Hewn — an eco-friendly village with a nature loving deity

Under a rural-tourism project being promoted by the Himachal Pradesh tourism department — Har Gaon Ki Kahani — the residents of Hewn village want the village to be a ‘must-visit’ site in the Shimla tourist circuit. The project was recently inaugurated by Union Minister of Tourism Kumari Sejla.

Noted artist Him Chatterjee,who recently shifted to the village to set up his art gallery,says: “The local legend attached to the open-air Gan Devta temple is that in order to keep a watch on the environment and on the people,the deity prefers not to have walls or a roof or any traditional flag on top. He is a lover of nature and likes to live amid natural surroundings unhindered by heavy construction.”

The famous tourist spot of Chadwick falls is also being linked by the village with its own interesting story. “According to a local tale,the waterfall was the abode of a demon that used to bother the villagers for chaach and sattu (local food). An interesting visual ploy at the falls is interpreted as the ‘demon’s face’ by the locals that can be observed in the natural arrangement of the rocks from which the water falls down,” says Chatterjee,who has written the story for the Har Gaon ki Kahani collection.

The waterfall is,however,in a state of neglect these days,as debris from a big road construction project site has damaged the only walking path that links visitors to the spot. The Jagriti Yuva Manch,an 18-year-old registered society,takes care of the conservation and promotion of environment in the vicinity.