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Travel Guide » Asia » Chamba
Explore: The World | India
Chamba, Himachal Pradesh
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(Himachal Pradesh)


Remains of the Day

Chamba today is more interesting in history books than in reality. Still, there are enough reasons you should visit. Chamba provides a sharp contrast to Dalhousie, the colonial resort of rich Lahorians and the British, because of its uninterrupted ancient heritage and customs. However, over the years the influx of plains people has changed both the topography and ethnographic profile of this ancient Rajput capital. Its famed temples, stripped of their intricate wood-carved edifices first by the British and then by the Archaeological Survey of India, are mere shadows of their former selves. The growing town has also extracted its pound of flesh, crowding the temples into a maze of bylanes.
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To See & Do
Chamba's chaugan or central park, is a good orientation point. Standing in its centre, facing the town, the Laxmi Narayan Temple complex and Akhand Chandi Palace are to the left, while Chamunda Temple falls to the right. Behind, to the left, are the Hariraya Temple (next to the audaciously pink Gandhi Gate built to commemorate Lord and Lady Curzon's 1900 visit), and the Ravi River. The marketplace surrounding the chaugan is full of interesting items such as stone and metal statues, miniature paintings and famed Chamba chappals.

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With a prayer on one?s lips
  The beauty of Chamba?s ancient shrines, its iconography and seeming agelessness is enough to make you feel like a pygmy. Standing tall, the gods stare at you squarely with a dancing Buddha-like smile playing on their lips. Most of the temples bear erotic panels on the outer walls. Of the lot, the Lakshmi Narayan Temple complex is the largest and, according to some, the oldest. Most of the temples are dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu. The Gauri Shankar Temple, facing the entrance to the complex, dates back to the 11th century. Iron grills and innumerable pieces of cloth camouflage the deity, making it impossible to decipher how the statue is actually carved. For cross-reference, visit the nearby Bhuri Singh Museum, featuring black-and-white photographs of the idols. North-east of Lakshmi Narayan is the Brajeshwari Devi Temple. Built in the shikhara-style like most Chamba temples, it is topped by golden pots and spirals said to have been added in defiance of Aurangzeb?s edict ordering temples to be demolished. Another interesting temple is Bansi Gopal Temple (also referred to as Radha Krishan), where you can view a number of stone panels rescued from temples that have ceased to exist, or from various excavations conducted in and around Chamba. Next to the colonial fire station is the 11th century Hariraya Temple, dedicated to Vishnu. The temple?s idol was stolen in the 1970s, then miraculously recovered from the Bombay Docks. The episode was even featured in a Bollywood flick. A steep, 1-km trek from the bus stand (by road or stairway) is Chamunda Devi Temple, from where you can view all of Chamba town. The wooden temple with intricately carved pillars, roof and beams was built by Raja Sahil Varman, the town?s founder. If you look closely you can spot male and female deities, rishi gandharvas, demons and flying figures of birds and animals carved on its structure. Sadly, though it?s a protected monument, the temple appears to be rotting.

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Of kings and cabbages
  Strangely, despite the relative isolation of Chamba and the uninterrupted rule of its kings till the 19th century, the palace of the rulers is anything but impressive. The much-touted red-coloured Rang Mahal houses the local employment exchange and the Himachal Tourism Handicrafts Centre. The palace apparently once bore wall paintings, which were removed to the National Museum in Delhi. Akhand Chandi Palace (also referred to as Raaj Mahal) near the Lakshmi Narayan complex doubles up as the Indira Gandhi National Open University. One of the rooms accessible to the public is embellished with painted wallpaper and a gold-leafed ceiling. Used as a classroom, the walls have been defaced by students proclaiming undying love for their classmates. Elsewhere in the palace is said to be a room, kept under lock and key by the Raja of Chamba, that houses the private painting collection of the rulers. The Bhuri Singh Museum is housed in an uninspiring colonial structure. Spread over two floors and four rooms, it has a collection of miniatures unique to the region, stone slabs, murals, a silver elephant throne, Chamba rumaals, weapons, a coin collection and documents pertaining to the rule of the kings. Timings 11 am-5 pm (though they claim it opens at 9 am), Sundays closed

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A touch of England
  Chamba received its first European visitor in 1839, but it was only after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the Sikh Wars of 1884 that the British annexed it. Remnants of their rule include a Post Office, opened in 1863, a Residency (now Circuit House) built for the British Superintendent in 1865, a hospital (1891), a courthouse and the morose-looking Church of Scotland (both built in the 1890s). By 1910, Chamba became one of the first Indian towns to receive electricity. Quaint electricity poles dating to this period can still be spotted near the post office and fire station (1940).
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Content Source: 
Outlook Traveller
Contributed by: 
Charu Soni
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