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All that glitters is tradition

By
Tania Saili
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Dehradun Dateline: For Pahadi women who live elsewhere yet wish to flaunt their traditional jewellery in a trendy-fashionable way, Mohtarma India is your one-stop shop online.

The two-year-old enterprise is being run by a hardworking, creative young lady Neeti Bisht who lives in Delhi but has her ancestral roots in Pauri, Garhwal.

An IT B.tech by profession Neeti found her true calling in bringing home closer to those who had moved elsewhere. Mohatarma India specializes in making Uttarakhandi jewellery BIS hallmarked in pure silver (about 92.5%). Her two in-house artisans design and make traditional Garhwali and Kumaoni jewellery like Paunchi or bracelets, there are six designer Gulband or Choker, the beautiful Chandrahaar or necklace, Champakali haar, Garhwal nath or nose ring, Tehri nath, Kumaon nath, Raanihaar, Jhumki or Danglers, Timaniya designs that came to Neeti from her grandmother’s treasure trove.

Mohtarma India

Talking to Newspost Neeti tells us, “The main idea behind the concept of Mohatarma is to make Uttarakhandi jewellery more accessible to youngsters e who felt it was either too outdated or old-fashioned. We are making authentic and vintage designs in silver yet more chic and affordable at the same time.”

Neeti’s 2020 Summer collection: “बल” an abstract: is a tribute to her mesmerizing home-state, Ganges, Himalaya and its people. About using the popular Garhwali lingo ‘बल’ Neeti explains, “बल” is one such word that I would observe in our family conversations even when they would be speaking in Hindi, there is no equivalent to it,” just like her jewellery collection.

Priced anywhere between 15,00-10,000 rupees the collection brings with it emotions and culture. Regional words like ईजा (mother), गढवालन, बोई (mother), बाँध (beautiful girl) nosepins, pendants and earrings are endearing.

“Ever since its launch, the response has been overwhelming. Customers settled in Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, Banglore etc who have an emotional connect with their home-state, are the ones who have appreciated our work,” Neeti signs off.

For orders, contact: +918650155438

Bombs! Seed Bombs! The answer to man-animal conflict

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dateline Dehradun: Bombs! Seed Bombs rained  from the sky on either side of the Dehradun-New Delhi National Highway between Asharodi and Daat-kali Temple, in  July this year.

These organic, hand-made seed bombs were designed by Dwarika Prasad Semwal, seen as an expert in the field who runs the campaign under the banner Himalayan Paryavaran Jadibooti Agro Sansthan, Uttarakashi.

So what are these seed bombs? Seed bombs is a technique of planting trees by embedding organic seeds wrapped in a blanket of earth, cow dung, paper and soil. They contain everything needed — compost, clay and seeds — to yield a green explosion when they hit open ground, which in turn is food in the making, for wild animals.

Dwarika Prasad explains the concept further, “To reverse ecological decline as well as to decrease man-animal conflict! Loss of habitat; wild forest fires coupled with global warming are reasons for this ecological breakdown. Adding, “The loss of natural vegetation and habitat causes wild animals to venture out in human vicinity that in turn has resulted in alarming increase in man-animal conflict.”

Dwarika adds, “Seed bombs are a part of our crusade to mitigate human – nature conflict. We are trying to bring food closer to animals in their natural habitat.”

Also known as aerial reforestation, seed balling or seed grenades is a concept which began in Japan and soon spread worldwide.  But in Uttarakhand, state government is playing spoil sport as no  official permission is granted to those who want to scatter seed bombs from air.

During “Seed Bomb Awareness Week” held in early July, Himalayan Aero Sports Association or HASA joined hands with JADI where Vinay Singh, a Para-motor flyer scattered these seed bombs in and around Mohand. As Secretary of HASA, Vinay Singh tells us, “We plan to give a packet of seed bombs to every tourist who comes to fly in Maldevta, Dehradun, which he will then spread across the forests during his flight.”

Fifteen states have already signed up to welcome this unique initiative and following its success rate we are sure that our hill-state will follow suit, as well.

Uttarakhand Tourism Industry on a ventilator

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dateline Mussoorie: In a joint meeting held by the Uttarakhand Hotel and Restaurant Association, Mussoorie Traders Association and Uttarakhand Taxi Union the concerned majority present spoke in one voice: Due to Covid-19 crisis the Tourism Industry does not see much hope in revival or even survival in the immediate and distant future, unless it is helped along by the State Government through various relief measures.

President of the Uttarakhand Hotel Association, Sandeep Sahni said, “Tourism Industry in Uttarakhand is the backbone of the state’s economy. Today 99% hotels and restaurants are not operating, taxis aren’t plying and shop sales are down by close to 80-90%. We are asking the State government whether we should open our hotels or not? What do we do with our existing employees? Their salary? Water and Electricity bills? Loans? House Tax? If we are not earning then what will we spend?

An appeal was made to both the Centre and State government to take emergency steps to revive of what is left of the hill-state’s dwindling tourism industry. He further elaborated, “If the present trend continued then 30-50% restaurants won’t reopen, 20-30% hotels will close down and this will have a cascading  affect on unemployment and mass migration too!”

Some relief measures, both big or small, by the State and the Centre specifically for the Tourism sector were suggested at the meeting. Seeking relief under various heads such as: salary and wages;  employee salary to be paid from ESI Funds; GST rate payment;  loan repayments and waiver of interest. How and why water and sewerage charges have been increased by 9% given  the present circumstances, has left everyone foxed.

Mussoorie Traders Association, President Rajat Aggarwal said, “In the past four months since Covid-19 lockdown came into place the State Government has not talked about traders or businessmen at all. In the past common labourers, rickshaw pullers etc were given thousand rupees as token by the State government but the small and medium traders have been completely neglected by the government.”

Sundar Panwar, President Uttarakhand Taxi Association wonders: “Why were  taxes being levied on taxis under lockdown due to the orders of the Central Government ? Instead, interests on loans should be waived and a moratorium should be extended until 2021. There is no income, while expenditure remains the same.”

Even as an uncertain future stares at them, people associated with tourism are looking for some respite from the government. It is hoped that they can stay afloat through the present pandemic.

Juniyali: Uttarakhand’s own Pahadi Musical Doll

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dateline Dehradun: “Juniyali” was born on the 6th of October 2019. Standing tall at one foot, Uttarakhand’s first Pahadi musical doll is a complete entertainment package. The dainty doll dances to the tunes of Garhwali-Kumaoni songs fed into it. Its shining wings glow in the dark, its beautiful 3D eyes make it look life-like and its shimmering attire make it look attractive. A must-have for young girls.

Three friends despite being in different countries shared a common dream, “Juniyali.” Deep Negi presently working in a healthcare company in Dubai tells us, “I along with Pankaj Adhikari and Akki Adhikari who work in Gurgaon wanted to bring alive dreams of young parents, working in the cities who wished for  their children to know their ancestral language and culture or at least catch a glimpse of it. After extensive research we designed this musical doll so that from a young age they children could somehow feel a connect with their roots.”

Designed under the “Phyonli and Pines – Journey Towards the Hills” banner, Juniyali adds to the company’s aim to manufacture or sell products related to culture, agriculture, jewellery, lifestyle and tourism to promote reverse migration.

After out-sourcing the raw material, Juniyali was put together in Delhi and Uttarakhand. The traditional attire of Juniyali includes Ghaghra, Gulaband, Pichoda, Talkha, Koti, Pahari Topi, Ghilda, Tokari etc. with plenty of scope to add more regional touches to the end product.

Deep further adds, “The responses received so far have been very motivating for the team. The product is not only creative, but also fulfils the intention of Phyonli and Pines to bring cultural awareness and educate young-minds with the help of toys.”

In today’s digital age, when children have forgotten traditional games such as Chula-Bhandi, Gudda-Guddia, Pithu and Raj etc, Juniyali is trying to bridge the gap by bringing young-souls closer to their home in the hills.

Pithoragarh Forest Rest House: Born Again!

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dateline Pithoragarh: ‘This is straight of an old fairytale!’ That, anyway, was my first reaction on seeing pictures that were sent to me by District Forest Officer, Dr. Vinay Bhargav of the picture-perfect Pithoragarh Rest House, restored to its glory.

Some three kilometers from Pithoragarh town on the Chandok road, spread over a sprawling one and a half bigha the Forest Rest House was built in 1963-64. Almost fifty years later, it had begun to lose some of its charm. Restoration work began to give the place a sorely needed facelift in December of 2018, under the watchful eye of District Forest Officer.

Soon after, in just six months, at a cost of forty-five lakhs, the two-storey building began to work its magic again. With exteriors clad with stone and seasoned deodar wood, giving it warmth, rarely seen these days. The interiors are cozy; the upper floor houses two identical suites that are complete with a drawing, dining, bathroom, toilet and bedroom while the ground floor too has two regular units.

Talking to Newspost, DFO Pithoragarh, Dr. Vinay Bharti tells us, “Pithoragarh is remotely situated. Some 550 kms from the headquarters of Dehradun, after seventeen odd hours of travel, the guests must get utmost comfort, state-of-the-art-facilities including traditional Kumaoni cuisine served along with regular food.”

 Since the recent latest renovation, the rest house has played the host for many guests and tourists; VIPs and VVIPs ensuring that they enjoy the magical environs while body comforts are taken care of by round-the-clock-staff.

For those who want to enjoy the hospitality of the VVIP suites, it costs Rs. 5,000/- + GST + food. Though regular suites go for Rs. 1,500 + GST + food.

If you would like to book any of the FRHs within Pithoragarh Forest Division, you can send a formal letter of request (either by E-mail) to [email protected]

Fax at: 05964-225234

Uttarakhand’s Nandprayag and Almora Cantonment amongst cleanest towns in India

By
Tania Saili
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0

Nandprayag/Almora Cantonment: Uttarakhand’s Nandprayag and Almora Cantonment have been adjudged amongst the cleanest towns in India under City Sanitation Ranking Survey Swachch Survekshan 2020 which concluded in January this year.

Himani Vaishnav, Pradhan for Nagar Panchayat Nandprayag is elated, all the hard work put together by her team has finally paid off, “Cleaning the entire city, cleaning shrubs and drains was done regularly. Public was made aware of their duty towards cleanliness through street plays, poster, banners and loud speakers.”

With a population of 2447, Nandprayag has four wards Muniyali, Shakuntala Bagar, Upper Bazar and Chandika Mohalla. Door to door garbage collection along with an online feedback survey by locals, keep officials on their toes. Biodegradable and plastic waste is being segregated in schools, market and other public places. While organic compost manure is being prepared by the civic body from wet waste. Apart from this, Nagar Panchayat Nandprayag has completely banned the use of plastic and challans those who continue to do so.

Founded in 1815, at an altitude of 5,262 feet, out of the nine Cantonment Boards in Uttarakhand, Almora Cantonment has also been selected for this prestigious award. Earlier in 2017-18, Almora Cantonment ranked second under the City Sanitation Ranking Survey Swacch Survekshan. With two wards and a population of 1391, as per Census 2011, for CEO Akanksha Tiwari and her team, the award gives them a boost to put their best foot forward and move onward, upward making their way close to the top spot under the City Sanitation Ranking Survey Swacch Survekshan.”

With two of its towns, one each from Garhwal and Kumaon making it into the finalists for the City Sanitation Ranking Survey Swacch Survekshan 2020 award,  comes as a pat on the back for the Trivendra Singh Rawat led State government who is working relentlessly in making Uttarakhand cleaner and greener.

Trendy yet traditional jewelry available at TUDSlifestyle.com

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun: Taking ‘Vocal for Local’ initiative a step forward TUDSlifestyle is soon becoming Uttarakhand’s one-stop shop for all your regional requirements.

Recently TUDS collaborated with Sandook for artificial Garhwali and Kumaoni jewelry exclusively. With the success of Kumaoni Pichoda from Haldwani to Pahari Topis from Mussoorie and Pahadi Dolls (Junyali) TUDS is leaving no stone-unturned to give a digital online presence to its numerable artisans: young or old, men or women to showcase their work on a digital platform.

Raman Shaily helped with his dedicated team tells us, “TUDS is your 24×7 online place for ethnic, regional lifestyle products. Just within a year, artists and artisans from our home state have approached us with their products ranging from long forgotten handmade moulds for roth (Garhwali nibbles) to customized t-shirts even pichoda’s and now ethnic jewelry. We are working on making this a completely Uttarakhandi online platform to showcase products from and by our hill-folks.”

If you like traditional jewelry from the hills of Uttarakhand but did not wish to shell out too much money, Sandook is the place for you to shop online. From Pauchi to Galabandh and the famous traditional pahadi nath are available at a steal-deal. Made from gilet and beads, the jewelry is light to wear and sure to wow the younger generation who want to carry a traditional yet trendy look but don’t want it to be too expensive or heavy.

TUDs along with Sandook and other collaborators is working on bringing the world a little closer to the hills of home by making worthy products, discoverable and within everyone’s reach, no matter where home is.

Gracias! Saying Thank you, from Spain

By
Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Uttarkashi; Guests are Gods in the Land of the Gods. The then Uttarkashi District Magistrate Dr. Ashish Chauhan, who went the extra mile, helping a stranded Spanish mountaineer who had lost his way, like many others do, in the tough terrain of Garhwal Himalaya two years ago had no idea how his gesture had left an indelible impression on the one he helped.

Dr. Ashish Chauhan, touching lives..

Juan Antonio Padilla, in his early 40’s, a passionate Spanish mountaineer was on his first visit to India in 2018. He had chosen to climb Sathopanth, but lost his way on his way back. Had it not been for the timely rescue efforts of the District administration team, things could have taken a turn for the worse.

Fast Forward to 15th August, 2020. Antonio and his well-known opening partner, David Resino have been climbing in a hidden or little-traveled area of ​​the Central System or the Dark Channels, on the south west face of Gredos, Spain. Having the opportunity to open avenues and ‘baptize’ them has always been the enthusiastic mountaineer’s dream. This alpine area is somewhat hidden on the west face of Almanzor. It is recognized throughout Spain for its steep, difficult and treacherous terrain.

In gratitude for being able to go back alive and meet his eleven year old son, Antonio, connecting over a rather ‘iffy’ internet tells me: “I have christened one of its never-climbed points “Magistrate’s Point” and the access road “Via Ashish.” This is in memory of India and what people like Mr. Ashish mean to me. It has left an indelible impression on me.”

Sharing the story and images of the summit on social media, the former District magistrate was pleasantly surprised and humbled by the gesture saying, “I was just doing what I was trained to do!”

Stories like these are heartwarming. They bring home the eternal truth that the world is, indeed, one large family. Small wonder we in the East say: Vasudeva Kutambakam.

Planting trees for a noble cause

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun: On the occasion of 74th Independence Day celebrations, EcoGroup a Dehradun based environmental group decided to ring in the festivities in a unique way.

The members planted One hundred and Thirteen saplings of indigenous trees such as amla, neem, Ashoka and others in honour of His Holiness Dalai Lama. A brand ambassador of peace, religious harmony, environmental conservation and also working for reviving Indian wisdom in contemporary India, this was a small token of love by EcoGroup along with Tara Foundation and Doon Nature Association.

Speaking to Newspost, Sherin Luding, Chairperson of Tara Foundation stated, “HH Dalai Lama said that he would live till the ripe old age of 113 years. So we pray that he lives a long and healthy life for the benefit of sentient beings,” adding, “we were happy to participate in the plantation drive organised by Tibetan Settlement office, Dehradun at Gepheling settlement, Sahastradhara Road on the auspicious occasion of Independence Day as part of celebration of ‘The Year of Gratitude’ for His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”

Members of the EcoGroup Shikha Prakash, Vidhi Bisht, Anmol Bhargava, Vivek Pradhan and Rashmi Jauhari generously donated these saplings and planted trees along with senior citizens of the Tibetan settlement for the greater cause.

Sanjay Bhargav, Secretary EcoGroup said, “not only are we planting these saplings but we will ensure their survival and protection in the coming months.”

Over the years, EcoGroup has been promoting collection of #singleuseplastic waste into a plastic bottle that can be later used in place of bricks to make flower beds or place them around trees or even for construction purposes.

The group has also been instrumental in making Kewal Vihar Colony come first in Dehradun for Best Waste Management.

Such activities by those who love Dehradun implies their commitment to uphold environmental conservation and ensures us that the valley of Doon is in safe hands.

Uttarakhand police raises over ten crores through fines

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun: Over ten crores has been collected as fine by the Uttarakhand Police to date, from violators of Covid-19 guidelines that have been put in place by the Health Department this year.

Whereas, legal action has been taken against 57,715 people on charges of violating rules, another 211 people have been booked under IT Act on charges of spreading rumors on social media. Along with 4,644 First Information Report (FIR) filed against lockdown violators.

Challans of 24,656 people have been deducted under violation of social distancing across the state. However as many as 1,97,754 people have been fined across Uttarakhand for not wearing facemasks, and this number keeps going up.

During the statewide lockdown, the highest penalty was collected under the Motor Vehicle Act. The police have so far collected seven crore, thirty lakh, nine thousand six hundred rupees under the MV Act alone, on a wide range of charges, including unnecessary driving of vehicles during lockdown.

However, under the Police Act, a fine of rupees One crore, eighty-three lakh, twenty four thousand has been garnered from across the hill-state.

Simultaneously, under the Disaster Management and Epidemic Act, a fine of two crore, seventy-eight lakh, thirty five thousand was levied under various lockdown violations.

Up until 13th of August, 2020 the Uttarakhand Police has contributed a sum total of rupees ten crore, ninety-four lakh, seventeen thousand one hundred to the state treasury.

Covid-19 has also plagued the department with 186 Covid positive police personnel as on the 13th of August, 2020 from across the hill-state. Out of the total, 99 have recovered and 72 personnel have returned to their posts. As far as containment zones are concerned the hill-state has 601 containment zones with the highest number of containment zones i.e. 403 in Haridwar district followed by 145 in Udhamsingh Nagar.

With each passing day, the amount collected from violators across the thirteen districts shows an upward trend.

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