Friday, November 21, 2008

Himachal at a glance...



View on way to Triund trekking range.

Himachal being geographically variant state, it gives you enormous opportunity to explore the state, the way you want it to.  Different people have variable choices, and interests are also different, so the state caters you all your needs. If you are a spiritual being, you can visit endless number of temples and even they will have no end. A very interesting fact about the state is, on every turn, you will find a temple, and to amuse you more, surely it will have a story to tell you behind it. For example, Himachal being a hilly state, roads are like snakes, and having said that, no doubt they include deadly curves as well which are very accident prone if driver is not cautious. Any specific curve, which have been proved deadly in the past, they will build a temple of God Hanuman, which they believe will protect them for future. It may sound funny, but that’s the strength of the faith. And Himachali people, fondly called as “Pahadi” are living with the same faith for years. Contrary to that if you are a nature Lover, your eyes will be filled with the endless beauty and yet, you will have an urge to explore more. Again, being a hilly state you can go for trekking and can explore the view from the top of the world, and to welcome you there, you will find the pine trees giving you a standing ovation. If you are a flying freak, you can go for paragliding, and if you have an urge to explore the History, check out forts and castles in the Land of the Gods.

View of triund trekking range

Himachal is the land of classical painting not only on canvas, but the fabric painting also had been a forte of the land. The world famous Chamba Rumal(Handkerchief) is the testimony for the same. Traditional painting, on a hand fan with the use of natural colours is really a treat to eyes, and art lovers surely would enjoy the same. The state, that makes a strong statement with continuous growth despite of the fact the hard geographical difficulties, yet untouched by destructive economical growth and promises to offer you the glimpses of rich history of itself. Peeking through the ancient times, Pandavas(refer to great epic Mahabharta) created a rock temple, which is now under Archaeological Survey of India, is a series of 9 temples created by carving a single rock, one of it’s own kind of Monolithic rock art. The bird watchers can go out to check Pong lake, one of the biggest home for migratory birds, and recently work is on progress to develop the area to bring it on the world map. Himachal is a place for fun, spirituality, learning, and if you want to meet H. H. Dalai Lama, Dharmsala offers you the opportunity of same, but for that you have to be lucky. 

Very rare picture of traditional painting on a hand fan

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Himachal .....Land of the Gods....

 Dhauladhar range of Himalaya.

Himachal Pradesh, a small state of this huge country... But this state is much bigger in terms of it's tradition, culture, scenic beauty, towering mountains, fresh water rivers, and above everything, it's clean environment is an asset of the state. It is among those countable states, where use of polythene is banned way back. probably, scenic beauty of this state might have forced Gods to choose this place as their home, or you can say serene atmosphere might have allowed them to have a better focus towards their journey of soul searching. Above picture of Mighty Dhaula Dhar range of Himalaya situated in Kangra valley, narrates the story itself. It's a hub of tourists coming ti India in search of natural beauty. Nature itself blessed this land with such a treasure of beauty that even during the British invasion, Shimla(The capital of Himachal Pradesh) was made the summer capital of India. On 18th December 1970, HP state act was passed in the parliament, and on 25 January, 1971 Himachal Pradesh State came into the existence as 18th state of Union of India. Civilizations of Audumbras(between Pathankot and Jwalamukhi), Trigarta(circled by three rivers Ravi, Beas, Satluj), Kuluta(present day Kullu Valley) etc. were have been the part of rich History of Himachal Pradesh.
This is an effort to bring this beautiful state in the public, hence Cultural events and local information is welcome on following e- mail.