Though mother Durga is propitiated in a different manner in this
area, there is a common element with the other provinces of Northern India. Dussehra or
Durga Puja is a national festival, for the rich and the poor and for all the communities.
There is no caste or social barrier among the devotees. To the people of this complex so
very rich in natural beauty Mother Durga comes in as the most popular deity very
naturally.
The Himalayas, the Dhauladhar and the
Shivalik ranges have given superb land scapes of which Kulu-Manali complex has a very
prominent place. There are religious and pilgrim centres, temples and holy water-sheets
that bring thousands of devotees from far and wide. There was aji acute need of
well-appointed places of rest and the problem has attracted the attention of the
Government and hotels, Rest Bungalows,Youth Hostels, Dharam- shalas, Sarais, Holiday
centres etc., are being set up.
It is said that about 2000 temples, big or
small, exist in Himachal Pradesh. The culture is the product of a harmonious development
and blending o the Siva, Shakti and Vaishnava cults and the temples in this complex are
typical of that harmonious Pahadi culture Kulu district is exquisite in the spring time
(March) when the apricot trees offer fairy sprays of leafless bouquets and cherry and
peach blossoms stand out like splashes of bright color across the mountainscape. |