The valley of flowers

Image credit: Wikipedia

The village in the valley of flowers, in the western part of the Himalayas, has probably a history since the times of the Vedas. This is just a guess and not based on any archaeological finds or historical facts. The legend states that the village has a pristine and glorious past and about a millennium before – long after the Vedic period – was visited from a saintly figure from the South. Was the saintly figure Shankar from Kalady, located in the present day Kerala, God’s own country? 

There was an ancient Shiva temple in the village and the village folks including the young damsels would regularly visit the temple. The ghanta of the temple would create a vibrating sound from early morning till the final prayer time around 7 o’clock in the evening. This temple was the haunt of Shankar the elder and his consort Supriya. During summer vacations they would pass plenty of time together inside the temple premises and would be found talking in very animated style and manner. The village folks would not mind: who would mind two IITians from Delhi discussing theories and theorems? Shankar the elder had a good reputation and Supriya was considered a simple girl. Yes, this was more or less true – yes, only more or less true. In fact, the love was blossoming under the benevolent eyes of Lord Shiva. There was no Tandava here, but the Lasya was unfolding and taking shape very gradually. Yes, it was certainly Lasya, a cosmic form of dance, and is derived from a Sanskrit word. Lasya denotes manifestation of the charms of Shakti, the Mother Goddess of the Hindu. The Mother Goddess while performing Lasya invites and welcomes humans to enjoy the bliss and plentitude of life in all its richness and variety. Supriya was stepping into some form of Lasya and Udaya Shankar the elder used to feel absolutely enamoured of her charms. It was not seduction as such; it was a feel of a celestial form of love and attachment that has been the cause of creation and procreation.  Every summer and even during shorter holidays, the young couple would go on visiting some parts of the great Indian subcontinent but ultimately land in the village enveloped deep inside the valley of flowers.

© Haripanna Associates, Ranchi (Jharkhand, India)