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Making women “SAKSHAM” : Varidhi Singh

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newspost
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SAKSHAM

During Covid times, a number of businesses have suffered and the economy is dragging. There has been call from the Prime Minister for youth to come forward and develop entrepreneurial skills. Putting the PM’s words into action and taking her family tradition of Philanthropy ahead, Varidhi Singh has set an example for many to follow. Varidihi is the founder of “SAKSHAM”, a project empowering the less privileged women residing in a village about 30 km from the city of Kanpur.

Through SAKSHAM, these women are being trained to stitch and make beautiful garments from Indian Khadi fabric. Khadi is a natural handwoven natural breathable fabric which is apt for clothing in the high temperatures in India. Khadi is known as the ‘Wonder Fabric of India’

SAKSHAM

Traditional gender norms in India suggest that the husband/ man of the family should bear the complete financial burden of supporting the family. In this initiative, Saksham hopes to break that mindset by empowering women and creating an opportunity for women to be employed by training them in the art of stitching uniforms and workwear using khadi fabric.

SAKSHAM has partnered up with schools/colleges/organizations that require uniforms and encouraged them to buy products made by these women. These days the women at SAKSHAM are producing masks to help keep people safe during the current pandemic.

Chocobean: Mussoorie’s rising dough

By
Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Mussoorie: Baking is a hobby devoured by many, but for some it is therapeutic, a creative outlet as well as a means to livelihood.

Six years ago, Smriti Sarin Hari a Mussoorie resident, won accolades for her customized cakes baked for family and friends. This was the beginning of her maiden venture ‘Chocobean.’ Looking back, Smriti tells me, “Baking means the world to me. It is the only thing that supports me. My life revolves around it.”

For someone who enjoyed cooking from a very young age, Smriti honed her cooking and baking skills even further when she participated in Master Chef India, 2014. “It was like I was born to create magic from flour and sugar. Each time I bake something, I feel a spark in my soul.”

From baking customized cakes and other confectionaries without a fuss, positive feedback from the community instilled her to do much more. Today, Amitash Chocobean is into serious confectionary business baking cookies, donuts, burger buns, pastries, multigrain breads, croissants, banana loaf, pizzas, pineapple upside down cake slices, apple strudel, pies, Chinese and continental cuisine as well. “The fact that I make fresh, hygienic and healthy products with no margarine gives me an edge over my competitors,” Smriti adds.

Smriti’s mouth-watering items are on display at Amitash ‘Chocobean’ bakery situated in the heart of Mall road, where one can grab freshly baked goodies throughout the day.

As another autumn day comes to an end in the hills, Smriti is busy finishing next days order. I ask her what her personal favorites are and pat comes the reply, “I love baking traditional recipes: Dry fruit cake, plum cakes, anything that challenges my creativity.”

Baking, I guess gives everyone an opportunity to rise above their starting position, and the way Chocobean is moving up the ladder, we are sure there is no stopping it either.

Introducing it’s new and decorative FESTIVE HAMPERS for Diwali this season, get  customised hampers made with scrumptious sweets like:
COOKIES
DRY CAKES
BROWNIES
CHOCOLATES
TRUFFLES
MUFFINS
CROISSANTS and many more delicacies.
Add dry fruits, candles and any other celebratory items to the mix.

Dates for the closure of the Chardham shrines announced

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Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Dehradun: The announcement of the dates for the closure of the Chardham was announced on Vijayadashami. Kedarnath will be the first to close its portal on the auspicious occasion of Bhaiyuduj on 16th November at 8:30 am, followed by Badrinath, Vishnu’s abode, on 19th November at 3.35 pm.

Media in-charge, Devasthanam Board, Harish Gaur further elaborated that while Gangotri would close its portal a day after Diwali i.e. on the 15th of November, Yamnotri will follow a day later i.e. on 16th November coinciding with the closing of Kedarnath, Shiva’s abode.

Traditionally, the world-famous Chardham pilgrimage comes to a halt just before winter sets in and the shrines become inaccessible due to snow. Along with the famous-four i.e. Gangotri, Yamnotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath, the first to close its portals was the Sikh place of worship Hemkund Sahib. Close to a whooping six thousand five hundred pilgrims came visiting in just under a month that Hemkund Sahib was made accessible for. Situated at an elevation of 15,197 feet in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand, Hemkund sahib has special reverence for the Sikh community.

Annually, the Chardham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand kick offs in the month of April/May and works in a west to east direction in a clockwise manner. It begins from Yamunotri onto Gangotri and then proceeds to Kedarnath, terminating at Badrinath.

Compared to last year, when the portals re-opened in the month of March a whooping seven lakh pilgrims made their way to the four-shrines including, Hemkund Sahib. This year, Covid-19 pandemic played spoil sport as due to the nation wide lockdown, not many pilgrims could make their way to the shrines situated in the inner Himalaya. Yet close to One Lakh Sixty Three Thousand pilgrims made the pilgrimage in 2020.

Following spring, on Basant Panchami the dates for the re-opening of the shrines will be announced as per ancient rites and rituals.

Modelling and Simulation of Energy System receives enthusiastic response

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newspost
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Roorkee:  Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee organized a five-day virtual faculty development program on Modelling and Simulation of Energy System that received an enthusiastic response from about 160 members of various AICTE-approved engineering colleges across India. It was the joint initiative of the Department of Hydro and Renewable Energy, IIT Roorkee, in association with AICTE Training and Learning (ATAL) Academy. The initiative aimed at sensitizing the participants towards research in renewable energy technologies along with imparting them hands-on training for their modelling and simulation in line with “Energy Swaraj”- self-sufficiency in energy through enhanced use of renewable energy technologies.

The workshop was graced by Prof. Ajit K. Chaturvedi, Director of IIT Roorkee, in the presence of Prof. S. K. Singal, Head of the Department of Hydro and Renewable Energy (HRED), IIT Roorkee, along with senior faculty members, Prof. R. P. Saini and Prof.Arun Kumar from HRED, IIT Roorkee, and Prof.Rangan Banerjee from IIT Bombay.

“Adoption of renewable energy will play a pivotal role in mitigating the adverse impact of climate change and also improve decentralised generation of energy. It will help improve consumption of locally generated energy thus improving self reliance” said Prof. Ajit K. Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee

The programme presented the benefits of modelling and simulation at different levels of process development ranging from design to process economics and life cycle assessment. Furthermore, different renewable energy sources such as biomass, solar and hydro provided a comprehensive experience to the faculty members. The workshop was attended by more than 160.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for sustainability and secure and resilient energy systems to achieve environmental and social equity. Robust technology infrastructure along with skilling the workforce is the need of the hour to scale up renewable energy generation and penetration” said Prof. S. K. Singal, Head of the Department of Hydro and Renewable Energy (HRED), IIT Roorkee

The workshop was managed by Prof. Rhythm Singh and Prof. Pratham Arora from the Department of Hydro and Renewable Energy, IIT Roorkee.

Newspost Impact: Landour’s dead-letter day

By
Tania Saili
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Pic Courtesy: Robert Hutchison

Dateline Mussoorie: There is good news for Mussoorie and its residents. The closure proposal by the Postal Department for the town’s two raj-era post offices has been put on hold. Sharing this bit of good news, “ Ansuya Prasad, Senior Superintendent Post Offices, Dehradun, told Newspost, “For now any closure proposal for both the town’s posts offices have been put on hold. The Savoy Post Office will continue where it is, but for the Landour Post Office, the landlord had asked us to vacate the premises to renovate the old building,” adding, “for that period, we will shift elsewhere in the vicinity and post-renovation put in a request to the landlord to sublet the same.”

If you were to go by news-reports, then in early august plans were afoot to close down three Sub-Post Offices in Dehradun’s Dakra, Nashvilla Road, Dilaram Chowk and two in Mussoorie: Landour and Savoy Hotel.

The last two are an inseparable part of the hill-station’s tangible past  and linked to its rich history. In 1837, when the Post Office Act XVII was enacted, the Landour Sub-Post Office came up under the keen eye of Captain Young, Mussoorie’s founder. For the past two hundred years, the community has benefited from a postal service that moved well beyond a relay of runners on foot.

Beginning in Landour Chowk, it was shifted to Rorleston House on the Mall in 1909. It is almost as if our hill station grew around the Sub-Post Offices of Landour, Library, Charleville, Barlowganj and Jharipani.

Today, the Landour Sub-Post Office not only sustains international clients from Mussoorie Language School and the Woodstock School, which together account for students from some 26 countries. More importantly, it caters to the folks from the abutting villages of Mussoorie from Kimoee, Kolti, Kanda, Matholi, Maudh, Khatapani, Tuneta, Judi, Sainji, Ludur, Ginsey and many others.

At the other end of town, the iconic Savoy Sub-Post Office has been associated with the historical hotel Savoy, since 1902. Jim Corbett the famous British tracker, hunter and naturalist’s father worked as a Post Master. To this day, the Sub-Post Office famous seal bears the imprint of the place that is intricately linked with the history of the hill station.

Local legislators, ward members and residents registered their protest. Media, both print and electronic rose to the occasion and wrote against the closure proposal and for once, history, tradition and heritage have been saved from being shelved in the name of progress.

Unprecedented footfall post unlock5 in Uttarakhand

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Tania Saili
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Dateline Mussoorie: Unlock-5 saw an unprecedented rise in tourist movement across the hill-state of Uttarakhand this past weekend.

Close to eight thousand tourists visited the Queen of Hills between 2-4th of October bringing a smile to the faces of local hoteliers and businessmen. Though there were initial hiccups in the way of traffic snarls, water scarcity, and also under-staffed hotels.

Sandeep Sahni, President, Uttarakhand Hoteliers Association, who in the recent past had stated that the tourism industry is in a coma, called the weekend business, “a fresh doze of much-required oxygen,” adding, ” if we talk about Mussoorie specifically then amongst 70% hotels which have opened, all recorded 90% occupancy, especially over the weekend. We are hoping that this will build confidence in both the tourists and the local community.”

As the cars inched forward there were traffic jams all over. Adjoining areas of Dhanolti, Kanatal, Tehri, and Chamba witnessed a surge in tourists after being close for close to seven months. SDM Mussoorie, Manish Kumar updated that, “Random COVID tests were carried out at Gandhi Chowk and Shaheed Sthal. Wearing masks and mandatory social distancing norms were enforced. Additional force both from CRD and Police force were brought in to ease traffic influx and maintain law and order.

Unprecedented tourists making a beeline to Mussoorie made most residents uneasy who decided to stay home during the weekend.

From the look of it, the tourism sector definitely got its much-awaited boost and business promises to get better over the next month or two.

Back to The Roots with Ashish Bhandari

By
Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Pauri: This lockdown has brought a lot of things to the foreground. One such being Podcast: an episodic series of the spoken word.

These days, from experts to industry leaders are using digital audio files or Podcasts, a portmanteau of IPod and Broadcast to woo listeners. Joining this long list of Podcast hosts is Uttarakhand’s Ashish Bhandari whose, ‘Back to The Roots’ Hindi Podcast, a five-month-old venture, already has a growing number of loyal followers.

Giving us a glimpse into his pahadi heritage, Ashish tell us, “My grandfather migrated to Delhi in the early 70s. Visiting my native village in summer vacations was how I always stayed connected to my roots. For the longest time, Village Khuir, Patti Kafolysun, District Pauri was my permanent address.”

No stranger to the world of media, Ashish has an illustrious background working for the biggest Media Houses in the country for over ten years. “Intrigued by the idea of story telling, I finally took a plunge into the world of freelancers in August, 2019. I started going back to my passion for voice-overs and voice acting. I got back to the dubbing circuit of Delhi and worked on some of the finest documentaries for National Geographic,” he adds.

A skilled storyteller with a mellow voice, Ashish has successfully belted out eighteen episodes from ‘Back to The Roots.’ Each episode is different to the norm as the host has aced the art of fishing unheard, hidden anecdotes, stories and tales from the treasure trove that Indian History and our mythology is, “Upcoming festivals, auspicious days, millions of untold stories. This is an attempt to bridge the gap between young minds and our culture. In the months that don’t have an upcoming major festival, we go back to pertinent topics like Char Dham, Banyan Tree, story of Tilak etc,” he adds. 

‘Back to The Roots’ podcast is definitely entertains us as well as educates us, captivating all age groups. The audio episodes are easy-to-consume and last from anywhere between five to six minutes. “Usually an episode takes around two days of research, writing, recording and editing.”

In the near future, ‘Back to The Roots’ plans to have an English version of the audio episodes as well as short video clips regaling us with tales from our history and culture.

To know more, tune in to:

https://audioboom.com/channels/5023047

An online digital exhibition of Mahatma Gandhi’s stamp collection

By
Tania Saili Bakshi
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SK Das with his collection

Dateline Dehradun: On the 151st birth anniversary of the Mahatma Gandhi, father of the nation, in partnership with Google Arts & Culture, Evolve has curated a series of digital exhibits featuring World Philately that celebrates the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

The collection is a labour of love by IAS. Surjit K Das, retired Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand and Chairman of the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission. These five specially curated virtual exhibits have been developed for online visitors from Mr. Das’s collection, who over the years has been collecting the postal stamps & First Day Covers issued by countries across the world, paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

Talking to Newspost IAS Surjit K Das tells us about his early interest in the life and times of Gandhi, “I realised how almost every country, some 180 odd countries around the world published a stamp in the memory of Mahatma Gandhi, which I found to be very interesting and I started collecting these.” 

Adding more Nupur Agarwal, Director of Evolve Foundation, says, “The world is changing and we are growing on the technology front. For easy access and in-depth information, digital media is a great medium for the viewer. Google Arts & Culture is an amazing platform for an audience to explore more than two thousand exhibitions showcasing collections, artworks, and places from over eighty countries.”

Highlights of the online exhibit include:

For more, click on the link below:

https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/evolve-foundation

White Water Rafting begins in Rishikesh

By
Tania Saili
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Dateline Rishikesh: On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the State government issued fresh guidelines to restart white water rafting on the Ganges in Rishikesh from today.

Rafting had come to a complete standstill in March 2020 due to Covid-19. Coming as a rude shock to thousands associated with the adventure sports for whom March-June are peak rafting season.

But the new relaxations have come as a fresh breath of air for the community. Speaking on behalf of relieved rafters, Dinesh Bhatt, President of the Rafting Association, welcomed the move, “March to June is peak season for rafting, but unfortunately due to Covid-19 lockdown we lost out on a good season. But with the new guidelines in place, we are hoping that business will soon make up for early loses.”

For starters, the government has reduced the number of tourists on a raft from 8 to 4, to follow social distancing while rafting, keeping safety norms in place. The growing adventure sports industry has ninety percent local youth dependent on it for their livelihood, and they are making sure to follow the rule book.

Famous for its spirituality, Rishikesh has carved a niche for itself on the international map for offering adventure sport in the form of white water rafting.  Annually, from early September to June, lakhs of visitors from home and abroad throng to these rapids for that ultimate thrill.

Many adjudge the sixteen-kilometer stretch from Shivpuri to Laxman Jhula as the best-rafting course, with rapids upto grade five. Over the years, a hundred rafting camps have come up in this stretch bringing in revenue and fame that the sport offers.

Once again, rapids on the Ganga will offer that perfect playground for amateur as well as experienced rafters and kayakers, looking for that thrill, from mild to wild and everything in between.

Watch IPL 2020 with Tanya Purohit

By
Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Dateline Dehradun: 19th September. IPL is here! And when you all tune in to the game today evening, watch out for Uttarakhand’s rising star Tanya Purohit anchoring a ‘live’ @ 6:00 o’clock on Star Sports.

Talking to us between rehearsals, Tanya fills us in about last minute preparations. “I feel great! Cricket is making a come back. There was a point in time when we all thought IPL would not happen, but finally its here. And I am a part of it,” an elated Tanya from her Bio-Bubble in Mumbai, tells us.

In early March, Tanya was selected by Star Sports to be part of the IPL league and had attended workshops before Covid-19 lockdown happened. In the meantime, the young talent anchored the Carribean Premier League from the safety of her home, but she missed the camaraderie of her team and a professional studio set-up, but now all that is a thing of the past.

About her love for the game, Tanya tells us, “I got the love for the game of cricket from my mother, Beena Purohit. ” She remembers vividly how her father Dr. Dataram Purohit reprimanded her for scoring poorly in class 8 and 9 banning cricket for good. But luckily for us, Tanya’s love for the game only got stronger.

For the next month and a half, Tanya will be sharing screen time with her personal favorites talking and analyzing the game with experts in the studios. From Irfaan Pathan to Kiran More, Nikhil Chopra, Ashish Nehra and Sanjay Bangar, all legends of the game. Tanya adds, “For the past few weeks we all have been living in this Bio-Bubble, having our meals together as a family, learning, feeling, talking, breathing cricket. There is a great rapport with everyone, which will come across on the screen as well.”

From going live in Hindi at 6:00 o’clock India time today and then hosting shows for specific teams, Tanya’s Purohit roster is a busy one. She signs off saying, “ Everyone loves cricket. And during such testing time, IPL will be much more than your regular game. It will be like a breath of fresh, the need of the hour.”

And we couldn’t agree more.

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