Malana is an ancient Indian village in the state of Himachal Pradesh. This solitary village in the Malana Nala, a side valley of the Parvati Valleyto the north-east of Kullu Valley, is isolated from the rest of the world. The peaks of Chanderkhani and Deo Tibba shadow the village. It is situated on a remote plateau by the side of the torrential Malana river, at a height of 2,652 metres (8,701 ft) above sea level. Malana has its own lifestyle and social structure and people are strict in following their customs. Malana has been the subject of various documentaries, including Malana: Globalization of a Himalayan Village, and Malana, A Lost Identity. The existing speakers of the autochthonous language Kanashi, the traditional language of the inhabitants of Malana, number approximately 1700. According to the 1961 census, the language speakers were then 563, but today the population of Malana is at least three times as large as 40 years ago.Most common route towards the village is by taxi or bus from Jhari. One stop prior to Malana. Roads till Malana Village trekking gate are developed.

“Malana Cream, the best in the world. Even most of the coffee shops in Amsterdam sell you Malana cream. It’s just too clean and fresh and takes you to a different level.
10.Malana cream is Considered as gift of Parvati valley hidden in different layers.A gift of Parvati valley is  also considered as catalyst in integration with lord Shiva.”

“Achha agar aap bura na maano to ek baat poochhun?” (If it’s fine with you, can I ask you a question?)

“Jo ichha ho wo poochh.” (Ask whatever you wish.)

“Alexander raja sach mein aapka poorvaj hai kya?” (Was King Alexander actually your ancestor?)

“Mazaak kar raha hai kya, bhai! Ye kahaani abhi 10-15 saal pehle hi humaare gaaon ke ek school teacher ne failaayi hai jisse ki log yahi dekhne ke liye yahaan aayein aur humaara kaarobaar achha rahe!” (Are you kidding me! This story was seeded in as recently as 10-15 years ago by a school teacher in our village so that curious people swarm to this place, resulting in good business for us!)

The first time I had traveled to Malana was way back in 2011, and I was mesmerized. Apart from firang hippies lying just about anywhere, there was hardly any denizen Indian “traveler” frantically looking for “M-Cream” there. Well, yes, sadly but unsurprisingly, this is the primary thing a small “village” in Himachal – Malana – is massively popular for. And, if you read the excerpt of a far longer conversation I shared above, you would not refrain from believing that Malana is a place essentially popularized by fabricated stories and, of course, social media. Yes, the fact that EVERYONE that goes to this village comes out “enlightened” and with a personal version of this place by putting it up on social media is what makes Malana worse and not-so-secret-anymore.

And Malana may well be just another place in Himachal Pradesh, but of course the hippies would beg to differ in their pseudo-sullen states.

Let me go back to the inebriated conversation I had with Shashi (name changed), a lodge owner-cum-peddler living in Malana, in the spring of 2015. He has stayed there all his life and I have known the guy since 2011 for obvious reasons. Although the dialogue was totally in Hindi, but I’d write the same down in English for the convenience of most.

“You take Kanashi – our so called official language. It is innately weak in nature. The grammar is incomplete, we can hardly distinguish between singular and plural, sometimes even between sexes while using particular verbs. Pronouns form our staple lexicon, hence most of the times we even forget which nouns to use where. To be very honest, we don’t even have Kanashi words present for many tangible things. I ask you three things:1. If it’s an Indo-Tibetan language as is claimed, why don’t we barge in either of the languages for proper vocabulary?2. Secondly, if it was actually started first by Alexander’s invasion, why have we bloody not developed a proper language in more than 2300 years?!3. Finally, how on earth do we borrow from a Tibetan language if Alexander was a Persian?!”

The guy was making sense alright, but since I was no expert in anthropology of the Malana natives, I kept quiet. Moreover, I had always doubted the authenticity of the residents’ claims.

“You mean all the claims made by the people here are fake?”

 Malana Cream’s high oil content makes it among the most expensive hashish on Amsterdam cannabis menus, and in Delhi, dealers claim their goods are from Malana so they can quote high prices. A tola, or 11.66 grams, retails for

Malana is an ancient Indian village in the state of Himachal Pradesh. This solitary village in the Malana Nala, a side valley of the Parvati Valleyto the north-east of Kullu Valley, is isolated from the rest of the world. The peaks of Chanderkhani and Deo Tibba shadow the village. It is situated on a remote plateau by the side of the torrential Malana river, at a height of 2,652 metres (8,701 ft) above sea level. Malana has its own lifestyle and social structure and people are strict in following their customs. Malana has been the subject of various documentaries, including Malana: Globalization of a Himalayan Village, and Malana, A Lost Identity. The existing speakers of the autochthonous language Kanashi, the traditional language of the inhabitants of Malana, number approximately 1700. According to the 1961 census, the language speakers were then 563, but today the population of Malana is at least three times as large as 40 years ago.Most common route towards the village is by taxi or bus from Jhari. One stop prior to Malana. Roads till Malana Village trekking gate are developed.

\”Malana Cream, the best in the world. Even most of the coffee shops in Amsterdam sell you Malana cream. It’s just too clean and fresh and takes you to a different level.
10.Malana cream is Considered as gift of Parvati valley hidden in different layers.A gift of Parvati valley is  also considered as catalyst in integration with lord Shiva.\”

“Achha agar aap bura na maano to ek baat poochhun?” (If it’s fine with you, can I ask you a question?)

“Jo ichha ho wo poochh.” (Ask whatever you wish.)

“Alexander raja sach mein aapka poorvaj hai kya?” (Was King Alexander actually your ancestor?)

“Mazaak kar raha hai kya, bhai! Ye kahaani abhi 10-15 saal pehle hi humaare gaaon ke ek school teacher ne failaayi hai jisse ki log yahi dekhne ke liye yahaan aayein aur humaara kaarobaar achha rahe!” (Are you kidding me! This story was seeded in as recently as 10-15 years ago by a school teacher in our village so that curious people swarm to this place, resulting in good business for us!)

The first time I had traveled to Malana was way back in 2011, and I was mesmerized. Apart from firang hippies lying just about anywhere, there was hardly any denizen Indian “traveler” frantically looking for “M-Cream” there. Well, yes, sadly but unsurprisingly, this is the primary thing a small “village” in Himachal – Malana – is massively popular for. And, if you read the excerpt of a far longer conversation I shared above, you would not refrain from believing that Malana is a place essentially popularized by fabricated stories and, of course, social media. Yes, the fact that EVERYONE that goes to this village comes out “enlightened” and with a personal version of this place by putting it up on social media is what makes Malana worse and not-so-secret-anymore.

And Malana may well be just another place in Himachal Pradesh, but of course the hippies would beg to differ in their pseudo-sullen states.

Let me go back to the inebriated conversation I had with Shashi (name changed), a lodge owner-cum-peddler living in Malana, in the spring of 2015. He has stayed there all his life and I have known the guy since 2011 for obvious reasons. Although the dialogue was totally in Hindi, but I’d write the same down in English for the convenience of most.

“You take Kanashi – our so called official language. It is innately weak in nature. The grammar is incomplete, we can hardly distinguish between singular and plural, sometimes even between sexes while using particular verbs. Pronouns form our staple lexicon, hence most of the times we even forget which nouns to use where. To be very honest, we don’t even have Kanashi words present for many tangible things. I ask you three things:1. If it’s an Indo-Tibetan language as is claimed, why don’t we barge in either of the languages for proper vocabulary?2. Secondly, if it was actually started first by Alexander’s invasion, why have we bloody not developed a proper language in more than 2300 years?!3. Finally, how on earth do we borrow from a Tibetan language if Alexander was a Persian?!”

The guy was making sense alright, but since I was no expert in anthropology of the Malana natives, I kept quiet. Moreover, I had always doubted the authenticity of the residents’ claims.

“You mean all the claims made by the people here are fake?”

 Malana Cream’s high oil content makes it among the most expensive hashish on Amsterdam cannabis menus, and in Delhi, dealers claim their goods are from Malana so they can quote high prices. A tola, or 11.66 grams, retails for