Strolling in Kalpa

The Himalayas never failed to awe me with its majesties and so I find myself coming back to the Himalayas on every occasion and sometimes even in the lack of any. In August my friends and I decided on an impromptu trip to Kalpa, the town having the Kinnaur Kailash at its backdrop. The journey started from Delhi and after traveling through Chandigarh, Shimla, Karcham, Sangla we finally reached Kalpa. From Sangla it took an approximate 4 hours to reach Kalpa.

We booked our stay at the Himachal Pradesh Tourism hotel, the Sun and Snow Cottage because it seems, as we have read, to have the best view of the mountain range. It is true. The moment we reached we were greeted by the view of towering Kinnaur Kailash. Though I have traveled to the Himalayas many times before too, I have never been to this height, an approx. 9000+ feet and thus never seen the staggering mountain range so up and close. I was indeed dumbfounded by the steering height and filled with a sense that we, my ego and self, are as tiny as an ant in front of this elephant.

Since it was August only the peaks were covered with snow contrary to the time in March and April when the entire range, head to toe, is said to be snow covered.  After a brief breakfast and a super-fast freshening up episode, we started our day to explore the town. Since this place was the last in our already so hectic trip, we didn’t find any energy left to go around on our foot and thus we hopped on to the car. Every turn of the road filled me with a respect for this town and its people who so religiously took the pains to keep it squeaky clean. At the town square, we got down and started the rest of the exploration on foot. The narrow clean lanes, smiling happy faces, quaint little houses and our constant friend, the Himalayas, kept our company. Our driver was a strange fellow who couldn’t fathom the reason for ours to visit a place so remote and thus kept on saying there’s nothing to see here. But as the clichéd lines go “Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder”, we could see a world of something and everything in his ‘nothing’. The town or rather the village too didn’t fail to amaze our tired city eyes.

As we strolled over the stone-paved roads, I came across a red little post box remembering me of the time when handwritten letters used to be our only mode of communication with the near and dear ones. I also came across a Tata Sky antenna. I felt like stuck in a time warp, the old and new co-existing happily.

A little further ahead we saw a small quaint monastery. It was already 4 pm, so the monastery was closed. I was absolutely in love with the day having clear topaz blue skies with a hint of dark clouds, here and there, and the windy weather. The winds rolled the bells and fluttered the flags as if silently answering all my prayers. 

Spending some time there we again continued with our strolling. In no time we came across a temple, the Nag-Nageshwari Temple. The same lane housed a monastery and a temple, showing the distinct culture of Kinnaur. 

In all over our journey through the district, we came across temples and monasteries in equal measure. I had read it before that the Kinnauri culture is a peaceful amalgam of both the religion. The journey didn’t disprove it. 

The temple, like all the temples in this region, is made of wood with curving all over it. The dragons and lotuses are present therein equal glory. The temple was also closed so we couldn’t see the idol inside. But the temple premise with the Himalayas in the backdrop was enough for a lifetime of memories.