Latest news with #AnuMalhotra
India Today
21-06-2025
- India Today
Anu Malhotra's 'Shamans of the Himalayas'
Anu Malhotra's Shamans of the Himalayas is a captivating blend of cultural inquiry and personal pilgrimage. Set in the enchanted valley of Kullu-Manali, this book, born out of her eponymous documentary series filmed from 2008 to 2010, is a compelling documentation of a living shamanic tradition that defies easy categorisation. At once an anthropological study and a spiritual travelogue, Malhotra transports readers into a world where gods speak through human mediums, nature is alive with divinity, and healing is both ritual and revelation.
Chicago Tribune
11-06-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville News Digest: Free yoga event being held Saturday at The Matrix Club; DuPage breaks ground on new natural resources campus
A free yoga session with certified teacher Anu Malhotra will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 14, at the Matrix Club, 808 Route 59, Naperville. The event, organized by Mindful Mediation Yoga and held in collaboration with the Consulate General of India, celebrates the International Day of Yoga. It is designed for anyone 9 and older and for all ability levels, organizers said. Participants should bring a yoga mat and come in comfortable clothes that allow for free movement. Chair options are available for participants who cannot sit on the floor, organizers said. Complementary refreshments will be served after the event. Register at The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County has broken ground on its new Grounds and Natural Resources Campus at the Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville. The 112,900-square-foot facility will be a main hub for crews that maintain nearly 26,000 acres of preserves in the county and will replace aging and scattered maintenance buildings, officials said. Its eco-friendly features including a solar array for renewable energy, rainwater harvesting systems to conserve water, and native bioswales and basins that support stormwater management and habitat restoration, a district news release said. The campus also includes a native plant nursery support building and greenhouse, which increases its ability to collect and distribute native seeds. The $36.4 million project is expected to be mostly completed by February 2027 with final completion set for December 2027, the release said. It is the largest of 32 projects the district included in its 2019 master plan. Several Naperville high school graduates have been awarded college-sponsored scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Program. Recipients will receive between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of study, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Naperville resident Teagan Bernstein-Meachum, who was homeschooled and is planning a career in academia, was awarded a scholarship to the University of Alabama. From Naperville North High School, scholarships were awarded to Soren A. Casey, who will study finance at Fordham University, and Bridget A. Ogan, who will study marketing at Indiana University Bloomington. Neuqua Valley High School scholarships winners are Zachar Druce-Hoffman, who will study aerospace engineering at Iowa State University; Varsha R. Nair, who will study medicine at the University of South Florida; and Aditya Rakshit, who will study computer engineering at Vanderbilt University. Naperville Central High School student William X. Wang, who plans to study mechanical engineering/robotics, was awarded a scholarship from Purdue University. Naperville resident Jayram Palamadai, a student at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, and Moneesha Goduguchinta, a student at Metea Valley High School, also received scholarships from Purdue. Palamadai plans to study computer science and Goduguchinta is to study aerospace engineering. Grow Wellness Foundation and Aquascape will host a Naperville garden walk to benefit mental wellness initiatives on Thursday and Friday, June 26-27. The Petals, Ponds and Pathways walk gives visitors access to six private gardens, with tickets valid for both days, organizers said in a news release. Self-guided tours will be available from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday. Visitors may visit and return to any garden in any order. Tickets are $15 through June 23 when purchased at or $20 if purchased on the days of the walk at 2186 University Drive. Children 10 and younger are free. Proceeds support the Grow Wellness Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to improve access to mental wellness care, organizers said.
Indian Express
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
‘This is why it is called Dev Bhoomi': Anu Malhotra's journey into Kully Valley's living Devta culture with her book ‘Shamans of the Himalayas'
If you're a K-drama aficionado like I am, chances are your first introduction to shamanism came through the screen. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Himachal's Kullu Valley has its own rich, living, breathing shamanic tradition rooted in the Himalayan Devta culture. Here, gods don't just reside in temples — they travel in palanquins, settle village disputes, and even decide wedding dates. When documentary filmmaker and author Anu Malhotra first visited the valley, she, too, didn't expect to be pulled into a world where gods walk among people and daily life decisions are guided by ritual and trance. What she encountered was not a distant remnant of the past, but a thriving, sacred ecosystem, one where shamans known as Goors serve as living conduits between the human and divine. Her new book, Shamans of the Himalayas, emerges from years of deep immersion – over a hundred interviews, countless journeys, and the transformative experiences that also shaped her award-winning documentary series of the same name. We caught up with Malhotra to understand the workings of this tradition, its meaning, and why this ancient way of life still matters today. Read the edited excerpts below: In Kullu, the Devis and Devtas are not just temple-bound, they move among people. The gods are considered living entities. They ride in processions, visit other deities, and participate in village festivals. This is why the valley is called Dev Bhoomi, the land of the gods. Within this sacred ecosystem, the Goor – what the world might call a shaman – plays a central role. The Goor acts as a medium between our world and what lies beyond. Through them, the gods speak. Far from being exotic or distant, this communication is deeply woven into daily life. Locals consult a Goor before building homes, arranging marriages, or resolving a village crisis like asking for rain or ending it. Though shamanism is tribal at its root, in the Kullu Valley, it is absorbed within Sanatan Dharma. The divine manifests as Devis and Devtas, often localised avatars of Hindu gods. Some are ancestral heroes, Naag Devtas (serpent deities), or nature spirits inhabiting forests, rivers and lakes, and mountains. This fusion of tribal spirituality with Hinduism is what gives the culture its distinctive character. It's not a fringe practice, it's fully integrated. What the world calls shamanism, we live as Devta culture. The Goor is not a separate healer—they are the voice of the Devta. This isn't an isolated belief system. It's a lived, community-anchored tradition rooted in the rhythms of the land. While in trance states, the Goor becomes the mouthpiece of the deity. People gather – sometimes in large public festivals, sometimes in intimate sessions called pooch. The questions can range from illness to personal dilemmas to village-wide concerns or even exorcisms. There are other methods of divination too, some not involving trance, but deeply ritualistic and intuitive. Each session is approached with seriousness and reverence. You may not recognise a Goor in daily life. They may be uneducated, financially struggling, even working regular jobs. But when the Devta calls, everything else stops. They must go. That sense of surrender and responsibility is held with great honour. They carry the burden of responsibility with deep devotion. A Goor is supported by a team known as the Devloo, chosen by the deity. This includes a Pujari (priest), Kardar (manager), and Bajantris (musicians). It's the music that leads the Goor into trance. Each deity has a unique rhythm. While Shamans of the Himalayas focuses on the Kullu Valley, each region in India has its own cosmology. Their gods, rituals, and practices are different. You cannot generalise shamanism in India. It's hyperlocal and deeply embedded in community memory. Similar practices exist across India, from the Baigas of Madhya Pradesh to the tribal healers of the Northeast. What started as a film project became a life-altering journey. Over three years, I saw things I couldn't explain. I also saw how fragile this culture is, hidden behind tourism and ignored by modern India. I've tried to look at it with empathy, but also with a critical lens. It doesn't romanticise the culture. What is the psychology of belief? Why do we dismiss what we don't understand? We're losing cultural diversity at an alarming pace. The globalised world is erasing the very things that make us unique. The Kullu Valley is like a bubble – it has survived because it was once inaccessible. But even that's changing. At a time of ecological collapse and cultural amnesia, Shamans of the Himalayas asks us to pause. Maybe, just maybe, we need to look back—not to retreat, but to remember. There are different ways of being, of knowing, and of healing.
