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Land of Perpetual Sunshine
Read more here: Land of Perpetual SunshineIn September 1962, Spiti burst upon the national scene with a tragic drama, involving over 2,000 people – men and women engaged in the vital task of connecting this remote area with the rest of the country, and now trapped by the fickle gods of rain and snow. Day by day, hour by hour, the…
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Concrete Valleys
Read more here: Concrete ValleysOutlook | September 3, 2007 Pre-1966, the Beas-Kangra valley was part of the Punjab. My early service was spent in that beautiful valley. In 1961-62, I was deputy commissioner, Lahaul-Spiti, across the Rohtang Pass. My family and I have continued to visit Lahaul since then. Last week, I went after a decade and a half…
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The Doctors From Pathankot
Read more here: The Doctors From PathankotThe Sunday Tribune, Chandigarh | November 9, 1980 In the course of my official duties I once had occasion to meet a deputation of unregistered medical practitioners of Punjab. These are men who carry on the trade in the countryside. They argued for the honour of being declared “Registered Medical Practitioners.” The medical men present…
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Kanwaljit Singh of Lahaul
Read more here: Kanwaljit Singh of LahaulThe Sunday Tribune, Chandigarh | October 26, 1980 Many years ago I was posted as Deputy Commissioner of Lahaul-Spiti. I fell in love with these inner Himalayan valleys and their fascinating people. Over the years, whenever opportunity occurred, I have tried to visit the area and spend some time in the remote Shangri-la. Last month…
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Himalayan ‘Ajanta’
Read more here: Himalayan ‘Ajanta’The Tribune | September 24, 1979 Kee, Tabo, and Dankhar are among the important Buddhist monasteries, locally known as Gompas, which have lifted the desolate valley of Spiti, situated on the Indo-Tibetan borders, to the artistic status of a “Himalayan Ajanta.” The Monastery of Kee on top of a hill, just ten kms from the…
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Living dangerously in Lahaul Spiti
Read more here: Living dangerously in Lahaul SpitiPublished on March 29, 1979 While M. S. Gill writes of the hazards of life in this Himachal area, struck by a disastrous avalanche recently, in the article below Mr SunderJal Bahuguna, leader of the Chipko movement in Uttarakhand, UP, warns of the mounting dangers to the eco-system of the Himalayan region. The heavy snowfall…
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Rising of the Dead
Read more here: Rising of the DeadFor The Tribune | September 10, 1972 HAIR RAISING STORIES FROM LAHAUL The following are extracts from MANOHAR SINGH GILL’S forthcoming book “Himalayan Wonderland – Travels in Lahaul-Spiti” (Vikas Publishing House). Another instalment from the book which gives a first-hand account of life in Lahaul-Spiti when the author was posted there as D.C. in 1962…
