Mandi is the central district of Himachal Pradesh.
There is also a town called Mandi, which has a distinguished history and interesting architecture. It is also an important transportation hub for the district. Sundernagar is one of the emerging towns of this district.
Mandi has a highly educated middle class and people speak a dialect of Hindi called "Mandyali".
Mandi Town:
Largely Hindu population with several temples. The population is very religious and close knit. The main tourist attraction is the many temples. Tarana temple at the top of the hill is the most famous. (it has a great view of the entire town - if you feel like good exercise - walk upto the temple).
In addition there is a really old temple in the middle of the river and there are several other temples in town.
There is also a growing Sikh population belonging to Namdhari(white turbaned) and Neeldhari(blue turbaned) sects.
The town has gotten crowded specially in last few years as prosperity has grown and the number of automobiles has increased. Watch out for cars and autorickshaws (and stray cows too).