, the interior is better insulated and hay is aired sufficiently.

This village is next to a pine grove. The air inside the grove is definitely colder than outside. The forest is the source of wood for the village people here. There are certain unwritten rules in making firewood.. only the branches are cut but the main trunk is untouched so that trees grow back branches for the next year. People living in the jungles of Yellapur follow the same rule- they prune slender branches just before rainy season.

Below the spot where I stood to shoot pictures was a shrub with small leaves. I noticed a small lump on one of the branches. The lump had a hole. I zoomed into the image and saw its a part of the plant. Wondering if the plant had created a nest for some kind of insect. Rajesh and I searched the plant, we couldn't find another one. Need to consult a botanist about this matter.

Movements in the sky cut our attention on the plant. Two kites glided gracefully. I'd not seen any Kites over the monastery earlier in the day. These birds looked larger than the ones I'd seen at Bangalore.

The birds were soon out of our sight. Next were the pines, going by the color they would fall off in a week or two. These pines are the softer variety. The pine cones I'd collected from the botanical garden of Karnataka University were hard, almost wood like. The leaves are needle like so that they don't catch too much snow. How beautiful are the ways of Nature.

Here's a hamlet of some four or five homes. Looks like these homes belong to one family. Of all the villages so far this one is built on the steepest slope. The hamlet has stocked sufficient hay in the form of conical towers, hay wound around wooden poles like cotton-candy.

Another home. There are two houses- big and small. The larger house must be the landlord's home and the smaller one looks like worker's quarter. Family members have gathered in tight groups, warming themselves in sunlight.

The house sits far away from other houses. What a sight! Love those coniferous trees. Across the road, next to the woods is the village we saw earlier. Wish I could stay up here in one of the homes for a week during winter.

We had reached a point where the smooth road ended abruptly and the path ahead was too rough. May be one person could ride comfortably but it wouldn't be safe for two people. Had we gone another kilometer ahead we might have reached snow. The road lead to an ancient temple which is quite popular. It was tempting to go ahead but Rajesh said that wild animals might have come down due to snow We decided not to take too much risk, decided to turn back. This house was the last thing we saw on this mountain. Two women and a dog sat there soaking in the warmth of the afternoon sun. This house is a corrupt version of Kath Kuni architecture.

Mr. Lion checking out the two strangers entering his territory. That spot seems to be his favorite. He's super comfortable lying on a soft bed of dry grass. I envy that guy!

The two women and a man draped in locally made shawls. For one seeing this picture, the brightness of the place might give an impression its warm. Not really. Its cold, for city person like me, it was freezing. Had we gone further up, the temperature would be even lower.

Opposite the house, across the road, the mountain face is steep, we could see straight into the monastery. Rajesh's team would be working on the top most floor of the temple building. Wish I could see the same during winter, when the place is covered in snow.

On the way back, we stopped at another village to check out this temple which is known as Shamshari Mahadev Mandir. This structure is a good example of Kath Kuni architecture. The wood used would be Deodar, the local name for pine. The name Deodar is actually Devadar ~ wood of Devas. Locals believe this wood has special properties- both physical and chemical. It has a pleasant aroma which is retained for centuries. Hence this is the preferred wood for temples.

The temple is built by masons and carpenters. The builders have decorated the structure to the best of their means. Small windows to keep the warm inside. On the door frame is a pair of horns, probably the horns of a mountain goat.

We'll see more of this temple in the following post- a glimpse of Himachal rural life - part 2.

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