Kibber Village is situated in Spiti , around 16kms above Kaza . The houses here are made of stone , unlike in other villages of the region , where they are made of mud . I noticed that mostly all the houses in Spiti are white , with red and black borders at the top . A local told me that the black absorbs the ' burinazar ' and keeps it from entering the house , the red keeps the ' bad vibes ' away and the white is for ' abundance of peace '. Most houses have exquisitely decorated rectangular windows for some fabulous views of the valley . Its also a typical summer weekday in the local school of Kibber , Spiti . It was history period and the girl was reading about the Treaty of Sanjauli . After the lesson , everyone stood up to do PT , followed by the national anthem .
The bridge shook and swayed , the wooden planks creaked , the prayer flags flapped in the wind and the river below rumbled . I would be lying if I said I wasn ' t scared . I held on tight to the wire railing with my cold numb hands , making my way slowly towards the end of it . I didn ' t look to the left or the right but walked straight ahead . I was thrilled and relieved when I got to the other side , realising that it was exactly how it was on the other side . It was breathtaking , yes , but not much different . That ' s when it hit me . I walked on to the bridge again , this time with a little more confidence and stood right in the middle . The bridge still shook and swayed and the river still rumbled right below me . But I saw what I couldn ' t , from either side . The river that seemed to flow beyond what the eye could see , the snowcapped mountains peaking through the clouds and a blast of fresh mountain air hitting my face , and whispering " We ' ll get there ! Until then just enjoy the views ".
Village Demul , situated across mountains is the remotest and perhaps the windiest village in Spiti . It is also the most unique . When winter comes , and the people here , are unable to work on farms because of the heavy snow fall , they take to producing handicrafts such as ' Lingze ', ( a mini shawl of sorts work during festivities ), sheep wool shawls , yak fur ropes , carpets etc . This not only provides them some sort of income during the winters but also keeps them busy . Mr . Takpa who works for Ecosphere , an NGO in Spiti that focuses on various projects in the valley ( skill development being one of them ) says , " Earlier people in Demur were into gambling during winters which caused loss to a lot of people . We initiated the process of training women in making these handicrafts and now they are able to sustain themselves better . "
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