Malana’s hash village to weed out tourists
SHIMLA: Malana village in Himachal Pradesh, famous for its premium quality hashish, has just become off limits for tourists after its presiding deity Jamlu ‘ordered’ the closure of all guest houses and restaurants ‘to protect’ local culture and traditions.
The deity’s diktat came on the heels of a meeting of the village’s own ’parliament’ which concluded that outsiders thronging their village were a threat to their culture. The ‘parliament’ comprises an upper house called Jayeshthang and a lower house called Kanishthang. Villagers invoked Jamlu after the ‘parliament’ met.
Villagers in Malana invoke Jamlu through a chosen medium – in this case an oracle, who then conveys to them what the deity ‘said.’ Devotes believe Jamlu responds to all kinds of queries.
“The deity did not want any of the villagers to rent out their property for running guest houses and restaurants. He has forbidden everyone from doing this, and those violating his orders will have to bear the brunt of his curse,” Malana panchayat pradhan Bhagi Ram told HT on the phone.
Corroborating the development, district tourism officer in Kullu, Rajnish Gautam, said, “I learnt that the deity has forbidden the villagers from running guest houses.” The restaurants and guest houses have to be registered with state government’s tourism department’s office in Kullu.
There are nearly a dozen guest houses in the village with a population of 4700.
Inhabitants of Malana known as the Malanis have a distinctive dialect called Kanashi, which is different from the others spoken in the Kullu region. Malana is an isolated village in the Parvati Valley and its reclusive inhabitants are said to be descendants of soldiers of Alexander’s army.
A few months back, the village had banned photography because villagers felt that visitors clicking pictures were portraying Malana as a hub of narco-tourism.
“It’s unfortunate that cannabis trade has defamed our village. People of this village have their own culture and beliefs,” said Mahila Mandal pradhan Ram Kali.