In Search of Inner Peace...... Part 2

"Mandi" as popularly know as 'choti kaashi' is just the kind of place I was looking for after being in the maddening crowd of Mumbai and Pune. A wonderful place to live, with beauty and simplicity of its own. There is something about hills that has always drawn me closer to them.I love its beauty,mystery, simplicity, and friendliness. It is definitely because I am a kashmiri, even if I haven't spend more than 10 years of my childhood there. But I love going to the hills, staying there and loving the nature and culture of the hills. I don't know what is the most beautiful attribute here, the nature, surroundings, architecture, temples, people, or food.

My trip to Mandi was the best trip I have had in a long time, travelling alone to a new place always adds to the mystery and "need to be explored' feeling. After working non-stop for a couple of years I needed a break not just from work but from my regular routine as well. I wanted to feel all my senses once again, to breathe fresh air, to eat what I haven't tasted for a while, to laugh so hard that my stomach hurts, to see something so beautiful that I am mesmerised by it, to hear the birds chirping their wonderful songs in the morning and to get in touch with myself........  To sleep as if who cares what happens tomorrow, to wake up in the morning at your own ease no time to get up and run as the day is yours so is the night. I know we are keep dreaming to do this but believe is its awesome when you actually do it.

There are so many things I  can write about -  its culture, food, nature, people, temples, rituals, beliefs and and others. And I don't know what all to include and what to exclude. The culture, beliefs, fears look the the same in all hilly areas. They are god-fearing people who believe in good as well as evil forces. These simple people believe there is a supreme power that is protecting them against the evil forces whether it's natural calamities or evil doings of human beings. I am in love with the simplicity and innocence of these people. They believe in superstitions and other related things, but not because they are ignorant. I was discussing these rituals   and their superstitions with my dad and he gave me a wonderful explanation about the same. He said "people are the way they see nature and their surroundings so people living in valleys are narrow minded because they cannot see anything beyond the mighty mountains surrounding them". So true....

Cheerful people with rosy cheeks all around, all decked up and ready to do their daily chores..... But I see no rush and no anxiety in getting their chores done. Everyone looks at ease as they chat with fellows walking or a random shopkeeper. They will just sit down for a cup of tea or  sit out in the sun enjoying the nature's warm blanket. People here are happy in small things of life, whether it's chatting with your neighbour, or going to the market and meeting a long lost friend or people enjoying the local street food. I am not a big fan of street food but when I got here and saw a group of girls giggling as they ate those yummy hot and round 'Jalebis', or 'Bun tikki' or 'Chole-kulche'. I was looking at them as it reminded me of those carefree childhood days. How relaxed and happy we were?

Women From the hills seem to be more educated and liberated than their Punjabi and Haryanavi counterparts. Women study well here and believe in working and earring their bread. Women seem to take the lead here as they are financially independent where as the women from UP, Punjab and Haryana are confined to the 4-walls of the house. You should see the confidence with which women work here, I was pretty impressed. They can be sweet, friendly, firm, cold and entrepreneurial. They have a close knit community so everyone knows everyone, they help and support each other.

Culture of a community represents the overall essence of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge. Traditional embroidery patterns here are more geometric. May be because of  the surrounding hills they see day in and day out. The colours they use are generally bright as the flowers.Unlike its neighbour "Kashmir", our embroideries are focused on the flora and fauna of Kashmir. Kashmiri embroideries are know for the flowers, chinar leaves, paisley patterns and subtle colours.

Interestingly, most of embroidery/handwork is done by 'men' in the hills because women can take care of most of the stuff outside the house. But in areas like Punjab and Haryana the men go out to work to earn their bread and women take care of the house. So most of the embroidery/handwork is done by groups of women sitting at home. It seems like what started as just beautifying their own clothes for weddings and other functions finally becoming a trademark of Punjabi households popularly know as 'phulkaris'.

It was freezing cold in Mandi and all the snowfall added to my worst nightmares. I was so close to freezing to death, thank god I could use some warm clothes. I would pray for the sun to come out the next day so that at least the days are warm....... One thing worth mentioning is that people here use technology to check the weather and then plan their days accordingly. I did the same, sunny meaning going out for a trek or a long walk and rains would mean shopping and eating. Shopping is the best thing to do if you want feel happy instantly, at least for me it works perfect. I can shop, shop for almost anything, and believe me I don't even get tired of it.

One fine and sunny day we decided to go to a 'Kangani mata' temple..... A long trek up the mountain was definitely a tough one but The view from the top was just splendid. It was a funny trek.... Half of the trek the blazing sun almost burned our skin and we were freezing with the cold wind blowing in the shady areas around the hill. It felt like a regular day and night cycle or a happy-sad cycle. Beautiful pine trees all around and what is called some snake climber trees were just phenomenal. They were so up and high in the sky standing so tall and proud as if mocking the mountain as they are higher.

Festivals are the heart and soul of every community and culture in India. "Shivratri" is the main festival of Mandi like we have in Kashmir. It literally means 'the great night of Lord Shiva'. Every second temple in Mandi belongs to Lord Shiva. It is more than a week long preparation and celebration here. The local people go around and invite all the local deities for the big night. Everyone is invited from nearby places to come and celebrate Maha Shivratri - the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. The union of man and nature.Sadly, I missed the celebration part here because I went home to celebrate it with my parents.

Time really flies when you are having fun. I can't believe I was off the Mumbai-Pune for almost 2 weeks. But I wanted to stay a little longer, I know I'm getting greedy. I was having so much fun here in Mandi and then back home after a long time with mom and dad. I could talk to them and do nothing....wake up when I wanted, eat what I feel like, sleep when I feel like, talk to them non-stop, go to the market with them. There is definitely something about home that relaxes you instantly and you feel so protected as if nothing can harm you. Nothing is as  reassuring as your dad's smile and nothing is as encouraging as your mom's smile..........

Thank you Su-per-Man for making my trip wonderful, and I'm so glad I did this. I so plan to make Mandi my chilling out place from now on.