MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA JUNE 30 , 2012 01.00 A.M.
As I have written in my travel diary of Manali , I had a lot of free time in Manali . I made good use of it and visited all the important places in and around Manali .
People told me about Naggar and Manikaran and I decided to visit these places also . So on March 29 , 2012 , when I had no work , I decided to go to Naggar . I hired a cab and started for my journey early in the morning . Naggar is in between Kullu and Manali . It is 22 km. from Manali and 26 km. from Kullu . Naggar was the capital of kings of Kullu for about 1400 years .
Road to Naggar is surrounded by snow – capped mountains and the castle , known as Naggar Castle , is awesome . It is now known as Castle Hotel . This magnificent building of stone and wood was constructed during the reign of Raja Sidh Singh .
A little away from Naggar Castle , there is memorial of late Nicholas Roerich , the Russian painter . His villa is set in a beautiful garden and it houses many of his famous paintings . After Naggar Castle , I visited Roerich Art Gallery next .
For me Roerich Villa has an added attraction . Nicholas Roerich’s son Svetoslav Roerich , himself a famous painter , married Devika Rani . She , away from the hustle – bustle of Bombay Talkies and Bombay city , spent many years of her life here . I was eager to see her room , where she stayed whenever she visited Naggar . After death of her first husband Himanshu Rai , she left Bombay [ now Mumbai ] and lived either in Bangalore [ now Bengaluru ] or Naggar .
This main gate of the ground floor of Roerich Villa leads to the art gallery , where many precious and priceless paintings of Roerichs are displayed . I bought a coffee – table book about Devika Rani and surveyed the Villa for the last time and then proceeded for Manikaran . Situated in the Parvati Valley and on the banks of Parvatiriver , Manikaran is famous for its hot springs . You can easily cook food in the boiling hot water . These streams are very close to ice – cold Parvati River . It is one of the wonders of Kullu district .I finished my visit after visiting the Manikaran gurudwara and proceeded for Manali .
These are remote places . Even if I visit Manali again , I am not sure whether I would be visiting Manikaran again or not . On my return journey to Manali , I remembered Agyeya‘s famous lines and reached my hotel in the late evening .
पार्श्व गिरि का नम्र चीड़ों में , डगर चढ़ती उमंगों सी ;
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