Kanya Daan: A Charity

'Kanya Daan', in literal translation means giving away your daughter in charity. In India, this is a highly revered ritual performed during weddings when the parents give away their daughters to the groom who is considered to be a form of God Vishnu. Now, offering the most precious possession of the parents to God Vishnu is supposed to wash out their sins. So what about the 'thing' you are giving away?
A girl is not a 'thing'. Girls are not 'possessions'. Girls are not to be given away in the name of charity or even as a 'gift'. Girls are humans just like men. Offering daughters as a gift to another family is not ethical. I am a Hindu and would never hurt the sentiments of the people attached to my community and others. But this is not what Hinduism teaches. In the Vedas, there is no mention of 'Kanya Daan'. No text, as old as the Vedas, would ever advocate this position of a woman in the society. All of this started in the medieval times when having an unmarried daughter was considered a matter of shame for the parents and apparently, women were to be protected by a bit more physically powerful section of the society comprising of men. Today, women have entered every field and have excelled in the same be it boxing, wrestling, engineering, sports, business etc. So why have such unwanted rituals sustained their position in our society till today? Marriage is the start of a companionship between two people who are equal. Men and women are equal. There is no point of considering one as a liability so as to transfer the same to someone else. A girl will always remain the daughter of her parents. Nothing about their relationship changes after her marriage. 'Kanya Daan' is just another way of suppressing women as they enter another phase of their lives and it is time that we stop considering them as a burden.
I speak against this ritual of being treated as a responsibility or a thing. I refuse to become a piece of charity. What about you?

Ram ki Holi

Whenever we speak of Holi, the love sparks of Krishna and Radha and of course the celebrations at Vrindavan immediately come to our mind. Holi celebration in Kullu is a bit different from other parts of India and that led me to asking my grandparents about the reason behind this difference. 'Ram ki Holi' is what I got as an answer to this. Lord Ram is the most important part of the spiritual lives of the people in Kullu. No festival is complete without his presence and even Holi is celebrated in Ayodhaya-style. The festival of colours is celebrated a day before it is rejoiced by the rest of the country. The day starts with neighbourhoods gathering to play Holi together. The traditional songs sung by the people showcase their emotional bond with their centuries old culture. Singing, dancing and enjoying local delicacies like stuffed Bhaturas and Siddus continues throughout the day. Evening sets in and people clean up well to attend  'Fag' at the palace of the King of Kullu. At most places in India, 'Holika dehen' is done on the night before Holi while in Kullu, this activity takes place after the day-long celebrations. At the palace, there are two piles of wood. One is dedicated to Lord Ram while the other belongs to God Narsingh who is considered the most powerful of all and is highly revered as 'Bda Devta' in the region. After a little puja at the temple of Lord Ram, his idol is carried by the priests in a 'palki' towards the pile of wood. The King of Kullu lights the same and Lord Ram, then, revolves around the fire. At the top of the burning heap there is a red cloth tied to one of the sticks with a few coins in it. The 'Mahants', a special clan in the town, have a battle among themselves to take that cloth out of fire along with the coins. After this is done, Lord Ram goes back to the temple and with that God Narsingh arrives at the palace ground. The same activity is performed around the other pile and this is how 'Fag' comes to an end. People take one burning stick from each of the two heaps to light the same in their kitchen. It is said that this would bring good luck to the household. The tradition and heritage of small towns like Kullu come alive at events like this. The magnificence with which this festival is celebrated in India is quite projective but exploring its intricacies in the remote areas instils great pride for our culture as well as for the people who have preserved it with their beliefs and devotion.

The World from above

I reached Bir and boarded a bus to the institute which conducts paragliding activities there. I kept all my luggage there and from thereon it was just me and my camera in a taxi that would drop us at Billing, the take-off site for paragliders. The road was a bit bumpy and could not accommodate a bus with its narrow width. The spontaneity with which I left to experience my first glide was the only reason that I was more excited than scared to take up this adventure. If I would have thought about it for a long time then I would probably had gone back home from Mandi itself. Well, the glider who was to drive me in the sky with the parachute, Mr. Vasudev, had told me that I was supposed to run downhill so as to get the required lift for the flight. With my weight, this became even easier and the parachute lifted me up from where I stood. The World from above is an extraordinary experience. The mesmerising view of Bir valley, Bir forests and ofcourse the white Dhauladhar Range was more than satisfying to my eyes. There were moments when the wind would just zoom in and spark out the fear of being way above land in me but I couldn't have missed this one. Away from the world, away from whatever instills greed, away from all worries; there I was, gliding in the ocean of air and freedom. Landing was as smooth as the take off and as soon as I reached down, I wanted to do it again. I can't thank Vasudev bhaiya enough for keeping me safe and showing me the best of Himachal from the most exotic location in the world.

Generosity on the way

So at Kullu bus stand I met Mr. Katoch who was sitting inside the booking office. He has given 26 years to driving buses and has 15 more until his retirement. He told me he was driving the first bus to Palampur and would drop me at Bir road and would even help me in boarding another bus to Bir. His generosity had me conversing with him on the way. He was quite excited for being clicked by my camera. And ofcourse, the poor rooster who is being held in the second photograph. On the highway towards Mandi near Pandoh, there were around three roosters who had somehow landed up on the road. Two of them were taken away by some locals while Mr. Katoch couldn't resist having the third for himself. A rooster that big would cost around 500 rupees in the market. Katoch uncle had seen me clicking pictures of the bird and sat beside me at Mandi bus stand. He then said, "Main nhi khata hun non-veg, ye to bechara aise bhi kisi billi ka shikar ban jata. Isse achha hai kisika fayda ho jaye. De dunga kisiko." Well I don't know whether he kept the rooster, sold it out or gifted it to someone. But Mr. Katoch is just a kind man who even asked a few other bus drivers about my bus to Bir. People like him make travelling experiences pleasing as well as entertaining.

Pre-worldcup Glide

Mapping Bir

Everyone is aware of the Cricket Worldcup 2015. Well, that's a popular sport, especially in India, and is bound to grab attention. But does anyone know where the paragliding worldcup is to take place this year? That little marked place on the map is 'Bir'. A beautiful valley of Kangra, Bir is the place where the Paragliding Worldcup 2015 is to take place probably in the month of October. I was told that this sport will be open only for the competing gliders in October and I couldn't wait for another year to pass before I could actually fly above the mountains. So, here I was in Kullu with a map and a weather forecast which stated that we were going to have a cloudy day on 28th February and heavy rains throughout the week that followed. With a huge risk of coming back without experiencing the glide, I packed my bags to leave around 06.20am when the 1st bus of the day to Bir Road left from Kullu bus stand.