My first trip to the mighty Himalayas was to Garhwal – Gangotri dham. It was way back in the 2003-ish years. We hadn’t seen a single image of the Himalayas except some calendar brochure shots, which I quickly disbelieved. So, when my mother insisted, and we went upwards from Haridwar to the Gangotri dham, the mountain vistas shocked us no end. We didn’t know the Himalayas were so awesome.

And that was before we reached Harshil. Harshil valley and beyond is the higher himalayas – a different level of awesomeness altogether. It was very cold. The thick sweaters, double socks which made the shoes tight, fresh tandoori rotis, beautiful river bubbling along with us all through the journey, magnificent rocky mountains and overall awesome vistas made an indelible impression on my mind.

I returned in 2006 as part of the Isha Dhyanayatra group where we covered Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath – 3 of the 4 dhams. And again a few days in Haridwar & Rishikesh.

The Garhwali region makes me think about great Shiva, Vishnu and Devi temples. Temples which are easily part of the religious fervor of the plains. The mainstream “Hindu” deities. (Hindu being used here as a religious term and not cultural).

The food is Tandoori rotis and palak paneer kind of affair. Properly “north Indian” as we get in the restaurants of Mumbai – just better, more pure and simple. Add in the mountain air and water, makes it a relishing affair.

So, after my first two trips to the Garhwal mountains, I headed to Himachal Pradesh & Sikkim. Sikkim is a clearly Buddhist culture and feel. So, that diversity, I understood (to some extent, though now I realise there are many layers of Buddhism also mingled here in Garhwal “mainstream” regions). However, Himachal was a surprise for me.

There were no major mainstream deity temples that is Shiva , Vishnu temples. For the first time I saw Shani Dev temples very commonly by the road side or in prominent places. The Devi temples also, they were a little different from the usual. They were the local devi deities and not the more common, widely worshipped Ambe mata or even Chamunda or Kali. Though, of course, one can see all devis in one devi and vice versa. But that would be our own subjective devotion. The stories and legends of these local devi’s of Himachal didn’t connect them to mainstream religion. They didn’t say she is a form of Parvati or Sati or some such.

The well know temples of Manali that are connected to mainstream religion are Ghatochkach and Hadimba temples. Of which, the Ghatochkach temple is a clear site for animal sacrifice. And the Hadimba temple too has skulls of dead animals placed around it…. Can’t say exactly mainstream.

The Himachal religion thus sets itself apart from mainstream “Hinduism”. I in my Mumbai-mind had pegged all this region as “North India” and in the same bucket but the differences made themselves felt over time.

Of course, we should note here that Himachal has indeed great tandoori roti dhabbas!

Mustard Oil

The Shani temples have mustard oil diyas in them. I don’t know if someone told me or I just felt so instinctively.

The mustard oil has a strong tangy taste to it.

A lot of cultures do use it in day to day cooking. Outsiders would find it difficult to adapt. I like the tangy taste of mustard oil in my food but it has to be used in just right quantity.

I have adapted to Sesame oil used at Isha Ashram very quickly. Groundnut, Rice Bran are all fine. Ghee is also good. But mustard oil, I always regard with a little caution.

In Himachal, as far as I know, locals use mustard oil in their day to day cooking. When I stayed in Jibhi for a month, I used it often but not always. I did have an alternate oil in my kitchen.

Shani temples get associated easily with mustard oil in my mind. Shani temples aren’t the usual temples. There are strict rules about women entry, they are usually dark, if not the entire temple then at least the Shani idols are black. Also, it is a planet.

Lately, because I have an akhand diya at home, I am thoughtful about the oils. I have experimented a lot of different oils in my lamp – Sesame, Groundnut, Rice Bran, Ghee, Cottonseed oil (released cottony strands, stuck to the lamp, had to wash it off!)…. Groundnut and Rice bran are now my usual variants (largely due to the cost).

But I never tried mustard oil… I just felt it is different. In cooking, as would be in diyas.

I have been asking around and mustard oil might be common in many religious activities of the plains too. The Nandi at Isha ashram is rubbed with mustard oil every fortnight. The akhand diyas at Uttarkashi Kashi Vishwanath temples use mustard and sesame oil mix.

Now, here in Uttarkashi on my Winter 2021 trip, after trying out Soya oil and then Coconut oil (which doesn’t work – it freezes, the lamp dies!!), I am now using Mustard Oil (with a bit of coconut oil mixed in it). These are three most common oils in the market.

And after all this long winded write-up, let me summarize it by saying,…..a lamp burning on mustard oil also feels good. 🙂

Uttarkashi 2021 – the similarities between Garhwali & Himachali Religion & Culture

This mustard oil commonality in Uttarkashi, shows me the bond between Himachali and Garhwali culture. I also found other bonds on this trip, probably because it was a solo trip. And I was free to “properly explore” without the prior itineraries and expectations that other tourists / travellers bring.

Firstly, the doli culture that is so common in the Himachali mountains. Very commonly, every now and then a deity is being taken to some other temple in a doli. It is a merry affair with music, some people, colourful doli coverings and so on. I have never seen so much doli fanfare in the religions of the plain.

But if you consider the travels of the Char dham deities, even the mainstream Vishnu of Badri and Shiva of Kedar, when they have to move from their winter abode to summer abode and back – it is a doli procession.

Kandar Devta, Uttarkashi, Shiva form

And here in Garhwal there are also many local deities. Kandar Devta of Uttarkashi is one of them. He has multiple temples around the area. Main one being a little higher up in a village called Sangrali. And now there is a newly made temple in Uttarkashi market. While talking to the priest here in Uttarkashi, he said it is a form of Shiva, which struck me as odd, because… it was so similar to the Himachali devi – devtas of the villages. Many of them have multiple temples – with one main temple – and the other smaller ones. And a doli ritual to carry these deities as required…

But never in Himachal I heard any of these devtas being associated with mainstream deities -Shiva, Vishnu etc.. but here in Garhwal, they are doing so.

And so, I have been wondering if this is the confluence of Vedic religion and the original tribal religious ambiance in India.

I don’t know much of it. But there is a story I heard – that earlier India had a more tribal religion. With local deities, spirituality, folklore and rituals. Kind of similar to the Red Indians or Incans. And then came the Vedic understanding and learning. And ……. the vedic folk were the conquesters and they tried to convert/take over the land and culture. But the tribal spirituality was so strong, that it got accepted into the Vedic fold. And this became the rare conquest where the religion & spirituality of the losing culture was not only accepted but it thrived after being adopted by the victors. Because this tribal spirituality is so powerful. The local deities are not to be messed with.

Interesting to note, that Uttarkashi & the Gangotri dham route is close to Himachal. In fact, there are many tribes which used to be a link between the two mountainous regions in the old years… so maybe that is why I can see these commonalities. It would be interesting to study this as I go more eastwards, to the Kedar & Badri shrines which are further placed from Himachal.

And the Buddhist influences are a different layer to peel altogether. With the Tibet influence in North… there are many Buddhist elements to explore here in this region which I had earlier thought to be the bastion of typical “mainstream Hinduism” whatever that is.