Living isolated for several thousands of years, the mystical Malana village in the Parvati Valley of Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh claimed by locals to be one of the oldest democracies of the world with a well-organized parliamentary system, guided by their devta(deity) Jamlu rishi is gradually but reluctantly opening its doors to the outside world. The paper takes into account the social strata, cultural fabric and the myths surrounding it in the popular discourses. What once used to be less than a hundred families surviving within their own cocoon with no external incursion, the village today has close to 250 families with population nearing the three thousand mark. The encroachment of modernity and the development is quite evident. Based on a qualitative research done in 1987, 2012 and 2016, the paper gives an insight of how the landscape of Malana has transfigured over the span of three decades, in the light of globalization, development and gradually fading its uniqueness based on its socio-cultural, ethnological and ecological attributes. It also entails the knowledge about the preservation of socio-cultural heritage, most unique in its own sense under isolation and can be seen as a model of self sustainable development.

Dr. V. A. V. Raman is an Associate Professor of Department of Geography, at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, University of Delhi with about twenty years of experience in research and teaching. With specialization inGeomorphology, Remote Sensing and GIS his areas of interest includes Landscape System Analysis and Environment. He has published and presented research works at many national and international conferences and has completed a project on Land use Transformation from University Grants Commission.