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| "Krishna" by Nicholas Roerich, "kullu Series", 1929 |
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| Nicholas Roerich |
It was cold. Very cold at 8 PM. I crossed the center court yard of The Naggar Castle Hotel shrouded in the darkness of the night and climbed the staircase to the restaurant. Peter met me there. A tall guy in his perhaps late 40s. He had come to Naggar from Manali and I had come from Kullu in the morning. We liked each other instantly. Amusingly, I found him sipping his whiskey with hot water!
- Naggar to Rumsu (2377 meters) on day 1,
- then to heavenly Chandrakhani Pass (3660 meters) on day 2
- and then finally to MALANA(2650meters) on day 3.
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| View of Kullu Valley from Nagar Castle |
The Naggar Castle was converted into a rest house, a hundred year back and in 1978 this ancient building was handed over to Himachal Touist development Corporation (HPTDC) to run as a heritage hotel. This medieval Castle was built by Raja Sidh Singh of Kullu around 1460 A.D. The hotel overlooked the Kullu Valley and apart from the spectacular view and superb location this had a flavor of authentic western Himalayan architecture. It had an unique medieval stone and wood mansion.
Our room was facing North west and when I opened the door early next morning to admit the waiter immaculately dressed in a green jacket, a hall mark of HPTDC staff, my jaw dropped! What a scene it was, a perfect picture post! Asking the waiter to keep tea outside in the gallery, I just looked, stunned at what I saw. A great valley, distant river covered under morning mist and then rising mountains with their snow peaks! Wow!
We left early for The Roerich Art Gallery. It was a place which had attained a position of a pilgrimage for Artists.Nicholas Roerich was a Russian who settled down in the beautiful hills of the Himalayas after the revolution of 1917. He was a gifted painter, who dreamt of unifying the world through art.
Roerich Art Gallery was set amidst well-tended gardens and has the perfect setting for the display of art. The whole ambiance beautifully captured the essence and beauty of Himalayas, just like the subtle strokes of the brush by an expert. The building that housed the gallery once served as the residence of N. K. Roerich and was turned into the Nicholas Roerich Art Gallery by his son Svyetoslav Roerich. Himachal Pradesh Government and Russian Government have formed a trust, headed by the Prime Minister of India, to run this art gallery as the Roerich Heritage Museum.
The small room on the ground floor of the museum displays paintings by the artist. Adjoining was the garage where the Roerich's vintage car (1929) was parked. The paintings highlighted the mythological fiber of Himalayas from the eyes of a Russian, its deep and bright colors being characteristic of his origin country.There were also a few photos of Nicholas on display there, such as the one in which he was posing in his front Lawn with Late Jawahar Lal Nehru - in Chinese silk robes, Cossack boots and burly beard. The original work of Roerich on the Himalayas, along with his quotations and words of wisdom as well as those of the visitors and admirers of the gallery, had also been put on display there.
It had been a mesmerizing day at Naggar... and I knew; on my chest were embossed for ever, two words, "Nicholas Roerich" and "Naggar Castle". Updated post of May 18th 2009