It’s a bummer when one of your favourite places in the world ends up in the news for something shitty. Kasol, in Himachal Pradesh’s Parvati Valley, has been my “go to” destination for many years now. There’s something special about a place that doesn’t judge you for walking aimlessly, sitting next to a gushing river, smoking not out of stress but in peace… yeah, Kasol has always been special.
But yesterday, I came across a post on Facebook that confirmed some fears I had been having about the place. You see, Kasol is a chosen chill-out zone for many foreigners, and if you’ve ever been there, you’d realize a lot of them are from Israel. Absolutely nothing wrong with that; people should be able to come and go as they please.
But then this happened.
So, some Israelis have set up a cafe called Free Kasaul in Kasaul, and deny Indians admission. Our friend was denied…
Posted by Chinki Sinha on Sunday, 16 August 2015
And today, one of the people who’s part of the group that faced this discrimination, shared this.
This restaurant in Kasol is called ‘Free Kasol’. The freak asshole who runs it refuses to serve Indians. I walked in…
Posted by Stefan Kaye on Monday, 17 August 2015
Yes, I get it, restaurants, hotels and cafes do have the ‘right to reserve admission’ but that should never be on the basis of nationality, religion, race or caste. Also, I’m not pissed because the owners of the cafe are Israelis; even if an Indian person would have done something like this, I’d be equally disappointed.
Kasol is all about peace. Let’s ensure that doesn’t change.
