The District Cultural Council, Kullu in association with the District Dussehra Committee will release three books during this year’s Dussehra festival. For the first time the beauty, culture, history, cuisine and lifestyle of entire Kullu will be showcased in a comprehensive manner. The books will have the best quality comparable with international publications.Deputy Commissioner & Chairman of District Cultural Council Rakesh Kanwer told that First book is a coffee table book titled “A Sacred Journey”. The journey starts at Sun Temple at Nirath in Satluj Valley, which according to some researchers was part of the Harrappan civilization that extended to Nirmand. This sacred journey ends at Rohtang Pass, the so called ground of the dead, after covering Nirmand, Ani, Banjar and Kullu areas.
This book will not only have breathtaking and captivating photographs but will also have interesting information. For example, Nirmand village was established by Parshuram himself who granted land to the Brahmins. The book also contains information about the earlier travelers like Penelope Chetwode, daughter of the Commander of the British Army in India who, in 1931, visited Ani and Kullu as a young girl. She loved these hills so much that she came here again and again after 1961. She was finally laid to rest in these hills only near Khanag in 1986. The book will have more than 250 colour photographs and brief description about places of tourist interest, both popular and lesser known destinations.Second book is based on the traditional and popular cuisine available in the district. Most people know that in the last decade Siddu, the steamed and stuffed local bread, has become a hot selling item. But there are many more delicacies that are waiting to be discovered by the tourists. These nutritious items will definitely be relished by the tourists if made available on commercial scale.
This book makes the readers aware about such dishes like askalu, babru, femda and geechey. The book also describes the restaurants and hotels where International food is served. Manali, Kasol, Tosh and other destinations in the district have several eateries which serve authentic Indian, Chinese, Tibetan, Israeli, Korean, Lebanese, Nepalese and German cuisine.Third book is an anthology of excerpts from the accounts left by foreign travelers who have visited Kullu over the last 1400 years. The book starts with the description of Ku-lu-to (Kullu) by Huen Tsang, the Chinese pilgrim of 7th century and ends will the book written by Cristina Noble, in the last decades of the 20th century. She liked Kullu so much that she married an Indian and made Kullu her home.Last year, Dussehra Committee had published a reference book on all the devi-devtas of Kullu and in 2013 a coffee table book on Kullu Dussehra was published. With these three books, a complete package of five books will be available for the readers interested to know about Kullu. Soft copy of all these books, in PDF format, will be made available on the website of Kullu Dussehra free of cost after their release.