Possessed...
We bid bye to Keylong the next day, promising the Italians that we'll again meet up at Manali. We were looking out for a share taxi to Manali that will get us there for 150 bucks instead the 1K each that we pooled in for the taxi to Keylong, when a guy, aged about 15 approached us and said there was a sumo about to leave for Manali. We got into it, along with a family and the kid jumped into the seat and started driving. His driving was pretty decent till Rohtang- though a tad fast, he was driving quite fine. After Rohtang, something happened to him- I guess he must have been possessed by one of those thousands of souls perished on Rohtang: he drove like a mad man, a maniac, as if he was hell bent on proving his mountain driving skills to us. He was driving at 70-80kmph on the winding roads where one slip means an easy death by means of a smooth and straight fall into the river hundreds of feet below! I'm sure, he'll give Sebastian Loeb, the WRC champion, a run for his money if he ever gets to compete with him!
In Manali, Hadimba temple was our first target. The deity in this temple is Hidumbi, wife of Bhima. This temple was built centuries ago using only wood, and it still stands as strong as ever. The temple stands in the middle of a Juniper forest, full of old, huge trees.We headed back to the mall in Manali. This is the famous street where the shopping action is. Bought a couple of T-shirts made by Tibetans in exile- one sporting "Om Mani Padme Hum" in Bhoti language-the language of Tibet-and the other with a "Free Tibet" writing. Also bought a canvas painting depicting Avalokiteswara, an incarnation of Buddha, meditating. That painting had a special colour combination that captures your attention in an instant: I've seen a similar colour combination only in one other style: the mural art of Kerala temples. But here the colours are lighter, with subtle boundaries unlike the mural paintings. Then there was a bell that produced a sound that I'd never heard before: deep, low-pitched, reverbrating and mesmerising. Bought that one too....
In Manali, Hadimba temple was our first target. The deity in this temple is Hidumbi, wife of Bhima. This temple was built centuries ago using only wood, and it still stands as strong as ever. The temple stands in the middle of a Juniper forest, full of old, huge trees.We headed back to the mall in Manali. This is the famous street where the shopping action is. Bought a couple of T-shirts made by Tibetans in exile- one sporting "Om Mani Padme Hum" in Bhoti language-the language of Tibet-and the other with a "Free Tibet" writing. Also bought a canvas painting depicting Avalokiteswara, an incarnation of Buddha, meditating. That painting had a special colour combination that captures your attention in an instant: I've seen a similar colour combination only in one other style: the mural art of Kerala temples. But here the colours are lighter, with subtle boundaries unlike the mural paintings. Then there was a bell that produced a sound that I'd never heard before: deep, low-pitched, reverbrating and mesmerising. Bought that one too....
posted by SNM at 6:23 PM
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