Malana: The Athens of Himalaya and Also The Oldest Democracy of The World Still Exist.
India, where history is flowing through time
India is one of the few countries in the world where ancient civilizations flourished. There are still many regions in this country that are completely unconnected to our present civilization. There they live their daily lives according to their own rules. This does not mean that they are not like us. There, you would be surprised to know that the most ancient democracy in the world exists.
Malana, a part of the history of India
Do you really want to know about that, please stay with me. I will take you to the world oldest democracy “Malana” the untouched village of Himalaya.
Where Exactly Is Malana?
Malana is small village located at a height of 2652 meter (8710 ft) altitude at Himalaya mountain range State wise it is situated in Himachal Pradesh at the north east part of Kullu valley. You can get very closer look of two peaks of Himalaya Chanderkhani and Deo Tibba. A small mountain river named same as Malana flows besides of this village. The population of Malana is approximately 4700 as per records available of 2017.
Some special features you should remember when you visit of Malana Village.
Be careful, don’t touch anything at Malana. You will be penalized for touching by money from Rs 1000/- to Rs 3000/- You are sure curious what is the cause behind this? The specialty of Malana is within this particular reason.
They believe that they are the descendants of Greek Soldiers who comes with Alexander the great. After return of Alexander some of his soldiers decided to stay in India permanently and they chose the Malana for that purpose. So Malana villagers are actually real Aryan.
True Aryan
With this believe they never allow touching their anything to outsiders.If you touched any of them by mistakes he/she have to bath as quickly before touching anything.
Their Worship
The world oldest democracy is still continuing in this village. They are located in India but they follow their own rules. They keep faith on the words of an ancient Indian saint. They worship him as “Jamlu Rishi”.
As per Indian old “Puran” he is father of Rishi Parashuram, Rishi Jamdogni. He was lived at this village and made own rules for the villagers. This rules still follows strictly by the villagers.
There is a scared temple of “Jamlu Rishi” and only one priest who can enter into that temple. The priest also selected through villagers after a schedule time. There is no permanent priest. This is the democracy of Malana village.
The Parliament of Malala, Oldest Parliament of the world
There are two stages of parliament in this village. The upper house of this parliament is called as “Jestang” and lower house is called as “Konistang”
The front area of that temple use as parliament
Total eleven numbers of representatives are chosen by the villagers for both the house. Eleven numbers to decide the majority clearly.
They are chosen in every three years by the villagers. Malana villagers fully the rules and guidance provided the parliaments. Villagers believes that the parliamentarian are the representative of sri “Jamlu Rishi”
The Buildings Structure of Malana
The houses of Malana village are building by “Kath Kuni” style. In this system of building houses they lay stone in the roof and building are two or three stories The ground floor mainly used for cowshed. The middle and first floor is called “Gaying” and used mainly for store purpose. The top floor is called as “Pati”. It is used living area with kitchen. This floor is consisting of balconies.
The festivals of Malana
A famous game of this Malana village is “Panji” pr Dice. A special mask dance festival “Harlala” arrange in every February. It is said that once Mughal Emparare Akbar was came at this village during this mask festival time for his treatment. He was recovered from his illness here and he also announced that this Malana village is now free from any types of taxes.
The language are speaks by the villagers is speak “Kanashi”, which seems to be a mixture of Sanskrit and several Tibetan dialects. But no other languages are similar to these languages.
Special about this language is the outsiders are not allowed to learn this language. So this language is solely for the Malana villagers only.
The world famous Malana Cream
Another special thing comes from this village and that you will found across the world .is “The Malana Cream”. It is top level hashish found across the world. The production that special thing is done here.
How Can you Reach Malana?
You can reach Malana through Kasol. Kasol is the nearest town of Malana. It is located at an approximate distance of 35 km from Kullu-Manali Airport. From Kasol you can book a cab and directly reach Malana.
Reminder, there is no hotel or lodge at Malana Village. You have to stay outside of the Malana village in tents.
Though Malana has favorable climate throughout the year, the best time to visit the village is from October until the end of June.
