“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language”. – Walt Disney
Happy Pixels Photography Club of Department of Communication, SLA, Uttaranchal University organized a Photography and Film Making Expedition to Manali, Himachal Pradesh from 12th to 16th February, 2020. A serene town located amidst the ‘aanchal’ of the Himalayas Manali has everything it takes to describe ‘someone’ beautiful. The main idea of this trip was to make the students experience a Nature Photo Walk, Trekking, Exploring the sights of Himachal, Landscape and Travel Photography and understanding the life of Himalayan region. The Faculty Members of DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION, SLA, namely, Ms. Smriti Uniyal and Mr. Pawan Dabral accompanied the students.
On the very first day the students visited Solang Valley, a tranquil place located amidst snow capped mountains with apple orchards and traditional houses made with mud and wood. Sloshing river adds more to the feeling of solace. Students enjoyed the beauty of snow-capped mountains. Solang Valley is famous for the beautiful snowy mountains which our students captured exquisitely in their cameras. The topic for the Photography Assignment covered during the visit was “Landscape Photography”. Finally the evening embarked us to the beautiful temple in Manali i.e. “Hidimba Devi Temple”. It is an ancient cave temple dedicated to Hidimbi Devi, wife of Bhima, a figure in the Indian epic Mahabharata which is having a beautiful story background. The temple is surrounded by a cedar forest called Dhungiri Van Vihar at the foot of Himalayas. The sanctuary is built over a huge rock jutting out of the ground which was worshiped as an image of the deity. Students captured some beautiful pictures of the Temple and were fascinated by the surrounding beauty.
On the second day the students were taken on a Photo Walk from “Vashishtha Temple “to “Jogni Waterfalls”. It was a 4 km Trek with various natural features in between. The climb to the waterfall took 2 hours which the students covered enthusiastically. The beauty of the “Jogni Waterfalls” thrilled and amazed the students. Finally it was the time for us to bid adieu to the wonderful place. The students gained a lot through this trip. They explored the culture of Himachal, interacted with the locals and learned about simple living. Manali gifted us new learning and some great experiences. We travel to let your souls free, finding the real peace. And the mission was accomplished successfully.
