Malana, Himachal Pradesh The Little Greece Tribal Paradise of India

Malana is an ancient Indian village in the state of Himachal Pradesh. This solitary village in the Malana Nala, a side valley of the Parvati Valley to the north-east of Kullu Valley, is isolated from the rest of the world. The majestic peaks of Chandrakhani and Deotibba shadow the village. It is situated on a remote plateau by the side of the torrential Malana river, at a height of 3,029 metres (9,938 ft) above sea level. Unaffected by modern civilisation, Malana has its own lifestyle and social structure. People are strict in following their customs. Malana has been the subject of various documentaries, including Malana: Globalization of a Himalayan Village, and Malana, A Lost Identity. The existing speakers of the autochthonous language Kanashi, the traditional language of the inhabitants of Malana, number approximately 1700. According to the 1961 census, the language speakers were then 563, but today the population of Malana is at least three times as large as 40 years ago

History

Malana has a history and it goes back to Jamlu rishi (sage) who inhabited this place and made rules and regulations. It is one of the oldest democracies of the world with a well organized parliamentary system. All of this is guided by the their devta (deity) Jamlu rishi.Although Jamlu is currently identified with a sage from the Puranas, this is a relatively recent development. Jamlu is believed to have been worshipped in pre-Aryan times. Penelope Chetwood recounts a tale about an orthodox Brahmin priest, who visited Malana, and tried to educate the locals about the pedigree of their god, and what subsequently befell the hapless priest.

Malana is considered to be one of the first democracies in the world.[citation needed] According to tradition, the residents of Malana are the descendant of Aryans[citation needed], and they acquired their independence during the Mughal reign when the Emperor Akbar walked to the village in order to cure an ailment that he was afflicted with[citation needed]; after having been successfully cured he put out an edict stating that all the inhabitants of the valley would never be required to pay tax. An alternative tradition suggests that Malana was founded by remnants of Alexander the Great's Army.

A dam project, the Malana Hydro Power Station, has brought Malana much closer to the rest of the world and provides revenue for the region. A new road has shortened the walking time from several days to just 4 hours. The Hydro Malana Project has also ruined the beauty of the valley.

Language

The residents of Malana speak Kanashi/Raksh (supposedly the dialect of devils residing there long ago), which is understood only by the villagers. "Kanashi, the language of Malana, does not resemble any of the dialects spoken in its neighbourhood but seems to be a mixture of Sanskrit and several Tibetan dialects.Ethnologue, citing a reference from 2002, classifies Malana as a Tibetan-Burmese language, rather than as a member of the Indo-European languages, and notes that Kanashi has "no intelligibility with any Tibeto-Burman languages of Lahul-Spiti and Kinnaur" and that Malana is surrounded by Indo-Aryan language speaking populations.

Malana is an ancient village situated at an altitude of 276 m to the north east of Kullu Valley. The majestic peaks of Chandrakhani and Deotibba shadow the village. It is situated on a remote plateau by the side of torrential Malana River. Unaffected by the modern civilization Malana has its own unique lifestyle and social structure. Malana Valley is popularly known as the Republic of Malana as the people are very strict in following their age old customs and traditions. The village consists of almost 1000 tribal people who belong to the land of Greece by relation with their Greek ancestors Hence Malana Valley is called as the Little Greece in Himachal Pradesh.

Tourism

The village has a spotless structure of self governance with lower and higher courts, a prime minister and a president of their own community. They have their own rules and regulations and the visitors are not allowed to touch any of the people or their belongings. Not following the rules and warnings would lead to the trials in their courts, fines, punishments and even imprisonments in closed room. These tribal settlements are itself a very unique kind of feature in the Malana Valley to observe. An array of flowering trees, fruit orchards and the green blanket of mother earth makes the whole distant image of the Malana Valley like a heaven on the earth. The beautiful valley of Malana is an ideal place for adventure trekking and is the favorite spot of adventure lovers.

The village has a spotless structure of self governance with lower and higher courts, a prime minister and a president of their own community. They have their own rules and regulations and the visitors are not allowed to touch any of the people or their belongings. Not following the rules and warnings would lead to the trials in their courts, fines, punishments and even imprisonments in closed room. These tribal settlements are itself a very unique kind of feature in the Malana Valley to observe. An array of flowering trees, fruit orchards and the green blanket of mother earth makes the whole distant image of the Malana Valley like a heaven on the earth. The beautiful valley of Malana is an ideal place for adventure trekking and is the favorite spot of adventure lovers.