Himalaya

manali-life

I am born in Himalya in 1980. My german travelling parents eventually settled in the south Alps in 1986. Because the landscape reminded them India.
I got back in India in 2002 looking for forgotten memories. Nothing was familiar to me, except the taste of milk and the smell. Even not the colors, which my eyes were surprised never having experienced. A country of contrasts, the worst nightmare next to the most beautiful marvel.
This journey impressed me a lot. I discovered unsuspected treasures. An architecture I was never taught, in Hampi, Ellora or Pushkar, as rich as our cathedrals, even if different.
The vernacular dwellings in the Himalaya got my attention. I discovered they were extremely well adapted to the area. The structure is built of wood, stone fills the void. This way they resist better earthquakes. Rooms are over the animal sheds. Beasts warm humans in the fresh nights. One can have a sunbath outside without sunlight inside through linear balconies. One can dry laundry without risking a subit storm making it wet again.
India is a continent that did not unvealed all its mysteries.



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