While planning the vacation we had picked one of the most
over-commercialised, touristy places of India. Yet our trip ultimately got
saved from being a stereotyped one. We did not visit Shimla. We did not visit
Rohtang. We did not do paragliding at Solang Valley. Instead we rode our bike
and headed straight for Naggar. And we stayed there for the last two days of
the trip. The best two days – the highlight of the entire trip. The journey
from Aleo to Naggar was short but unforgettable. We devoured the beauty of
life-size portrait of the valley. We felt the rush of cool mountain air on
our face. We gaped open-mouthedly at canopied stretch of road that popped out
of nowhere. We halted to give room to a hoard of goats and felt even that to be
a priceless part of our journey. But isn’t that what travel does to you? It brings
back that version of you to life that dies a slow death everyday while
performing the routine job of living.
Most people visit Naggar as part of day trip from Manali.
Only a few stay, fortunately. We were among those very few. And we had gone for
the best option to stay there – the Naggar Castle. Raja Sidh Singh of Kullu
built this castle in the year 1460 when Naggar was still the capital of Kullu.
In 1978 the castle was turned into a heritage hotel run by HPTDC. Nagger Castle
is more popular as shooting location of various Bollywood movies. They even
had a notice board where Kareena Kapoor had danced away in front of Shahid Kapoor
in Jab We Met. However, instead of drooling over superficial memories of movie celebrities we were
constantly feeling amazed to be standing on the ground of a place that was
built more than five hundred years ago.
On our way up to the castle we had spotted a small
restaurant that was offering authentic Italian cuisine apparently. The decision
to have lunch there had been accepted unanimously. When we came down after
checking into our courtyard view room clouds had already begun to set in the
afternoon sky and it started raining as soon as our Italian chicken burger and
veg calzone arrived at the table. We were sitting on the open veranda which was
under construction. A foreigner couple was sitting nearby chatting and smoking
pot and drinking espresso.
Nagger Castle stays open for the visitors till evening. And during
that time it is absolutely not advisable to stay even in the vicinity. So we
started walking after lunch, leaving the castle looming over the valley behind
us. We had no idea where we were heading for. We were just walking ahead. Naggar’s uniqueness lies in its
temples. Naggar has a plethora of ancient temples dedicated to various gods. And
all of them exhibit the typical wood and stone work architecture that is the
signature style of Kullu. The first temple we visited on our first day was the
Tripura Sundari Temple. Long back I had visited a temple dedicated to the same goddess.
That temple is situated in a village not so far from our own city. A village
that is still famous for a very different reason.
After crossing the temple the road took a left turn and went
uphill towards the art gallery where would be heading the next day. For today
we decided to deviate from the main road and chose the path that went straight
ahead. The jagged trail had wound up in the woods. Like a curvaceous woman it was
luring us to explore her unexplored twists and turns. We are faulty human; we
did not have enough willpower to resist such lusty invitation. We started
climbing and very soon I was dragged off the actual path and coerced into
taking more vertiginous shortcut route and my fancy sneakers were dangerously
on the verge of losing their grip. Suddenly the path came to a halt and we
found ourselves standing in a meadow. And an old, abandoned house was sitting
amidst like a snoozing giant. If you touched its wall it would wake up from its
stupor and start telling you the stories hidden in its dark, shabby belly. A solitary crow was sitting quietly on the edge of what
seemed like a small pool. You know they
say it is someone’s spirit disguised as a crow? I shivered a little. The whole
place was absolutely tranquil barring the noise of leaves beneath our feet. Are we the only two people left in this
whole world? The sun had started going down for the day and the chill in
the air was not so pleasant anymore. The clouds had already given us warning a
few times. We left our meadow behind and started climbing down.
To be continued
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