Harmony Hall sits at the top of a hill in Thanadhar. It was built by US missionary-turned-Hindu-convert Samuel Stokes in 1912, based on local construction techniques and styles. Stokes is famous for spreading the plantation of apple orchards in the Thanadhar area, which is now one of the main apple growing regions in India. Continue reading
Kotgarh is a village (small town?) near Thanadhar, in the Narkanda area of the Satluj Valley. The small and quaint St Mary’s Church was built there in 1872, with a boxy wooden steeple. Continue reading
Behna is a village located on a high shelf a few dozen meters above the Satluj River, on the road from Rampur to Jalori Pass and the Kullu Valley beyond. Like the Durga Temple at Manan, this is a Satluj Valley Style wooden temple, with a compound gabled roof and multi-storied “pagoda roof” above the sanctum. Continue reading
Mananeshwar is the second temple in Manan village, after the Durga Temple discussed in the previous post. This Shiva temple is in the Tower Style in the categorization of Himachali wooden temples, similar to the temples at Summerkot and Sarahan. Continue reading
Manan is a village off of the Shimla-Narkanda highway, between Theog and Narkanda, which boasts two beautiful wooden temples in different styles. The Durga or Bhawani Temple, just above the road going through the village, is in the “Satluj Valley Style”, Continue reading
Aesthetically, this could be filed under the “so bad, its good” category. Continue reading
And now for something completely different. On a trip to Chail, Himachal Pradesh, I took a detour to Kali ka Tibba, about 7km away from Chail. Continue reading
Rooftop and clouds, Sarahan
Dog and door, Hatkoti, Himachal Pradesh
Dhaba, Sarahan Bushehr
Sarson ke Khet 