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Published: August 18th 2008
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August 15, 2008 India Independence Day
Today is a National Holiday but I didn’t feel it anywhere around here. All the shops were open as usual in Old Manali where I am staying and I didn’t venture down to New Manali to see what was going on…I heard not much. I am in my 3rd accommodation here in Manali. The first night I stayed in a hotel nearby but it was far too costly $10 a night and it had a moldy, musty smell to it-almost like every place I looked at…or rather smelled at. The second night was another hotel, up the road, the Him View, for $5 a night, but it too had a really awful moldy/mildew smell and was really quite dirty upon closer examination (I made the mistake of taking a room without really checking it out well). I finally found a much better place upon a recommendation of a woman; itis up further on the hill in Old Manali-The Third Eye Guesthouse (Siva’s third eye of course) for $5 a night.
For the price, the room is great. Thank goodness the moldy/mildew problem is not evident here, but there is still a dampness to
everything in Manali at this time of year. There is no heat in buildings in Manali so when it is monsoon (as it is now), everything remains damp and never has a chance to dry out. The most important thing is the room is clean, and the shower is HOT! The bed is really hard though and it had taken me some time to get used to it. Good for the back I keep telling myself.
After my experience at the other two hotels, I went out and bought a bed sheet made like a sleeping bag in order to have my own hygienic sleeping space. I felt a whole lot better knowing it was clean and only being used by me. I already had brought with me my own pillow case from home. It has become very clear to me that standards of clean at hotels and guesthouses varies immensely. Depending on the willingness and ability for a proprietor to invest in appropriate cleaning supplies and laundry services, the condition of the room can be clean to totally gross. I have come to realize that small business owners have little or no extra monies in most cases to
upkeep or beautify their place of business. The sense I have is that the primarily family-run restaurants and hotels operate with little profit margins.
I am feeling good now that I have settled in the new guesthouse. It is always quite nerve racking to move about and be in a new situation. Arriving in a new town, especially at night without accommodations reserved is a bit trying. Wherever I go though, I make good connections with the surrounding local business people or the person running the hotel. It’s like a safety response for me to create some kind of “community” apart from the impermanence of my stay here. I do well at this. I am always talking to and making an effort to connect with many, many people and it pays itself off in so many immeasurable ways. I make it a priority to really get to the know the people I pass by numerous times a day. New Manali is the business centre here with shops, banks, a wide pedestrian only street for shoppers and tourists and of course the government run offices like post office and tourism office. Of course off the main mall, there are small
winding alleyways lined with various shops selling everything from electronics, to bed linens to fruits and vegetables. I love the family run small business feel. There is no franchise feel here except some advertisements of cellular companies. All the rest of these tiny businesses crammed into a closet size square footage sales area are run by a family. The sense of community is alive and everyone knows everyone. There is no depersonalized, sterile company feel here. It is wonderful.
The town is situated in the mountains that resemble the Pacific Northwest of B.C. The rain also resembles November in the Pacific Northwest but the air temperature is much warmer. The Beas River runs between new and old Manali and the rushing water, and lush green foliage give this city a freshness about it. In the middle of town, there is a relatively large nature reserve of big trees. Already I could feel cleaner air than in Leh or Delhi. The walk from new Manali to Old Manali is a largely uphill walk on a narrow street that is shared by the cows, donkeys, the odd monkey (truly!), dogs, rickshaws, cars, tractors, trucks and motorcycles. In old Manali the streets are lined with various businesses catering to tourists. Guesthouses, restaurants, souvenir places, internet places, and clothing shops, jewelry shops and services are the primary storefronts. Right now is off season and I can feel the slowness of business. Merchants sit rather frustrated at their long hours (like 10-12 hour days in their shop) and their low sales. The weather is quite miserable with the rain quite consistent all day long except for a few breaks here and there. The streets are pretty empty. It’s apple season and the orchards around are being picked. Along the streets, men carry large baskets on their backs of apples to an apple “pool” area to be boxed and shipped. Women and men carry huge mounds of green foliage on their backs…I am not sure what it is for but have figured it may be to feed some lifestock…chickens, or a cow maybe.
I have familiarized myself my immediate area and have my special places to go to eat, or chat with others. There is Dylan’s Roasted and Toasted Coffee House which serves good coffee. This is where the young hippie/alternative crowd communes to smoke tobacco and charas (hashish), drink , eat breakfast and chat. The owner Raj is great and friendly. The majority of tourists are Israeli again…as in Leh. I have had some interesting connections and conversations here. It is crowded though and it is outdoors in the damp. I have also made friends with a cute little boy named Sanjay. He must only be about 8 years old. He wears a grey Nike toque some tourist gave him, a sweater, jeans and sandals. He wears the same dirty, damp clothes every day. He wanders the streets with a wooden shoeshine kit but he never has a customer…westerners do not wear shineable shoes and this tiny survival business is quite antiquated nowadays. Sometimes he has a dog, one of the street dogs to keep him company, but other than that he is a loner. I smile and talk to him every day I see him even though we don’t understand each other… we have a connection. I sat across the street and watched him today for sometime as I drank my coffee and I felt a wave of tears come over me. He was so darling and innocent just standing in the rain looking for a customer. His life is not easy…I couldn’t imagine it. I feel so privileged and almost guilty of my fortunate existence. Why me? I wonder. Why did I get this lottery ticket and not Sanjay? He played with a small, red, sparkly, Hindu decoration he had in his pocket and kept smiling in his own little world. He then lifted his head and caught my eye and smiled a huge warm smile. I called him over and gave him 20 rupees. His face lit up. Shortly afterwards, I saw him with a snack bag of dried lentils…he bought.
In the last few days, the rain has had me just sit and absorb the people and get to know them rather than run around from tourist site to tourist site . I am grateful for the rain. I am starting to really feel India now and what it is about. Before now, I have been able to protect myself from “feeling” the lives of the people here, but today I am defenseless. I am being affected and this is what I need I think- a wake up call to shake me from some self-pity I have inflicted upon myself when I am at home. Watching the beautiful zen-like joyous street dogs that wag their tails and playfully go about their day even without Purina Dog Chow and of course Sanjay, whose mere existence reminds me to be grateful for every little thing I have, was the start of some new shift for me. And bigger than that, Sanjay reminded me to be happy…for Sanjay smiles no matter what.
Om Shanti,
Leila
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