Kullu's Introduction
Enclosed by the last snow range of the
Himalayas, the Dhaula Dhar, and Pir Panjal, running parallel
to the south of it, is a valley that leaves the spectator
awe-struck at the breath-taking grandeur of its mountains, its
torrents and its vast expanses of snow in its upper regions.
Fascinating, calm, placid and gorgeous, this is the Valley of
the Gods, who in turn can be benign, angry and
capricious.
It is fascinating when the gold of the morning
sun flatter the snow-capped mountain tops, it is calm and
placid when the gentle breezes move the wispy clouds over the
blue vault, making the pines whisper secrets that the gods
alone know and it is gorgeous when the breath-taking beauty of
the Fall (Autumn) colours, gold, red and scarlet turn the
valley into a veritable paradise. When the gods are benign,
they bathe the valley with the kindly Sun gently giving energy
and sustenance below when they are angry they pour down
torrents of rain which brings down whole mountain sides making
access to the valley impossible & when they are
capricious, they are dangerous - the rivers rise and carry
away bridges, houses, sheep and even the men who propitiate
them in every hemlet, every village and every town. The very
approach fills the traveller
with a sense
of the majesty of God, as he proceeds along a narrow
and winding road that runs along the Beas through a gorge,
where the rocky walls tower perpendicularly above over a
thousand feet high, and the raging torrent is barely a few
feet below. Blasted through solid rock the road runs for 40 km
(25 miles) through the Mandi-Larji gorge till finally it opens
out and every mile up the river treveals the changing beauty
of the heavenly region. This is Kullu Valleytravellers
have rhapsodied over the unique character of the journey
up-the region, not more than a mile wide, in most parts, and
31 km [50 miles] in length.
Literally the valley of hundred
temples and a thousand derties, it offers peace, a mysterious,
spiritual peace which pervades every nook, every corner, and a
peace breathed into the mountains, trees, stars and streams by
countless sages and `rishis' who came here to contemplate.
Here came Rishi Vyas, the author of the Mahabharata giving the
river Vipasha his name, here came Vashisht, the hot sulphur
springs are sacred to his memory, and here came the omniscient
Brighu to sojourn at the lovely lake, near Manali, and 4,267
metres (14,000 ft) above sea level.
Finally, here, too,
wandered the Pandvas in their years of exile and cultivated
rice at Pandva-ka-Ropa, 3,658 metres (12,000 ft) above, from
where the snow-covered ranges and glaciers reveal themselves
in a magnificent panorama. Bhim, one of the Pandva brother,
fell a victim to the charms of Hidamba, and had to engage in
mortal combat with her maneating gaint brother, Hidamb. She
overcame her filil love and with her help, Bhim killed the
brother and married the sister. The Pandvas resided in Manali
for a year and in due course, Hadimba
presented Bhim with a son, the valiant Ghatotkatch, who
died a hero's death in the battle of kurukshehtra. The women
of the valley are famed for their beauty. The Kullu valley
begins at Aut on the northern end of the gorge in the
Dhaula Dhar, cut by the river Beas at Larji, above Mandi.
This is the second portion of Kangra, and the Beas here
flows amidst broad cultivated terraces, about 1,000 metres
(3,281 ft) above sea level. Above Vashisht, the valley is
glaciated snow-truncated spurs and is U-Shaped. There is rock
cliff below Kothi, which has been cut into a narrow I-shaped
gorge, hardly 10 metres (33 ft) wide and 30 metres (984 ft)
deep. It is a major rock step. Further the valley is again an
open U, here, the road 73 climbs in a zig-zag manner to the
Rohtang Pass across the Pir Panjal, where the river Beas
rises. Falling rapidly at first, it tumbles headlong at the
Rahalla Falls. Crystal spray against sheer rock, it falls into
the alpine valley. At the top of the pass the air seems to
glitter against the snow as one looks down over herring-bonned
ridges in the Lahaul Valley.
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