We all believe in some sort of customs and traditions. While they duly reflect our life philosophy, sometimes they raise some concerts as well. A recent Instagram video shared by user Anubhav Gupta, who runs the Instagram page @areyaddu, has raised similar questions.
In the video, a person holding a camera can be seen asking a shopkeeper for a packet of chips, a bottle of juice, and some lemons. The shopkeeper puts all the stuff on the floor outside the shop and asks for Rs 50 for the stuff. The customer keeps the Rs 50 note on the floor which the shopkeeper picks up-there’s no physical contact between the two! The video depicts the bizarre belief of Malana village in Kasol, where visitors, tourists, and outsiders are not permitted to touch anything. The video has 726k views, 35k likes, and hundreds of comments. Take a look at the video:
The video caption reads, “Malana Village – Where one cannot touch them or their belongings without their permission. The people are friendly, but outsiders are told to keep their distance and not touch anything in the village. The shopkeepers will ask you to keep the money on the counter and place the goods on the counter, without any physical contact. In case of any contact, they will rush for a bath.”
As soon as people read the details of the post, a mixed set of responses flowed in. A user commented, “you need to explain people who they are.. dont confuse people by uploading such videos.. idhr bramin vs shudra chal jayega khamkha.”
Another user, confirming the tradition, wrote, “Actually being an Himachali, that’s their tradition actually but it’s ruining Malana. One can see huge garbage near Malana and locals don’t have that much contribution in cleaning the mess. Some NGOs were trying in the past, but don’t know the current situation.”
The oldest democracy
As per online reports, Malana is considered one of the oldest democracies in the world. As far as the history of the place is concerned, there are various schools of thought. As per one set of people, the village was under the rule of an evil spirit, and after the fight between devtas and danavs, the devtas won the battle, which resulted in the birth of a village called Malana.
Interestingly, here there is a different set of rules and regulations for tourists and outsiders. As per the strict rule, no stranger or outsider is allowed to touch the belongings of Malanese. As per a travel website, this rule is even written on their temples and you cannot even touch the walls of the temple. And, if you are found guilty, there is a heavy penalty of Rs 2,500 per person.
Well, what do you think of this tradition of this village? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
