While many of us want to tick off our bucket-list with a rustic enfield driven expedition to the Himalayas with one of those unknown road trip groups that brings out your MAN vs WILD moment from camping in the wilderness with a Maggi and Hookah to driving through the rough ghats with a Petrol Pump almost 100 kms away and all essential supplies of petrol, engine oil, puncture kits, cooker and boots packed well, there is a route that diverts away from Leh, Ladakh, Kasaul, Manali and Rohtang to a generation of tribals living back in time, about 8 hours drive from Shimla via Narkanda to Rampur and Beyond; Welcome to Kinnaur district!There are times when you go to a place at the wrong time and there are places where you are wise enough to go to but do not have the time. Kinnaur for me was two times the former expedition. Hence, forgive me if I do not give you a Sociologists account of events.
and it begins...
On our expedition, we stayed back in Reckong Peo which is the district headquarters, a few hours from Rampur. We decided to park here at the PWD guest house and visit the beautiful spontaneous people of Riba, Skiba, Chitkool & Sangla over the next few days at their homes. Our first house was of our neighbour in Shimla who belonged to Riba. The local yumm Rajma Chawwal was foodgasm and their apple orchards exported 25 lakhs worth of apples straight abroad way back in 2007. Most of Kinnaur had been swept away by the China Dam burst and subsequent flooding of the Baspa river forcing people to go up the cliff as much as possible to escape from the natural disaster. It was a tremendous experience learning about Kinnuar from the locals.
Religion, Homes & Festivals
This house in Kinnaur had both the influences of Buddhism and Hinduism. This relatively richer home had a Kali Mata temple along with a Buddha temple in their premises. Wooden Homes, Apple orchards, rice & Rajma fields, A fireplace for cooking and protection from the chill, narrow picturesque lanes made of bricks & stone leading to the innocent homes with the music of the gushing waters that came from the melted snow, Kinnaur looked unpolluted, serene, magical & ancient. This makes Kinnaur timeless. Amongst the more commercial areas is Reckong Peo where you'd have access to a Telephone Booth to make calls to Shimla at 2 rs per minute pulse, way back in 2007.
The tribals here believe to be the descendants of the Pandavas & the Kauravas. On religious festivals, Kinnauri's dress up in traditional wear and take their 'Devi Mata' on a Parade..Two key people holding the Matas Pallaki receive omens from the Goddess and console people looking to answers.Their marriages are pretty interesting; a boy and girl can legally flee to an unknown place and are married off on their return.
Women, yet again...
However, with all the magic around, the position of women still remains backward; they do all the household errands, carry cylinders on their back for many kilometers due to lack of road transport available, make 'Angoree' (local alcohol like cider) for their husbands many of who go astray & Polyandry is also practiced here owing to the descent from the Pandavas.The Ancient Healers
The next part of our Journey was to Skiba, a village few kilometers ahead of Riba where we had heard of an ancient healer. The pathway to the healers home also was beautiful with apple trees in their nascent stage where the plant looks like a Transparent Buttefly Wings in plenty. These partial blossoms on both ends of the narrow lane had fresh cold water from the melting snow flowing down towards his house. I could hear a dog bark, this one was a sure shot canine that was desperate to bite someone as if deprived. I reached his wooden home & waited outside in the rectangular balcony taken away at the spectacular topian world that I wanted to touch, hold and embrace. In a long shot large frame, I could see the panoramic snow clad mountains during the Months of April-May reddening with Apples that were in full blossom. There was a chair above a warm carpet, a nice cushion, blanket and red shawl with a few letters around, a pot of water and too many elements there with Buddhist influences. The hanging tinkling gongs that made an ear-gasmic musical sound (like that of the Talam) against the chilly winds injected life into me. It was nature at its fullest.
A healer who treks to the Himalayas
We met the ancient healer finally and saw him read through various ancient Buddhist texts while speaking to us, to continue to look for ailments for the various people who had visited him or written to him, yes there is a Post Office in Skiba. A triangular wooden hut in the backyard astonished my sense of discovery when I saw letters in Lakhs written to him by people who had come to know of him. The healer, nearly 60 years old, treks the mountains in search of healing herbs in order to create specially crafted medicines for the people who show him Love and write to him.
An ancient healer that can cure a snakebite
We had to move on from this place where Time stood still and get our clocks ticking. We left from the home to the neighbours home where the dog barked desperately. Amongst 4 sisters, the youngest one was given a Sacred Mantra (Religious chant) by here father on his deathbed. She was most loved and had the ancient solution to a snake bite. She could chant the sacred Mantra and one could see the snake & the pale poison disappear. One need not have to ampute the body part. She spoke to us of length of people who have come to her and offer her loads of money, that she couldnt take as it was against the boon received.
A monk who could heal Fits
And finally, driving through the rich fields along the Baspa river from Kalpa to Sangla PWD guest house where Sonia Gandhi had come over during the floods, we met the third ancient healer, the chief of a Monastry in Sangla where I sat amidst the newly inducted Buddhist Kids in their attire feeling at peace with myself amongst so much spontaneity. We spoke to the Monk who had a Mobile Phone, was around 40 years old, young & playful at heart with good humour and a charming wit. He introduced us to a kid undergoing ancient healing for Fits through his technique of placing a hot iron laddle on the kids head. To a layman, it would seem strange and raw but that was my last meeting with the ancient healer as he offered me Puri & Halwaa (a sweet).
There was another monastry left at one of the villages close to the China Border, Chitkool with a population of less than 1000 individuals. I could see kids play Cricket in the monastry with socks balls and remembered my Shimla home and friends, hailstones began to drop down and I had to rush back to avoid getting blocked in the snow filled roads. I lost all my photographs of the trip, as it happens to us during our best trips...However, the memory remains pure and unsullied right in my heart and I can feel it, recreate it and live it when the westernization gets the better of me at my job here in Mumbai.
