Himachal
Parvati Valley
9 ways Cannabis Paradise Malana is Changing and How!
Malana is not like any other average Indian village. It’s unique in different ways. But a heady cocktail of easy money, drugs and development is fast changing this small Himalayan village.
Located deep in the Western Himalayan mountains of Parvati valley in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, Malana is famous for its distinct language, culture and way of life and equally infamous for its Malana Cream brand of charas.
But today’s Malana is no longer what it used to be. Malana is fast losing its uniqueness to the modern world. Here is how.
1. Outsiders are no longer unwelcome in Malana
Malana villagers used to take pride in being united against outsiders. Anyone coming from outside to Malana was not welcome in the village. Outsiders were eyed with suspicion and treated with contempt by Malanis. Some 75 years back, when Colin Rosser, a Welsh anthropologist had first reached Malana in 1950 for his research project, he was not allowed to stay in the village. Rosser had to pitch a tent at the boundary of the village and live in it for the next two years till his research was completed.
But Malana is different today. Outsiders are no longer unwelcome. Malanis have formed lucrative business partnerships with outsiders, who run their guesthouses in and around Malana especially in the nearby Magic valley. The new rule is simple: If you are bringing in cash to Malana, it doesn’t matter whether you are an insider or outsider. Few decades back, this would have been unthinkable.
2. Malana’s beautiful appearance has changed
The most striking example of how Malana is changing is the physical appearance of the village. Malana used to be a beautiful village with simple wood-and-stone houses built in the traditional Kath-Kuni architectural style of the mountains. But the old houses have been replaced by green and red-roofed concrete structures with satellite dishes atop. Some of the new buildings are multi-storied and an eyesore to the eyes.
3. Malana is no longer inaccessible
Located at the head of a glen, called Malana glen, and surrounded by high walls of sharp rising mountains, Malana for centuries existed hidden away from the outside world. To reach Malana, you had to walk all the way up the Malana glen from Jari village or use the second way from Naggar village via Chanderkhani mountain pass in the Kullu valley. It was difficult reaching here and which kept the outside influence at bay.
But then a road was built in the year 2000. This road, which takes you almost up to the village. changed everything. Today, you just need to walk for less than half an hour to reach Malana.
4. Malana’s justice system no longer that effective
Malana has its own system of governance, making it one of the “oldest democracies.” For centuries, all the village disputes were settled in the court of Jamlu deity. All the power and authority of Jamlu deity rests with an 11-member council of villagers. The council includes three permanent and eight elected members.
All the disputes are resolved at the temple of Jamlu deity by this 11-member council in the presence of the whole village. The council pronounces the guilty and imposes fine. Only in rarest of the rare cases, a guilty person is sentenced to be ostracised. No Malani ever approached the police or the courts outside of the village.
But this too has changed in recent years.
Malanis have started moving the local police and courts to solve their disputes. There are not only police cases against several Malanis for selling charas but a number of civil cases of disputes have also been fought in the court in Kullu. Many Malanis including a teacher have also been jailed for selling charas.
5. Faith in the Jamlu deity
Jamlu is the all-pervading, all-powerful deity of Malana. All the decisions concerning the village and its inhabitants are taken at the court of Jamlu deity. The faith of Malanis in their deity was unshakeable. But now it seems many Malanis are having a change of heart. There have been many instances in recent times when the council of Jamlu deity made rules and issued orders for all to follow but there were few takers. Malanis seem to be too happy to break these rules by paying hefty amounts of fine.
Like for example, the council of Jamlu deity in recent years has banned playing of DJs in marriages and consumption of alcohol within the village and fixed a heavy fine against violators. Most Malanis don’t obey these rules of the Jamlu deity and pay huge amounts of fine to the deity. Actually, there is a competition in the village to see who would pay a higher fine to the deity. All these acts of Malanis were unimaginable till even a few years back.
6. Malana and Marriages
For ages, Malanis followed a strict code of marriage. No one was allowed to marry outside of the village except for the nearby Rashol village. This age-old endogamy had also kept Malanis a socially isolated group. A genetic research study carried out by Panjab University, Chandigarh, had also concluded Malanis to be ‘genetic isolate’ in 2010.
But this marriage custom too is facing the winds of change. In recent years, a number of Malanis, especially women, have started marrying outside of Malana and Rashol and in places including Kullu, Chamba and as far off as Kolkata and Mumbai. One Malana woman is even married abroad and lives in the Netherlands.
7. Threat to Kanashi
Malanis speak Kanashi, a Sino-Tibetan language. It’s an endangered language spoken by just around 2200 inhabitants of Malana. Kanashi language is connected to the mysterious origin of Malana village, about which there are many theories but none of them widely accepted.
Anthropologists believe that the opening of Malana’s doors to the outside world poses a threat to this unique language as well. As outside modern influence is growing over the village, the future generations may lose Kanashi completely.
8. Malana and the outside world
In the old days, Malanis mostly kept to themselves. They still do but there has been a paradigm shift in their interactions with the outside world after the road to Malana was built.
Malanis used to walk all the way down to Jari village, just to buy salt. But today, they are sending their children to schools in towns including Kullu and Bhuntar. Most Malanis now also own vehicles and many run taxi business with hired drivers.
9. Health and Education in Malana
There was a time when Malanis would not send their kids to the school or visit the health centre in their village for treatment. But Malana, though slowly but surely, is changing when it comes to health and education. There are over 250 kids that go to the primary and senior secondary schools in Malana.
But Malanis still refuse to seek employment outside of their village. Their main source of livelihood continues to be Malana Cream, which they produce in abundance. Malanis also continue to staunch followers of their caste system and believe themselves to be untouchables.
