Himachal Pradesh

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Annie Zaidi is the author of Love Stories # 1 to 14 and Known Turf: Bantering With Bandits And Other True Tales, the latter of which was shortlisted for the Crossword (non-fiction) book prize. She has also co-authored The Bad Boy’s Guide To The Good Indian Girl. She also writes poetry and plays in both English and Hindi, and Jaal and So Many Socks were performed in Mumbai in 2012. She wanted to write about Tattapani because she believes that himachal has a lot to offer, beyond snowy peaks and conifers and temples. Healing springs and beautiful rivers are also a defining facet of the state.

Healing waters of Tattapani

I’d reached Tattapani with horrid, red scratch marks across my back and shoulders. dousing myself with moisturising lotions and creams hadn’t helped after ten days on the road. My skin was raw from hot water showers followed by rough toweling and my own sharp nails.

driving into this tiny town in Himachal pradesh’s Mandi district, my giddy Himalayan joys had faded somewhat. There is no nippy mountain air to look forward to in Tattapani; no glistening peaks at eye level; not even the touristy sweetness of old stone buildings that are cool to the touch.

But Tattapani isn’t about cool air. it’s about hot water. A tiny town on the banks of the Sutlej river, it has but one attraction—that miracle of nature, hot sulphur springs. The sulphurous water is supposed to have medicinal properties, for it seems to help reduce pain and inflammation.

i’d done a bit of reading before, so i knew the water could be as hot as 69° C. When i went down to the banks of the river, which brings alternately hot and cold currents, i kept my socks on as i waded in. it was an odd mix of chill and heat. Standing around in hot water isn’t always a comfortable experience, but the river water is always moving, so you don’t get scalded.

The water certainly has some healing effect. The next morning, the red marks on my back were gone. Also, to my delight, a pair of silver earrings that had turned black over the years had a new, pale coppery shine!

i was staying at a hotel where the owner pipes up the hot spring water into private pools. The temperature is controlled here and i did soak in a tiny private pool for a while. But sulphur fumes accumulate in the closed interiors and they made me dizzy after a while.

At any rate, splashing about in the Satluj is infinitely better for both body and soul. Being in a pool is nowhere near as joyful as a river, where you feel the evening breeze on your wet skin, and the light of the setting sun soothing your weary eyes.

There’s a tradition of ‘shani’ (Saturn) worship in this area, and when i had visited Tattapani, the banks of the river were dotted with over a dozen scaffoldings, strung with lengths of black cloth, where prayers would have been offered to appease the Lord Saturn.

A must-see in the vicinity is the cave near Saror, a few kilometers from Tattapani, which houses a Shiva temple. it’s worth the brief trek. One main formation inside the cave is a large horizontal piece of rock balanced on another vertical one, along with dozens of smaller ling-like stones on the floor of the cave.

There are other caves too and peering into one, i had surprised a gazelle. That moment is one of my most precious memories—the frightened creature’s neon gaze fixed upon me, waiting for me to reveal myself in some way.

Quite near the main cave, you can once again see the Satluj, and you can rest here for a while. perhaps, wade into the cool water or perhaps, just sit in silence.

The drive back to Shimla is cool and there are a dozen shades of brown and green to soothe the eye. But some surprises always line the road—a splotch of rhododendron; wind flowers; butterfly bushes; and if you’re lucky, butterflies too.