It's snowing again - and this time the weather looks like it means it; heavy thick flakes covering everything fairly quickly. As was the case with the first round of snow, people are staying indoors huddled around the fire. Only a few brave the weather - with wellington boots and umbrellas.

18/02/2003 More snow

We're happy: most of the time it continues snowing. The big grey thick clouds of smoke of the numerous forest fires on the surrounding hills have been replaced by snow clouds; we can just make out the trees on the other side of the Manalsu river. Our bukari (oven) is running all day now: to warm us and to dry our clothes, in particular our socks. The way to the bathroom is luckily covered, but not to the kitchen; it's either: put the boots on or try to stumble through the snow in chappals and socks.

19/02/2003 Snow animals

It's great to have snow, unfortunately it means that the power lines are broken. No electricity, no internet, no hot shower, dead mobile, reading by candle light, no television, no music for Rabet, Kurma and family. 6 years ago electricity was so unreliable that nobody paid any attention to powercuts, but now everybody is used to all these simple conveniences which come by the thick, patched up, taped, sometimes sizzling cables. Anyway snow ball fights and building snow animals and snow men or "barf ka sher Khan" (snow lion) doesn't require any electricity.

20/02/2003 winter sports in Manali

Not only Solang is good for winter sports. While every house billows smoke out of their chimney and adults sit around their tandoor, Old Manali's kids are in action: self made improvised sledges "speeding" down hills (ha, even if it's only a small slope of 3 metre length; Strange, this place is full of hills, but hardly anywhere is it possible to use a sledge because there are too many trees, rocks and too many boulders in the way. Old Manali's "High Street" is popular with skiers now: a few proper looking skis, otherwise home-made out of old rubber tires, wood, old scrap tin pieces - anything will do.

21/02/2003 laundry in the snow

After a few days of grey thick clouds and wonderful big snowflakes the weather has cleared up again, crystal blue sky. In the village, which was absolutely devoid of human life the last few days, lots of people are sitting, knitting, spinning, weaving in their courtyards, enjoying the sun. The areas with public village taps are crowded with women doing their over the last week or so accumulated laundry.

25/02/2003 chimney sweepers

It's nice to have a bukari, a wood and coal burning stove - hmm, at least for a few weeks. After some time though the romantic notion about our bukari is wearing off. Good old central heating is an awful lot less hassle; no room thick with smoke, no coal dust getting everywhere and no regular cleaning required - sounds wonderful! Our chimney was so blocked that about 50 percent of the smoke floated cheerfully around our room. Big work to do: taking the chimney pipes apart, pour massive amounts of kerosene into them and letting it burn off the soot. The resulting yellowish thick smoke looks wacky and smells singularly disgusting.

05/03/2003 Lalu the dog

That's it then, is the winter over? During the day it's warm and the so long awaited snow is melting already. It's easy again to walk through the orchards; no snow filled boots with deep frozen ankles as a result anymore. The roofs are more or less clear now. In shadowy places lie huge lumps under which one of these days we expect to find a dead Lalu. Lalu is (or was) one of the nicest dogs in India (most of them are horrible) who hung around the guesthouse - and on our doormat - to pick up the odd bits of food; he was extremely reliable and appeared every time Rabet cooked chicken or mutton. But he disappeared a few weeks ago. Shame.

07/03/2003 Balsari

Balsari is another small village around here. It's where Ravi, a friend of ours, lives. Ravi runs an internet cafe cum travel agency in Old Manali. Last year summer we suggested to do a website for him under the condition that he'd supply the text and photographs. It took about 8 months for the first bits and pieces of text to arrive - and even now we haven't got everything needed - so, no website yet. Ravi are you reading this? Anyway, he's a nice bloke - and so is Balsari (I mean nice, not a bloke) and the area around it; though with a few "blemishes": the stream which flows through Siyal is a rubbish dump, it's full of plastic, bottles, bags, kitchen waste, papers old clothes and shoes - anything can be found. It's so bad that a few years ago it justified a mention on the BBC - and still no improvement to be seen.

14/03/2003 Skiing paradise Solang

Solang,14 km north from here, is Manali's official "Snow Point" for tourists in Winter (even if there is snow in Manali itself). Lots of commercial opportunities are taken advantage of along the way: stalls and individual people hiring out the essential winter gear, which consist of furry coats in all kinds of shocking colours, wellington boots, gloves, hats and skiing sticks. Around the ski-slope in Solang it's incredibly busy; a few westerners are trying their luck with snowboarding, a beginners skiing class are crawling down the hill slower than it took the students to go up, Indian tourists are having their snaps taken in snow with skiers and are being carted around in sledges which are pushed by two to four exhausted looking people.
more about Solang...

22/03/2003 Jagatsukh

About six km from Manali is the old village of Jagatsukh, once the capital of this area (many hundreds of years ago). Today it's Jagatsukh’s turn to have a big festival, or so we were told. When we arrive everything is quiet, it looks as sleepy as usual. Two mobile stall keepers whom we met a few days before at the Siyal festival are just about to go back home - apparently we were not the only ones to have expected more. Still, walking through this village which still has a lot of the beautiful traditional houses, and having a quick look at the old temple is alright. Following a path up we are rewarded with some excellent views over the valley. We cross Manali’s Goddess Hadimba's path who is just returning from Banara, another smaller village further up.

24/03/2003 Jagatsukh Festival

Two days later and we are lucky this time with the Jagatsukh mela, which is also visited by a number of gods from neighbouring villages. Lots of food, lots of drink, local bands with their strange instruments, local dancers walking/dancing quite energetically in a huge circle; even some of the gods join in with the dancing. Before they go home in the evening a kind of council takes place with Gayatri, the main Goddess of Jagatsukh. The gods want to stay the night, the villagers who carry them want to go home. In the end it's decided that all but one or two of the gods should go home for the night but should return to Jagatsukh the next day for the continuation of the festival.

31/03/2003 Winter's over

Yes, that's it: no winter anymore; spring has definitely arrived. Not only are the orchards colourful now with the screaming yellow mustard fields, but also it's not as quiet anymore, to be more precise: techno music is echoing from the other side of the hill, far away but loud; indisputable proof that Manali's season for techno-, charas- and party-freaks has started.

Kirsten apr 2003	<< previous next >>
[Back to Top]

Weblog updates

India blog 29 Sep 04
Photo diary 27 Jul 08

Quick Ref Popups

India
Himachal Pradesh
Manali