An Exciting Drive to Kuldevi Maa Mahisasurmardini Temple || Commissioned by Kangana Ranaut in Dhaboi, Mandi District, Himachal

Last month when we were home in Himachal, there wasn't much we could do in terms of exploring, or meeting people, or going places. VJ had heard of a temple that had been built by Kangana Ranaut near her native village. We happen to live very close to her village and this seemed like an interesting adventure to undertake. 

So the four of us - VJ, Indu (VJ's sister), Urvi (our niece), and myself - we got in our car, put on our masks, and started the drive. The drive from our home to Baldwara, from where the climb to Dhaboi starts, was very smooth with wide and well-paved road. Baldwara is a a market so there was some congestion there, but we go through this stretch (our home in Badahin to Baldwara) in 10 minutes.

It was after this that the drive became a little more mountain-like. After Baldwara there is a short stretch that is a narrow road and there are shops on both the sides and the road too is not so great. While going, we did not encounter much traffic but while coming back, it was a different story. But we will get to that in due time. 

Anyway, after this narrow and crowded stretch, things get even more challenging, because there is a climb and no guard rails on the side of the road and steep drop throughout the drive. Oh and the road too stays narrow. At some points, if another car approaches from the opposite direction, you need to back up quite a bit to let it pass. And to add to it, both VJ and I were driving in such hills for the first time in our new car. Seasoned drivers may not find this stretch much, but we did. 

However, apart from the thrill of the drive, there was another silver lining to the cloud - the amazing scenery throughout. Yes, you can see a great distance from here and the rivers flowing in Jahu and beyond, make this very scenic. 

While going from Baldwara to Dhaboi, the temple is on your left and it is built in red stone, very unlike the regular Himachali temples - so you would know that this is the temple that you were looking for. 

The temple is rather pretty actually and peaceful. There are idols of Maa Mahisasurmardini and other usual deities here and from the courtyard you can admire the scenery to your heart's content. 

The temple is built using red stone that has been brought from Rajasthan. Even the builders have come all the way from Rajasthan. When we were at the temple, there was some maintenance going on and as a result the we were also able to meet the man who is managing the construction. It is he who told us all this. 

Also, another interesting part is that from this temple you can also see the small green village house where Kangana Ranaut grew up. We met an old lady from the village who told us that the Ranaut family still visits the house and stays there occasionally, though the family has built another home in Bhambla and has moved there. Kangana has also built a large home in Manali. So yes the family has progressed financially.  

Now was the time to head back and the need to navigate the tricky road. As expected we met several cars on our way back and had to back up to let some of them pass. VJ managed it with panache. 

However, we got stuck when we reached the narrow stretch with shops on both the sides. At one point there was a small truck opposite us and even though we backed up, there was barely any space to squeeze through. And while we were backing up, a bike rider decided to overtake us from the wrong side. A major catastrophe was prevented here. 

The truck inched past us as we held our breath, fearing that dreaded sound of metal against metal. But thankfully, nothing happened and the truck driver managed to squeeze through without scratching our car. 

We were soon back home after that. The entire excursion had took us a little less than 2 hours. But it was definitely worth it and refreshing. It was a nice break from the confinement because of the pandemic.