The Joy of Himachal Temples

This book celebrates the Joy of Himachal's temples.

Himachal leaves pleasant memories; river valleys, snow-capped mountains, smiling children, maggi, smart women cops, HRTC buses and so on. But the temple experiences are etched in my memory. Each temple, with a varying mix of stone, wood and slate, has its own charm. Some of them are popular pilgrimages, some are grand, some are in spectacular locations and some have aged more than 1000 years. But all of them have something in common; visiting them has been a joy.

The joy of the journey; mostly by public transport, sometimes on a scooter, and on rare occasions by a car. The joy of the landscape, the rivers, the hills, the fields and the skies. The joy of running into children. The joy of a temple courtyard with warm sunshine on a cold winter day. The joy of architecture, unlike that of the rest of India. The joy of a festival and the crowds. The joy of cleanliness and peace. The joy of lived harmony when different faiths pray in the same place. The joy of feeling and seeing faith.

I try to capture my joy in this book.

I have covered almost fifty personal experiences, some in detail and some in brief. There is a bit of history, little bit of architecture, a bit of geography and a bit of logistics. I hope I have shared the experience and joy in their fullness.