<img src="https://www.newspost.live/en/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/news-logo-300x281.png" alt=""/> News Post

-

August 10, 2022

Dateline Pithoragarh: You cant buy happiness but you can buy the whole six yards of Aipan art work to add elegance and a part of heritage to your wardrobe.

Deepika Chand an Aipan artist who hails from Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand is doing just that. Self-motivated, hard-working and disciplined Deepika completed her Diploma in Fashion Designing from B.S Negi MPPS Women’s Polytechnic in 2013. She worked as merchandiser in garment export house in Delhi and Noida before her love for Aipan a ritualistic folk art, native to the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand and her roots took her back to her home district.

“My love for art: be it Aipan, painting or any kind of handicraft started from an early age. I enjoyed adding colour and imagination to everything around me,” she tells us over the phone.

Taking her passion forward encouraged by a dotting husband and the district administration, Deepika with a set of trained Aipan artists designs Aipan saris with traditional motifs of Shri Pada, Padma Lakshmi and more product variations are in the pipeline.

Packaged and marketed by HILANS, Kuldeep Bist adds, “This is a humble attempt by the State administration and a set of dedicated women Aipan artists to showcase the art form on the whole six yards and put it on an international platform. Pithoragarh has GI branding for Aipan and we are making sure that we explore more such products and make women financially independent.”

Starting with traditional hues of ochre, white and green the team visualises working on multi-colour fibres in the near future. “This is a work of patience and creativity. It takes us anything between 4-5 days to complete a sari as team but over ten days to do it single-handedly. It all depends on the design and detailing it entails.”

Priced anywhere between twelve to fourteen thousand, these saris are an heirloom which can be customised on satin or silk according to the client’s requirements.

For orders call: +91 9058064492 (m)

Doonite Raj Verma makes it to FTII, Pune

By

-

August 8, 2022

Dateline Dehradun: Uttarakhand has produced some exceptional artists throughout the years. This year Raj Verma has made the hill-state proud by obtaining a seat amongst 11 candidates from all over India in Film and Television Institute Pune.

Today the district unit of Sanskar Bharti honoured Raj Verma for his selection at FTII, Pune. On this occasion Dehradun Cantonment MLA Mrs. Savita Kapoor congratulated Raj and motivated him to complete his training efficiently and, “do meaningful work in the future keeping in mind the betterment of the society and uplifting the state’s cultural heritage.”

On this occasion, District Unit President Ajay Verma said, “it is an occasion of great pride for the state when the artist of our province has made his place in such a reputed institution of the country. Theatre expert and film actor Anurag Verma said, “effort are being made to get a scholarship for Raj Verma under the new film policy of Uttarakhand.”

Other artists like Manvee Nautiyal, Ashish Verma, Acharya Ashish Sharma, Brij Mohan Bharadwaj, Shivam Kamboj and Shivani Pandey were also present there.

Himalayan University partners with Social Development for Communities Foundation

By

-

August 6, 2022

Dateline Dehradun: A MoU was formally signed between Swami Rama Himalayan University and Social Development for Communities Foundation (SDC) on ‘Citizen Centric Issues’ such as environment, health and urbanization with chief focus on research and academics and above all sustainable development.

Registrar SRHU, Dr Susheela Sharma, and founder SDC Anoop Nautiyal put ink to the MoU in the presence of VC Dr Vijay Dhasmana and Dr Rajendra Dobhal.

Elaborating upon the initiative Dr Dhasmana stated that, “Citizen centric philosophy in the context of sustainable development has always been an integral part of SRHU. Service to the citizens has always been our guiding light. We have over the years endeavored to associate with the champions for change and demonstrate excellence in delivering services that can have a positive impact on people’s lives. In doing so have hoped to boost the initiatives of the government and rebuild the trust of the general populace in public services. With the signing of this MoU we aim to better interact with the citizenry and augment six areas of collaboration.”

“We have plans to work on areas of sustainable development including climate change, waste management, circular economy, sustainable urbanization, rural development and citizen engagement,” averred Anoop Nautiyal. He further added, “We will work to promote scientific temper and undertake social audits on citizen-significant areas. The findings from such audits will be used to aid the policy formulation process in the state of Uttarakhand. We will work together to develop technology for building social solutions. Significantly we will be working on central schemes such as Swachh Survekshan, Smart Cities Mission, Namami Gange and the like. Further we will be exploring opportunities for joint bidding for consultancy assignments as members of a consortium.”

Himalayan Hospital bags ‘Ayushman Gold Certificate’

By

-

July 22, 2022

WhatsApp Image 2022-07-21 at 8.34.28 PM — Himalayan Hospital

Dateline Dehradun: Within a short span of three years, Himalayan Hospital Jolly Grant attains Numero uno position in the country for treatment under Ayushman Bharat Yojana. And the mission continues.

‘Ayushman Bharat Yojana’, later renamed as the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna’ (PMJAY), is a national health insurance scheme that is very close to Prime Minister Modi’s heart. The scheme aims to help the economically weaker sections of society that seek healthcare facilities.

No sooner was the scheme rolled out on 23rd September 2018, Himalayan Hospital got into proactive action and within three years of the initiation of this ambitious health insurance scheme, attained the numero uno position in treatment of beneficiaries.

For meeting the target, qualitatively and quantitatively Himalayan Hospital earned the ‘First Ayushman Gold Certified Teaching Hospital’ title in the country. The accomplishment included not merely free treatment of patients from all over the country, but also setting new international health standards.

There are approximately 650 medical college hospitals in India, of these, Himalayan is the country’s first Teaching Hospital, which has bagged the ‘Ayushman Gold Certificate.’

It is not without reason that HH today has countless success stories to its credit. According to Dr Vijay Dhasmana, Member Presidential Body of Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust, “This completely cashless scheme for the underprivileged provides coverage worth Rs 5 lakh to every family per year. Himalayan Hospital has endeavoured to provide topnotch healthcare services to the economically disadvantaged. We were able to attain the number one position, due to the single-minded devotion, hard work and diligence of each one of our employees, including our nurses, paramedics, doctors and the support staff. We knew it’s not going to be easy but worth it.”

A per available data until end of May, 2022, over one lakh patients have been treated under this scheme. Himalayan Hospital continues to stay focused on its mission of service to humanity.

And the guiding light continues to be, “Work hard in silence. Let success make the noise!”

Shardul Sharma to participate at The Red Bull Romaniacs

By

-

July 21, 2022

WhatsApp Image 2022-07-21 at 11.34.31 AM — Shardul Sharma on his KTM

Dateline Dehradun: Creating history! Born and raised in Dehradun Shardul Sharma has been chosen as the first Indian participant to compete in The Red Bull Romaniacs, recognized as the world’s toughest enduro rally!

Entitled “In Madness We Trust” the event will be flagged off on 26th July, 2022. Riding for the number one spot, Shardul will be competing with participants from over sixty countries at the five day event to be held in, Sibiu, Romania.

Considered as one of the toughest tracks in the world, The Red Bull Romaniacs has it all: Rough terrain of hills, valleys, mountains and rocky grounds that make up the track with inclines of over 50 degrees off-roading, it not surprising that only 10% of the participants actually cross the finishing line.

Shardul has always been a motorsport athlete and is as passionate as they come! All of twenty-eight, Shas as he is fondly called by his riders, was born with an inborn talent for the sport. To further hone his riding skills, he packed his bags and moved to Bangalore; learnt Kannada to speak with his fellow riders and worked as a Lead instructor at CS Santosh’s Big Rock Park.

With a winning streak of over fifteen rallies to his credit such as Red Bull Ace of Dirt, Raid de Himalayas, Indian National Rallying Championship, Sjoba Rally to name a few. There is not stopping Shardul Sharma.

His driving buddy at the race with be his KTM 300 EXC TPI 2stroke, known for its razor sharp performance and equally unforgiving nature. Being the only Indian participate at the rally not only means breaking new ground, but also paving the way for two-wheeler racing.

He believes, “This sport is not for the faint hearted. It needs raw courage, stubbornness and courage.’ He adds, “when courage takes over fear, impossible becomes possible.”

Of Bedu/Anjeer jam, chutney and squash

By

-

July 7, 2022

Hilans Himalayan Fig (Bedu / Pahadi Anjeer) Jam

WhatsApp Image 2022-07-05 at 9.29.59 PM — Bedu/Anjeer/Himalayan-Fig Products

Dateline Pithoragarh: Come July and the indigenous Bedu or Anjeer or Himalayan-fig trees are laden with fruit ready to be picked and processed. Found in hundreds of quintal in Pithoragarh district this organic fruit locally called Bedu is now being marketed in a brand new avatar: “Pahari Anjeer.”

The local administration under the vision of District Magistrate Dr Ashish Chauhan has given ‘Bedu’ an interesting twist. The fruit is now being used for commercial production of jam, chutney and squash and plenty more bottled variants in the pipeline.

Prepared jointly by employees of Agriculture, Horticulture Department and Integrated Livelihood Cooperation Project, labelled under ‘Pahari Anjeer’ these finished products are being marketed through HILANS in Uttarakhand.

So how did the present District Magistrate come up with the idea, Dr Ashish tells me, “A few weeks back I had Bedu for the first time and I loved it. It dawned on me as to how we were loosing an opportunity of processing this indigenous fruit found here in abundance in Uttarakhand. Within a short span we had it processed into jam, chutney and squash. ‘Pahari Anjeer’ has managed to penetrate the market and is economically viable.”

The fruit has been found beneficial for diseases related to lungs and bladder, preventing skin diseases and infections. Rich in medicinal properties such as Vitamin C, protein, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron etc it is a power-packed fruit.

Dr Chauhan has an interesting line-up of products keeping mind that Pithoragarh alone produces close to seven to eight hundred quintals of fruit every season, giving the administration plenty of scope to experiment with.

For those who want to lay their hands on ‘Pahari Anjeer’ products can either visit HILANS outlets in Dehradun or will be able to place their order online within a week or so, we are assured.

Order online:

Richa Badoni: Mountains on a canvas

By

-

July 6, 2022

WhatsApp Image 2022-07-06 at 1.13.10 PM — Richa Badoni with her art work

Dateline Dehradun: At times, it takes a soul smashing experience to make you bloom into whom you always were but had forgotten. Richa Badoni personifies that experience for me.

Richa remembers it vividly like yesterday, “It was a wet 15^th of July, 2017 when my father died of a cardiac arrest. Days, weeks, months and years went by, and I found myself emotionally drained and incapable of expressing my loss.”

As the years went by, Richa found a void she couldn’t fill. She stopped doing something the young talented artist knew she was born with and good at. “I just couldn’t make myself sit and paint. Art is what my heart feels and for the past few years I was stuck in a loop of numbness and grief.”

In December 2021 Richa decided to go on a solo trek to Kuari pass to kickstart 2022 on a fresh note. But before setting out on her own, Richa sat with her paints and canvass and forced herself to paint something related to her maiden trek. Looking back, she says, “Maybe this decision was a blessing in disguise, maybe I just wanted to restore my faith in myself.”

Since then the young artist has not looked back. A born artist, Richa paints sheerly for the love of it and has managed to polish her skills while taking part in art competitions.

Not able to get enough of the mountains, Richa funds her expeditions with her art work. Art and her passion to climb have turned into her stairway to healing and conquering mountains of grief and loss.

It’s been six months now and Richa finds that along with her mountaineering gear, it is her acrylic paints that have given her a new lease of life as she brings the mountains she conquers onto canvas again and again.

Saru Dabral: Talking with paper and pencil

By

-

July 4, 2022

Dateline Mumbai: Scrolling through FaceBook I came across a beautiful sketch by an artist friend.

Saru Dabral’s varied artwork has always had that effect, irrespective of the medium she has chosen to express herself in, you find yourself asking for more of what she is upto. Living far off in Mumbai, Saru manages to bring alive the women-folk of her home state Uttarakhand in her art work, effortlessly. From acrylic, to charcoal and now to colour pencils, Saru has managed to hone her skills with each medium she chooses. A self-taught artist whose love for Uttarakhand shows through her work even when marriage took her to Mumbai, her heart is in the mountains.

With roots in Chamroli village in Tehri Garhwal, Saru Dabral was brought up in Delhi. Despite her brief stint with merchandising and fashion designing, it was her childhood passion for painting that finally won over. Two decades on, Saru has been painting professionally using oil paints, acrylic, water-colours, charcoal and steadtler watercolour pencils onto multimedia paper.

“It feels really good, fresh and light using pencils,” Saru tells me. “ I always like to try different mediums for art. And pencils are one my favourites. Pencils are our primary tool. And sometimes simple sketches speak volumes.” And they do, I can vouch for that!

Dedicating anywhere between four to five hours a day, the artist in Saru Dabral feels like she is a beginner. She adds, “I just want to capture the expression and emotions as well as I can. There is a glimpse of my roots in whatever I put to paper and I try to do justice to my subjects which are mostly women.”

Juggling home and hearth with her passion one wonders how Saru Dabral finds the time to do what she does with such finesse, she signs of saying, “If you are passionate about something; your passion helps you to manage everything.”

Renest Hotels mark their presence in Uttarakhand

By

-

July 4, 2022