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Richa Badoni: Mountains on a canvas

By
Dr Tania Saili Bakshi
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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 15th 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.”

Richa and the mountains

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
Dr Tania Saili Bakshi
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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

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Dateline Haridwar: India’s fastest-growing boutique hotels & resorts chain, Renest Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of Renest Haridwar. With its latest launch, the group has further consolidated its position in the spiritual segment. The group’s third property in the spiritual tourism sector, others being in Shirdi and Tirupati and now Haridwar.

An experiential boutique hotel situated on the Rishikesh Highway, the destination is popular for its mythological significance and spirituality.

Spread over 60,000 square feet, situated at the Rishikesh Highway adjoining Sridhar Ashram, Motichur Range in Uttarakhand, India,  it is within comfortable driving distance to popular tourist attractions such as the Rajaji National Park, Chilla Tiger Reserve, Har ki Pauri and Bharat Mata Mandir.

Talking about the future vision for Renest Hotels & Resorts, Rahul Rai, Executive Director, UMIL Hotels  said, “The company’s vision is to operate 100 hotels in the next five years and we as boutique hotels & resorts chain plan to offer experiential stays to the guests with our miscellaneous, layered portfolio, wherein we will have something exceptional for contemporary, prudent travellers who seek adventure, serenity and a holistic experience.” 

Vishal Lonkar, General Manager, Brand Development at Renest Hotels and Resorts, said “We are pleased to announce the launch of Renest Haridwar as this will be one of the newest hotels situated at the Rishikesh Highway and our third venture into the spiritual segment. We hope with our diverse hotel portfolio, virtuous ambience and committed ground staff, we provide memorable and extravagant travel experiences to our patrons.”

A 74 keys hotel the rooms range from exquisite balcony rooms, grand suites to comfortable deluxe rooms. Each of the rooms is designed for a comfortable stay, with personalised services, offering warm stays with plush interiors designed sublimely with modern amenities including an all-day dining restaurant ‘Tribe’ which serves delectable multi-cuisine.

Do visit Renest on your next visit to Haridwar!

Yoga has helped relieve mental stress: Urvashi Rautela

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Urvashi Rautela

Dateline Mumbai:  Actress Urvashi Rautela,  considered as one of the fittest divas in Tinsel Town,  never fails to give us major fitness goals by sharing a glimpse of her fitness routines and workout videos on her social media. The fitness enthusiast actress, Urvashi, has been inspiring fans and fitness enthusiasts towards a healthier lifestyle, nailing one complex exercise after another. She truly believes that yoga is the way to live a healthy life. For all those who like to go the extra mile when it comes to fitness and undertake a complete body exercise that can be done in a short period of time, Yoga is the answer to it.

On this Yoga Day, actress Urvashi Rautela connects to her fans, saying, “Yoga is not just an exercise, but instead it includes different practices to promote mindfulness, spirituality, peacefulness, and good well-being.”

Adding further  the actress said, “The word ‘Yoga’ has been derived from two Sanskrit words, ‘Yuj’ and ‘Yujir’, meaning’ Together ‘or’ To Unite’. Yoga can have different meanings, like the unity of soul, mind, and body; the togetherness of thoughts and actions, and so on. Practicing yoga has myriad benefits, including relieving mental stress, enhancing physical and muscular strength, maintaining balance, improving stamina, etc.“

Stretches can be accommodated into everyday workout routines to reap the greatest gains, and Bollywood youngest superstar Urvashi Rautela was seen rooting for the same. She believes that yoga has truly helped her to relieve mental stress to an extent and helped her to be more focused on her thoughts.

On the work front, Urvashi was recently appointed as the first global brand ambassador for the Smile Train Foundation. Recently, she was seen performing in front of 50,000 people at the trailer launch of her pan-India film, ‘The Legend.’ The actress is making sure to keep her admirers proud and engaged with her daily life activities and global achievements.

Responsible Tourism need of the hour

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Responsible Tourism talk in session

Dateline: Uttarakhand has crawled it’s onto the world map for tourism. It is known not only for spiritual tourism (Chardham, Yoga festival) but also tourists making their way to hill-state to enjoy its cooler climes and scenic beauty.

Brainstorming on various aspects of ‘Responsible Tourism in Uttarakhand’ in its third edition of VoW Policy Dialogue organized at VoW Cafe in Dehradun, speakers from different spheres involved in a policy dialogue that emphasized on the need of the hour to inculcate responsible tourism. Issues such as carrying capacity, sustainable development education, culture, environment, waste management and migration were also discussed.

Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, Festival Director of the Valley of the Words said, “when we talk about tourism, we have to talk about our culture as well. Tourism is a great medium for the promotion of culture. Through this we can take our traditions, our food and our products to other communities.”  Citing the example of Bhutan and other countries, he advocated different models of responsible tourism.

Kiran Bhatt Todaria, Managing Director, Indo Ganga Holidays and a pioneer of adventure tourism spoke from experience about the development of the rafting activities in her hometown, Rishikesh. Kiran highlighted how, “our state may have benefited economically through tourism, but for this we have put our environment and our culture at stake. She spoke about,  “making all the operators of the region sensitive towards the environment and culture. To begin rafting activities in other rivers of the state as well.“

Dr. Jagdeep Khanna, Principal, Institute of Hotel Management, Dehradun said,  there is a need to bring more clarity in the home stay policy in the state. Along with the promotion of culture and food through tourism.” He stressed on the need to utilize the full potential of places like the Tehri Lake. He signed off saying, “ if we want to move towards responsible tourism, then we have to focus on carrying capacity, study and pre-planning.”

Hemant Kochar, Chair Uttarakhand Chapter – PHD Chamber of Commerce spoke about the 12 different models of tourism and the need for further research. He said, “we have to do research on what kind of tourists are coming to Uttarakhand, what they are giving us and what are they taking from here.” He talked about, “diversifying tourism and developing new tourist places. Providing training to the people associated with the business about sustainable tourism and SDG Goals.”

While conducting the program, Anoop Nautiyal of SDC Foundation gave information on different aspects of sustainable tourism in the report on Indian Himalayan Region released by NITI Aayog in the year 2018. Along with this, he referred to the Sustainable Tourism Criteria of the Union Ministry of Tourism, Eco Tourism Policy of October 2021 of the Ministry of Environment and Uttarakhand Tourism Draft Policy 2020. Through statistics, he gave information about, “the responsible model of tourism on the basis of the number of pilgrims who came to the Chardham Yatra as well as the Purnagiri fair, Kainchidham fair and Ganga Dussehra fair that were completed this month.”

HUDCO Regional Manager Sanjay Bhargava, Rashmi Chopra, Paramjit Singh Kakkar of Pramukh Sanstha, Vishal Kala of PHD Chamber of Commerce, Robin Nagar of Valley Culture, Vaid Shikha Prakash among others were present on the occasion.

Bulbuley: An Ode to Nature

By
Dr Tania Saili Bakshi
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Team Bulbuley

Dateline Srinagar: Bulbuley the latest composition by Team Pandavaas on the occasion of  World Environment Day hits a chord with their fans.

What was supposed to be a sixty second jingle turned out to be a three-minute song dedicated to our dwindling environment. Produced by Indian Regional Association for Landscape Ecology, ENVIS India, Wildlife Institute of India,  Bulbuley (Bubbles) is Pandavaas Hindi composition after a long time.

While different tracks were launched on the occasion of World Environment Day, this latest sound track by the Pandavaas leaves you thinking.

Bulbuley produced by

With just three days from pre to post shoot schedule, the song was shot on location in Khirsu, Garhwal. The main protagonist, a young girl depicts how Nature is struggling to breathe and survive. Lyrics by song writer Sushant Bhatt makes one sit up and listen. The song motivates everyone to be responsible for their surroundings.

With an interesting motley of local artists the voice of Anjali Khare adds soul to the three minute ode to nature. Multi-talented Sushant Bhatt not only lends lyrics but also strums his electric guitar; Deepak Naithani plays the ukulele, Aniruddha Chandola on the acoustic guitar, Shivani Chandra on the Keys, Shresth Shah and Ishaan Dobhal beat the drum/dhol as Aman Dhanai is the bass guitarist with Rakesh Rawat as the percussionist. The direction and video concept of Kunal Dobhal to have all the artists in PPE kits in a serene surrounding gives as deeper message to the audience. Music production by Ishaan Dobhal and Salil Dobhal’s  Video Team that includes Navdeep Saini, Rishi Panwar, Udit Rawat, Ranjana Bartwal and Suman Bisht bring the lyrics alive on the screen.

Kunal Dobhal adds, “We just had three days to execute this concept. The lyrics, the vision of the team added value to the end product which has been highly appreciated.”

To listen in, click here:

https://youtu.be/VYsp910wyYU

VoW launches 1946 Royal Indian Navy Mutiny

By
Dr Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Dateline Dehradun:  ‘1946 Royal Indian Navy Mutiny: Last war of Independence’ by Pramod Kapoor was launched in Dehradun today.  An inspiring and moving account of the mutiny of the young ratings in the Royal Indian Navy against the British Empire captures the definitive account on this watershed moment in India’s freedom struggle released on 25th February, marking 75 years of this mutiny.

Author Pramod Kapoor was in conversation with Dr Sanjeev Chopra, Festival Director,  Valley of Words under whose banner the book was released.  The session was chaired by Vice Admiral Vasant Laxman Koppikar (RETD) PVSM AVSM who said, “this book fills a void in the naval history.. it celebrates the glorious career at sea.“

Celebrating Pramod Kapoor’s second book as an author, the whose-who from the community came in full attendance pouring in congratulatory notes for his thoroughly researched book which has won him many accolades.

Kapoor’s latest book presents the most detailed and lively account of five days, starting 18 February 1946, when young ratings of the Royal Indian Navy mutinied. What led to the mutiny was the appalling service conditions, racism and broken promises made at the time of recruitment. In less than 48 hours, 20,000 young sailors took over 78 ships and 21 shore establishments in and around Bombay.

The book resurrects a foot note event in history and revives the memory of the forgotten heroes who were part of the last war of Independence.

‘1946 Royal Indian Navy Mutiny: Last war of Independence’ is set to be out in Tamil by Bharathi Pusthakalayam, and soon to be published in Pakistan by Lightstone Publishers.

About the Book:

  • Title: ‘1946 Royal Indian Navy Mutiny: Last war of Independence
  • Pages:376
    Size:8.5×5.5in
    ISBN: 978-93-92130-27-4

The International Booker Prize Landour “Connect”

By
Dr Tania Saili Bakshi
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0
Author Geetanjali Shree with Translator Daisy Rockwell Image Courtesy: Booker Prize

Dateline Mussoorie: ‘Tomb of Sand’ written by Geetanjali Shree (translated by Daisy Rockwell) won the 2022 International Booker Prize for Translated Fiction, and made headlines all over the world, of course there is an interesting Landour, Mussoorie connection.

Turns out that Daisy Rockwell, the American translator did her three month Hindi advanced course at the Landour Language School in the late 80’s early 90’s. Chitranjan Datt, the Principal remembers Daisy as a, ‘very bright and devoted student. She stayed with my family at Firs before she left for Allahabad for her research study.”

Set up in 1903 the Landour Language School offers courses in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and Hindustani to research scholars, travellers and students from India and overseas. In a hundred odd years of its existence, over sixteen thousand students have learnt the ropes of Hindustani here.

Daisy belongs to Massachusetts and now lives in Vermont. She has translated many Hindi and Urdu classics like Upendranath Ashk’s Falling Walls, Khadija Mastur’s The Women’s Courtyard, Bhisham Sahni’s Tamas to list a few. Her work has brought home many accolades and awards.

Courtesy: Ayub

Tomb of Sand was originally written in Hindi as Ret Samadhi. It was one among the six shortlisted books for the International Booker Prize given to an author for their work written in an international language, then translated into English.

In Landour bazaar’s narrow lanes lives Ayub the owner of ‘Sabri: Bought and Sold.’ In his antique shop he shows me a colour picture of Daisy dressed in a blue salwar-kameez wrapped in a red shawl.

Beaming from ear to ear, he remembers Daisy and her friends as regular visitors to their shop who sat around having tea with his late father.

“I was teenager when I last saw her in our shop. When I read about the Booker Prize I recognised Daisy instantly. I knew I had seen her before. She and her friends would come to the shop.”  He recalls, adding: “Back then she was learning Hindi and would speak to us in Hindi.”

Never too old to learn or teach

By
Dr Tania Saili Bakshi
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0
Aanya's Brush Calligraphy online course

Dateline Delhi: Vacations begin as the plains of India simmer under a hot sun. If you have no plans of being on a detox from internet then how about learning something new online from the comfort of your space?

15-year-old Aanya Jaina is armed with her brush pens, pencils and ink to teach you the nuances of a visual art related to writing i.e. an online Calligraphy workshop. The workshop is customized for fourteen years old and above, three day workshop: 3rd, 6th, 7th of June and the cost includes calligraphy kit-pen and guide sheets.

In the hour long workshop Aanya will help you trace and learn Brush Calligraphy, a set of skills and techniques that help you inscribe words with integrity, harmony and rhythm.

Aanya Jaina practising her art

Grade 10th student, Aanya has been polishing her skills of hand learning beautiful symbols and alphabets since the age of ten.  Her first brush with the art came when she was at a book fair. She tells me, “At the age of ten I purchased a book on calligraphy knowing nothing about it. Post going through the book I officially started following YouTube tutorials and Instagram calligraphers.”

While her peer group was busy upgrading their wardrobes, cosmetic and book collection, Aanya was working on her personalized stationery to master Calligraphy. From an oblique holder, Nikko-G nib and Sumi ink for Copperplate and Spencerian calligraphy and Devanagari Auto pens for Devanagari script she has it all and plenty more.

Over a period of five years, Aanya has gone on to learn Brush Calligraphy, Copperplate Calligraphy, Spencerian and Devanagari. Today she designs cards, posters, letters, nametags etc. She further adds, “What started as a hobby, is now my passion. Calligraphy isn’t just an art of beautiful writing but a feeling that makes me relax and create beauty.’ A word of advice from the young lady, “Calligraphy has nothing to do with bad handwriting. It is a beginner’s workshop. Calligraphy is a form of expression, like a fingerprint or a voice, unique for each person. The keynotes for any beginner being: ‘patience and practice.”

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for this beginner’s guide into the world of Calligraphy!

Crafting a future

By
Dr Tania Saili Bakshi
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0
A glimpse of whats in store at the Trust

Dateline Dehradun:  Vishwajeet Sanjay Pokhriyal Memorial Trust, Vasant Vihar, Dehradun  began as a small initiative by Abha Pokhriyal on the 15th of August, 2021. Started in the fond memory of her husband and son whom she lost to Covid early last year. Helped by family and volunteers this self-help group of women from the weaker section of the society has turned the tide.

Vishwajeet Sanjay Pokhriyal Memorial Trust is your one-stop shop for anything that you may fancy. Priced anywhere between 500/- to 2000/- rupees there are hand knitted stoles, caps, ponchos, sweaters, cardigan, baby suits that bring warmth to the soul or hand-painted runners, mats, napkins that add more than just colour to your home decor. Embroidery bags, sari bags, suits to Macrame coasters, purses, sling bags, key chains all made with love.

Volunteers at the Trust

Volunteers as young as ten year old to the eldest being in her forties are personally trained for weeks on end. The raw material for the same is made readily available by the Trust. Once they master the art of either knitting, sewing, painting or macrame the team hands over raw material and assignments to deliver. All this for a nominal monthly income.

Today Abha has little time in hand for anything else. Immersed in working closely with her talented team she tells me, “past few months have been busy but in a good way. Our customers have been very encouraging and we have repeat orders for most of the items.”

‘Future plans?’ I ask. Abha replies, “I would like to expand slowly and run similar centers in Himachal Pradesh and in the interiors of Uttarakhand. We want to reach out to womenfolk and help each other. Seeing the enthusiastic response of our clients, we are also thinking on the lines of going online real soon.”

To order call: +91 75368 07471

Or drop in at: 369- Indira Nagar Colony , Post Office New Forest, Dehradun, 248006, Uttarakhand

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