Strings Of Life

Background:
Chitkul is a remote village in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. It is the last village on the Indo -Tibet trade route and the road ends here. After Chitkul the journey is to be made on foot.
It's a small and beautiful village with a population of not more than 700 people. Climate is cold throughout the year. And it's located on the right bank of the Baspa River.

The Trip:
After returning from the night shift, I along with three other friends (namely Yatish Kumar Singh, Sumit Awasthi & Vinod Birdi) started our journey at 8'O Clock in the morning. Chitkul is nearly 120 Kms from our place. After traveling for one and half hours we had our breakfast (Paranthas and Chole alongwith India's national drink (hot tea)) at Tapri - a small station on the right bank of Satluj river. Here we stuffed our cab with plenty of eatables and a large bottle of Coke which we were unable to drink.

After traveling for another hour or so we reached the famous Sangla Valley. Located on the banks of the Baspa river, Sangla valley is a delight for the nature lovers. Especially the stretch after Raksham and right up to the Chitkul. The valley is extremely beautiful, on the left bank of the Baspa river are the snow cladded mountains and on the right bank the whole terrain is full of apple orchids and wooden houses. We stopped at a place called Bhateshwari and ventured into the nearby orchid to have a photo session. There the owner of the orchid - an old man gifted us fresh apples from his orchid, and we enjoyed them as if we have never had apples in our entire life.

After this we headed towards our final destination - The Chitkul.
At Chitkul we tracked for nearly three kilometers and then climbed down to reach the river.

The things which amazed me about the Chitkul are:
Baspa River: Chitkul would not be so beautiful without the Baspa River. I just fell in love with the serene blue water.
Wooden houses and temples: Most of the houses here are wooden and have an unique aroma which still haunts my mind.
Bhoj Patra: Bhoj patra is the bark of a special tree found in the Himalayan belt. The bark is easily removable and resembles the pages of a diary. The Ancient people used it for writing scripts and keeping records. Even today it finds its use for the religious purposes.
Potatoes: Yes, potatoes are grown on a large scale over here and they are the costliest in India. They are known for their sweet taste and heat producing effects.

After a lot of fun we settled at the nearby hotel and enjoyed the delicious lunch. And when the sun disappeared we started our return journey. With a promise that someday we'll again visit this heaven on earth.

PS: For more interesting pics, check out my Flickr stream.

RamAvatar a local electrician was to enact as Lord Hanuman in the village Ramleela. Though a man of weak physique, he did not settle for any other role. Everyone in the village, be it children or the ladies made fun of him and this was his only chance to prove something.
His role for the first day of Ramleela was simple, he was to enter the stage with a dummy mountain in his hands and speak out "Jai Shree Ram"- his only dialogue for the day.
But RamAvatar was a cleaver man, he thought, why not use some creativity and impress the villagers?.
In the afternoon, he took a metallic plate and decorated it with electrical bulbs and wires, giving it the shape of a mountain, and placed it on the branch of a tree right above the Ramleela stage. He also tied a long rope to the branch. Upon his turn in the evening, he would light up the bulbs, hold the dummy mountain in one hand and the rope in the other and would climb down right into the middle of the stage and speak out his dialogue.
Some guys from the village came to know about his plans for the day and they thought of fooling him. So they climbed the tree and short circuited his electrical decoration.


In the evening when the villagers gathered for the Ramleela, RamAvatar climbed the tree and eagerly waited for his turn. The right moment came. He switched on the circuit and as soon as he lifted the dummy mountain he got a heavy electric shock and fell right in to the middle of the stage. Gathering courage he got up and screamed out loud: "Who the bloody hell did that?". And the entire audience broke into laughter.

On the second day everyone was astonished, for some other man was portrayed as Hanuman. What about RamAvatar? Where was he?.
The entire audience again broke into laughter when RamAvatar entered the stage as Goddess Sita.