A Journey to The Land of

Epics, Mana-The Last Indian

Village

In the silence of the teeth shivering winter morning, I listen to the ​Alaknanda River
travelling its way to ​Devprayag​ where it meets Bhagirathi and form our holy Ganga. Last
evening, soon after paying prayers at the renowned and to my surprise crowd-free
Badrinath Temple​, I left to visit Mana as my last destination of this trip in Uttarakhand.
Mana Village, famous as India’s Last Village, is three kilometres to the north of Badrinath.
Beyond is the Mana Pass and border to Tibet.

I remember, one fine day a close friend advised me to experience the beautiful morning in
Mana-The Last Indian Village. As promised, the view outside was breath-taking. Cowling
over the holy town of Badrinath, ​Neelkanth​, Bathing in the golden virgin rays of sun,
sparkling beautifully in the clear blue skies. The view was exhilarating and mesmerising.
Awe-struck by the glorious view, my body seemed to have been absorbed with new
energies even after the tiring trek to the beautiful, Valley of Flowers. Every day in Mana, in
the soothing arms of Himalayas, was pleasantly surprising.
The beautiful and slightly arising road curling around the Alaknanda. The unbelievably
strong and rugged mountains along with the murmuring Alaknanda keep a close watch on
the tourists –they are the only witness who saw the Pandavas walking this exact path on
their way to heaven. It was almost the end of the tourist season thus, it was not overly
crowded. Occasionally, an army truck used to cross by me.

The tiny wild flowers growing on the roadsides gave me company for quite a few days were
vibrantly colourful and always cheering to keep me going. I could see the stress-free lives of
the local women who happily carried firewood and fodder on their bent backs while, the
horses were grazing on the green mountain slopes. The mountains, who always maintained
a silence seemed to be observant and kept to watch every proceeding. The timeless
mountains can tell you that not everything has changed over the centuries. The life here has
always been beautiful and unhurried – the smiles never leaving the content faces.

Mana Village is just beyond your expectations and imagination. In the shadow of the holy
Badrinath, Mana has enough to hold on its own. In the village, mythology is taken into
reality. It is believed that Mana is the place where ​Mahabharata was read aloud by
Maharishi Vyas to Lord Ganesha​.​ It is like a fantasy that the place where the heroes of
the biggest Indian Mythological story were on the last leg of their journey to heaven is also
the birthplace of the epic Mahabharata. The direction signs lead me up the inclined concrete
pathways to the famous caves-​Ganesh Gufa​ and then to ​Vyas Gufa​ – the creator and
stenographer of the epic. Here, you better not miss to enjoy a cup of refreshing tea at the
popularly labelled as ‘India’s Last Tea Shop’.

After coming down back into the village square, as I enjoy a hot plate of local prepared
noodles, I notice a beautiful Brahma Kamal adorning the table. I had missed seeing this
flower in my trek to the Valley of Flowers which is also the state flower of Uttarakhand and
is widely offered in the temples. Seeing the flower seemed almost divine while heading
towards the end of this trip.

Mana held a lot of surprises. I headed to the point where water pours down from the
mountains above. This was once, the origin of the legendary Saraswati River which has
now vanished. Flowing with a lot of excitement, the waters bump into a rift to meet the
greenish waters of Alaknanda which is situated at a few metres in the distance. I was
enjoying this spectacular view and that is when I realise, the bridge on which I stand, is
actually a huge rock bridging the pass. It is believed that the rock was placed by Bheem
when Draupadi was unable to cross the river, thus creating a natural bridge.

In Mana, it seems we human beings straddle the time. The paths in our present take us to
the times when epics were born in this ancient land of ours. In Mana, I crossed over into the
world of epics.
Getting There:​ 540 KMs from Delhi and 3 KMs from Badrinath. The nearest railhead for
Mana is Haridwar which is 325 KMs away. From here, plenty of private and government
buses run towards Badrinath. It is recommended to break the journey at ​Rudraprayag
where you can participate in the evening Arti at the meeting point of Alaknanda and
Mandakini rivers. The Arti conducted by local devotees is a wonderful experience.

What Else to See:

1. Vasudhara Waterfalls​ about 5 kms from Mana make for a delightful trek among the
lofty peaks.
2. The trip to Badrinath & Mana should be combined with the ultimate trekking
destination to the World Heritage Site of ​Valley of Flowers
3. The Sikh shrine of ​Shri Hemkund Sahib
– ​The Indian Tourist