With Char Dham Yatra round the corner, people of Mana, the last Indian village on the Indo-Tibetan border, are busy in making preparations for the pilgrims who visit the State at this time each year.
And, the Char Dham Yatra pilgrims, who visit Uttarakhand between April and November every year, never fail to make it to this tiny, picturesque village.
The village and its people are closely connected with the rituals of the Badrinath shrine. When the Badrinath shrine is closed during winters, the people of Mana also move down to warmer climes. The closing ceremony at Badrinath is marked by the presentation of a woollen ‘choli’, woven by the girls of Mana village. The choli, presented by the Mana village girls, is placed on the one-meter-high finely sculpted black stone idol of lord Badrinath before the temple is closed. It is taken off on the day the temple reopens and its fibers are distributed among the devotees as ‘mahaprasadam’.
During these days, the people of the village are engaged in resettling after coming back from their winter abodes and also preparing for the yatra season that is closely linked to their economy. After Badrinath shrine reopens next month, activity in Mana will begin and carry on for the next six months as these villagers supply fruits and vegetables to hotels around the shrine.
At 10,248 ft above sea, the tribal Mana village holds great mythological relevance and traces of the Mahabharata can be seen scattered across this small village. Veda Vyas Guha, where Veda Vyasa resided and composed the Mahabharata and Ganesha Guha, where lord Ganesh wrote the Mahabharata as dictated by Veda Vyasa, are some of these.
Another interesting place is Bhim Pul, a huge rock formed as a bridge across river Saraswati. legend has it that when the Pandavas were crossing this river on their ‘swargarohana’, Draupadi was panic-stricken. Bhim then lifted a huge rock and placed it over the river to form a natural bridge, thereby making it easy for her to cross the river. Another attraction in Mana village is the Vasundhara Waterfall which falls from a height of 145m. Promoting rural tourism or ‘village tourism’ is one of the priorities of the Uttaranchal government and several steps are being taken to encourage people in the rural areas of the hill State to develop their villages as tourist attractions.
Most of the Bhotia inhabitants of the village move down to warmer places in Chamoli (November to March) in winters and begin to come back to Mana before the Badrinath shrine opens around Akshaya Tritya.
Mana, four kilometres away from Badrinath, is also the base point to start one’s journey to Vyas Gufa, Ganesh Gufa, Bhimpul and Vasundhara Falls.
In Mana, the houses are small with kitchen gardens in the backyard, where the locals grow their own vegetables like spinach, cauliflower and potato. Another attraction in Mana village is the Vasundhara Waterfall which falls from a height of 145m.
Jageshwar in Kumaon and Mana in Garhwal were earmarked for being developed as ‘Heritage Villages’ some years ago as both these villages have unique ancient traditions and culture. But not many plans have been implemented to preserve the unique traditions and way of life of these beautiful places. More attention is required to ensure that these traditions do not fade away.
The way of life followed in Mana is leisurely and healthy. It teaches the visitors how to relax even in the midst of a busy schedule. The scenic beauty and the clean air adds to the charm of the place.