Man and Manali

A nice and small open air cafe. Some exotic music plays in the background. The lyrics are kind of hindi.A distinct sound of tabla along with guitar leads.One corner has an Israeli couple sitting. An oriental group and an english man sipping
his herbal tea.Sound of gushing water of the river. Adding to this mesmerising sound is a faint sound , the whisper of a mild blowing breeze.A bunch of tables under a little shelter , and few others in open.
A small lane passing by. Few shops. Colorful clothes displayed everywhere. Some local and ethnic handicraft shops.Cafes with Goa trance theme,German and Israeli food. A wonderful sight to look at.
.

The most amazing thing about this place is indeed the drastic change in culture and atmosphere. It is almost that the flowing water of the river Beas signifies a borderline. You cross a small bridge to enter a new place - Old Manali!
There is no rush of maddening crowds. There are no loud and flashy sights and sounds. Just an up going curvy lane. Aft re every few minutes an enfield
would pass you by with its shuddering uproar sound,ridden by a tourist.

There are wooden houses and cottages where natives live. Many of them offer their homes as paying guests to foreign tourists,as many of them choose to stay here for months altogether.There are so many things that attract them here. Beautiful mountains,enigmatic views. Its just like a special gift of mother nature
to humans. A place away from busy crowds and routines. Simple people and simple Living!

Coming back to the difference between places. The local tourist - the Manali , The mall road. The scene is no different from a typical Indian town.
Same food to eat ,stalls to shops - families with kids. The kids - crying ,running and creating chaos. Newly wed couples with arms in deadlocks.
Frustrated men waiting for the sun to set , so that they can booze again. Women shopping,bargaining and talking!

The road to old manali - the road has protected area with tall pine trees to its one side. The road represents gradual change - the fading of cultures or a mix up on both. Slowly, A walk of few minutes and here comes the might Beas - the river. And the bridge.
The dividing waters, and its sound!
A kind of quietness starts to settle in. As if someone had tuned the sound level on the jog dial. You can feel the change.

I sit in another cafe now. It gives a nice view of the river. There is a light music playing. But the sound of the watery is louder- more prominent.
My one ear faces in direction of the river,other to the speaker. A sound of nature , and a sound of music created by man.
I close my eyes, and let the both sounds fill my ears.
Yes, the sounds match! There is a resonance. Chords striking together!

For I have read and been told that nature is inspiration for every creative work. I had never realized or experienced it for music,for one.
But I do now. And it feels like - almost unexplainable!
Its like moments when brain has no role to play for you. Its your heart, the senses. There is no decision or judgement to be made -All is to be felt!
It is a satisfaction, a joy bubbling inside you - for you realize the venture of Nature and Man!
For You wonder how large, how amazing and how beautiful the nature is. It gives us everything, and yet there remains so many tings unexplored.

No words can explain or praise the nature; it is beyond our limits - Way Beyond...!

( This pic in display shows the Beas River and the Bridge in backdrop if you see..Mor pics from manali on Flickr)

39 comments:

Chronus Ess said...

Its like moments when brain has no role to play for you. Its your heart, the senses.

Beautiful!!!!

Welcome back dude!!!

Anshul Agrawal said...

Awesome description of the beauty of Manali... Seriuosly no words can fully describe the beauty of nature...

daman said...

as usual and awesome post ,havent been to manali but will surely love go there one day

mean while i tagged you so please visit my blogs for details ...:)

diyadear said...

the smell of nature seems to sohe ones soul!!

Incrediblyirrational said...

I know!!!! i felt exactly the same way when i stood by the lalbagh lake in banglore on a fine romantic breezy afternoon. and oh,it helps to have a cute guy beside ;)

Jeya Anand said...

So U come back...great...
ANd manali looks great thru ur eyes...wish i could be there:)...but its already cool over here...i will stay on:D...
And I wont be waiting for the sun to go down...if I m that frustrated;)

Zee said...

one of ur best written posts!!!

Amandeep Singh said...

@ Acid
Thanx man!!

@ Anshul
Yes man..no words can!

@daman
Saw that tag...

@Diya
yes!

@ Nithya
I din need cute gal
lol

@ Jeya
LoL..lets c when u get married

@ Zee
thanx Zee..gald u liked it!

Anonymous said...

nice work aman....made me recollect d wonderfull time spent at manali....gr8 attempt 2 desribe the inexplicable..nature...

Keshi said...

Great blog u've got. And ty for stopping by mine.


**No words can explain or praise the nature; it is beyond our limits - Way Beyond...!


I agree...200%.


Keshi.

Winged Fantasy said...

Manali is a beautiful place... wish I could go there soon... Your post makes me yearn to be there.:-)

And welcome back. :-)

N@nc! said...

I also havent been to manali, but you describe very well the things ;)

Anonymous said...

To quote John Ruskin, "Nature is painting for us day after day pictures of infinite beauty." You've done so well in describing the place.

Sara said...

It's poetic the way you describe Manali. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Phoenix said...

whoa!!amazing...how i wish i could visit manali some day...

Anonymous said...

the photo looks really beautiful and tranquil (: makes me want to be there now. haha.

The Unpaid Analyst said...

manali is a beautiful place have been there twice and still love that place! awesome description

Still Searching said...

Wow, this is such an amazing account of what you observed in Manali! The contrasts are so true for other hillstations too, and I really liked the way you brought it out! Def one of your nicest posts!

Ire said...

beautiful description! I am yearning to go there again! The pic reminds me of sahastra dhara...at Dehra doon.

Anonymous said...

wow! wow! wow! thats all i can say aboutur blog...
cldn't help
blogrolled ya..hope u wont mind

Unknown said...

you are weird... disappearing for days and then suddenly popping up.

Yea, manali is a beautiful place, especially old manali...
and in this rain..ooo..breathtaking..
truly a place where you can interact with nature again...

che sara sara said...

i have not seen manali...
now tat u added flame to fire
i wish i could see it ...

Anonymous said...

i knwww..manali's such a beautiful place n i'm rlly lookin forward to visit it someday.. d insight ur post has provided is amazing !!.. d idea of relaxin besides such gushing streams of water like d one d pic in ur post depicts is priceless..der is somethin so mysterious n soothing bout d sound of rushin water..nice post :)

Sh'shank said...

havent been to manali...
darn!!!
but your post is the last straw...
ill get on with it.
Thanks for thou visit...
You are on the fellowship from today onwards...
----
loved the last post...
ROFL!!!

confessing7girl said...

hiiiiiii thanks for visiting me!! ahh u r a good writer and i loved the photo!! gives u an idea of peace!! i read ur previous post i thought it was hilarious!!!!!! too bad there is still guys out there behaving like that and keeping ladies waiting ;)

Prasad Narulkar said...

wow mann...
Manali looks too good!
nature at its best!
[:)]

Caught in a purple haze said...

I`m sorry for such a delayed reply.

I`m glad that you like my page, you are doing good too.

Lovely post, btw. :)

Chronus Ess said...

you've been tagged!
http://seek-no-moksha.blogspot.com/2007/07/bliss-of-bein-sumit-sharma.html

Princess Banter said...

Nature never fails to amaze me... just like what you have said. That picture is how I've often imagine nirvana to be... Now I want to visit Manali :)

Anonymous said...

where u disappeared mate :(

Anonymous said...

haiya o paaji tussi online ho...aapke last post ke baad to hame bahut bhyankar iccha ye ek aur conversation ki ..m still in awe with that///the descriptive style u got..

Anonymous said...

thanx for so much of honour aman..:)n the inspiration obviously we take from our life..as what i see..hmm bout elucidating that wld mean i convey everything bout me..its very much eloquent in that :(...

Anonymous said...

yaar u r really taking me to heights...:)m on cloud nine now :) :)

Cyberkitty said...

Awesome pic, I'd like to visit Manali someday !

bornfortheu.s.a said...

Manali is a bful place...been there twice..feel like going again...i hope its still the same the last time i was there...

X said...

hey!
cool template!!!
And pretty cool blog too!
man,manali rocks,the way you write it!
cheerios!

loner said...

another nice one!!
added u in my links!!

Swatimala said...

Wow, i really want to visit Manali now....

Adroit said...

a very well crafted description abt manali...great stuff dude!!

luking fwd to lots more stuff :)