Mesmerizing Manali
Manali, the famous hill station in Himachal Pradesh, was where we headed to by bus from Delhi. Earlier we took the Chattisgarh Express to reach Delhi from Agra. A tremendous idea by the travel agent to save accommodation cost saw us spend a night in a semi-sleeper bus. It took a mammoth 18 hours to reach Manali, after a series of stops at Dhabas. Yuvan Shankar Raja with his “Enga area ulla varathey” kept us entertained through the journey. There is something about the Dhabas. The rustic charm and round the clock availability of food make them one of a kind. A simple Dal Makhani with a simpler roti could be “nirvana” when you are really hungry. Most of our dinner was made of rotis or bread omlette. The Jains faced a bit of a problem when there were very few vaishno Dhabas available. Some of them survived on Bread and Jam. For me, this was the time I could satisfy my palate coz non-veg was not made at home, though its not exactly forbidden. But terrifying thoughts of an upset digestive system in the midst of a journey made me restrict myself to eggs.
Manali was certainly mesmerizing with its picturesque landscape. We were put up in a hotel which faced the noisy Beas. Manali is the makeshift jannat on earth as the real jannat is in the hands of terrorists. We traveled along the Beas to a place called Rohtang Pass, 50 KM from Manali. En route, the driver stopped at a fur coat shop. We first thought that it was some sort of an arrangement between the cabbie (yes we hired cabs coz buses weren’t allowed in the hills) and the shop owner. After much persuasion, we reluctantly agreed to hire a furcoat and boots. We were still under the impression that just by traveling an additional 50 KM we weren’t going to get frozen. But, when we actually reached the place, we experienced numbing cold for the first time. But for the fur coat we wouldn’t have returned safely. We did get adventurous and removed our coats to pose for some photographs. Once the photo session was over we hurriedly put on our coats and cuddled to keep ourselves warm. An extra 40 rupees to the driver helped us get to a nearby lake. What was disappointing was that the snow hadn’t set when we visited. If only there were some snow, the trip would have been complete. Anyway, it was an experience of a lifetime and would be fresh in our memories for a long time to come.
We spent two days at Manali. During the short stay there were some interesting encounters with some interesting people. We went shopping late into the night after dinner. People were trying to sell everything from Kesar to sandalwood chessboards. Out in the middle of the Tibetan market was a middle-aged artist. He made his living by painting names on wood and making small impressions. My tete-a-tete with the drunken artist in the middle of the night was really interesting. He asked for excuse when he poured some brandy into his disposable cup, and said he was doing this coz he is really tired after all the work since morning. Like every artist, he was really proud of his work and belittled everyone else doing the same calling those imitations. My first question to him was about the time he opens his shop in the morning, to which he gave an answer which was typical of an artist. He said that he opens the shop only if he is in mood for it and doesn’t mind losing work. I was just too curious to know whether he does something other than this. With a smile he asked, “ Aap Kahan ke rehnewale ho?” (Where do you live?). I told him that I’m from Chennai. He said that his works were exhibited in Valluvar Kottam and his shop had featured on ZEE TV. With the same smile he said “ Mujhe khane peene ko bahut milta hain” ( I get enough food and drink). “ Bus aap mere dimag dekhke paise dijiye”. The artistic arrogance was really awe-inspiring.
Another interesting personality I met in Manali was the young Nepalese cabbie. At first we thought he was a little rude, but as time passed, he became too friendly. He was just too happy to handle cameras. During the trip, we got to hear some really nice Nepalese songs. Almost every song had the word “Kaanchi”. He danced a bit for the songs. He allowed us to get on top of his Tata Sumo. Unfortunately, with nine of us on top, a dent developed in the roof of the car. We thought that he would definitely get angry and charge us for this. But this happy-go lucky man surprised us with a smile. Surely such people make the world interesting.
Manali is a must-see place if you are vacationing in India.
posted by bragey @ 10:53 PM
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