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Superbikes make a grand entry into Mussoorie

By
Tania Saili
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0

You could hear them miles before they made their grand entry. 40 odd super bikes from in and around Dehradun rode into Mussoorie today afternoon.

District Magistrate, Dehradun, flagged of the super bike riders, aged between 25-45 year olds on Kawasaki Ninja 1000cc. Driving for over fifty kilometers via Hathi Paon, Library and then onto Picture Palace, the super bikes ended their ride, lined-up in all their glory, infront on Garhwal Terrace.

The rev of the machine and the continuous flow of riders into town made an interesting sight. Excited young men and women made a beeline to take selfies with the colourful mean-machines. While some youngsters, much to everyone’s delight, were seen negotiating with the riders for a ride around town.

They came, they saw and they won hearts

The riders were in town to promote Mussoorie’s magnificent Winterline and in turn the 5 day Mussoorie Winter Carnival, wooing visitors and locals alike. Parmesh Sharma, from Dehradun spoke to Newspost about his experience, “Felt so happy that I could contribute to Mussoorie’s Carnival and do our bit. Mussoorie has given me 15 best years of my life. Driving through scenic parts of Mussoorie and culminating the ride with the magical winterline in the backdrop, is awesome.” Young pillion rider Siddhant Pundir who rode with his father, an enthusiastic biker who has known these roads like the back of his hand, had this to say, “today was the best ride that I could ever have in my life. It is something that I would want everyone to experience once in a lifetime. It was simply outstanding.”

The camaraderie of fellow riders as they threw on their helmet, slapped on the leather, and their boots revving their mean-machines through town was more about the journey than the destination, for this wolf pack who returned home with lots of memories and their mission accomplished.

Mussoorie Winter Carnival: Where Talent has no age bar!

By
Tania Saili
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0
Spinning magic with their dance moves

The Mussoorie Winter Carnival is on in full swing. With stages put up at regular intervals, lifeless parts of town have come alive from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with numerous performers doing their act.

Today afternoon, the Landour Stage came alive when two young kids, both in their early teens took to the stage. Annie from Waverley and Manav from St.Lawrence, both local residents spun magic with their dance moves to Hindi and English songs being broadcast from a music system.

Spinning magic with their dance moves

Their audience, from 3 year olds to elderlies snug as a bug in shops lining the narrow market were left spell bound by these young stars. Smita Vaish, a local resident who witnessed the young children on the stage tells me, “At least these young talents are getting some kind of exposure which will go a long way in getting them where they truly belong.”

Once their duet ends, Annie joins me in the crowd and fills me in, “I enjoy performing on stage. When my audience claps and encourages me to go on, it gives me the inspiration to do better the next time I am on stage.”

Shy and talented Manav, dances with ease and moves from ‘Taki Taki’ to ‘Teri Miti’ with such grace, that he makes it look, almost effortless. Manav tells me, “Me and my friend Ishaant are performing since the 25th at various stages across town. Dancing to any song from English to Hindi and even regional songs is my passion. I enjoy myself and look forward to performing every day.”

Performing 4-5 hours a day without breaking a sweat, one can see them enjoying themselves on stage, and their energy comes through. With no formal training, these self-taught artists have polished their dancing moves by watching YouTube videos alone.

From very humble background, their parents are encouraging their children for they feel no stage is too big or two small for young talents like these and I agree in unison.

Mussoorie Food Festival kicks off to a great start

By
Tania Saili
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0
Dignitaries sampling the delicacies

Mussoorie, The first day of the Mussoorie Food Festival saw a colourful assortment of food stalls mushrooming at day break.

21 food stalls from Dehradun and Uttarkashi district, spread over a kilometer, along the sun filled Mall will be participating in the four-day event. Serving piping hot food and beverages to visitors from all over the globe, they are putting forward their best. Many dressed in traditional attire, with their stalls done up in local decor, are making sure that you catch a glimpse of Uttarakhand and its cuisine tantalizes your taste buds.

Serving Uttarakhandi cuisine hotel chefs, restaurants  to homemakers, are working around the clock, giving everyone authentic flavor from the hills of home.

Dignitaries taking in the flavours of authentic Uttarakhandi Cuisine

To judge on parameters such as Preparation; Taste; Hygiene and Stall décor, Chef Michael Swamy also known as “The Historian Chef” or “Chef Who Wears Many Hats,” made his maiden visit to the hill-station of Mussoorie, and was he delighted.

Newspost caught up with the four-time Gourmand Award Winner and author of several cookbooks, who told us, “No matter where I travel in the world, I come across one or many Pahadi cooks in the best of hotels and restaurants putting in over 8-10 hours of hard work,” adding, “they cook with all their heart and are passionate about their profession, which is an endearing quality.”

So what is it about the Uttarakhandi cuisine that makes it stand out, “What I love about the Pahadi cuisine is the fact that it is simple, delicious, organic with traditional flavours,” the chef signs off as he steps out to judge awaiting participants.

The Mussoorie food festival  will continue over the next four days culminating on the 29th December when Pankaj Bhadouria another talented chef who made her mark in the culinary world by winning the first Season of MasterChef India, will give away the award to the most deserving team.

Making communication easier with ‘Hello Uttarakhand App’

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun, If you wanted to plan a trip to scenic Uttarakhand but were hesitant, as you did not speak the language, fret not! Download a simple Mobile App: ‘Hello Uttarakhand App’ and you are good to go! Since 2017,

Akash Sharma is no stranger to the world of technology, armed with a B.Tech in IT, Cyber Law and Master’s in Data Science. The young brain was behind the successful ‘Uttarakhand Police App’ and has now launched a multi-lingual translator, “Hello Uttarakhand App.”

Akash Sharma and his multi-lingual team of 112 young men and women, stationed all over the globe have been burning the mid night oil, working on a user friendly Mobile App ‘Hello Uttarakhand,’ breaking the language barrier in a state which strives on Tourism from home and abroad.

“This is a user friendly App for multi-lingual translation for easier, effective communication between local residents and visitors from all over the Globe, that too real-time.” Adding, “It translates the hill-states three regional languages of Jaunsari, Garhwali and Kumaoni into over a hundred universal spoken languages like Hindi, English, Swedish, Thai, Russian, Spanish, Italian to name a few,” Akash fill us in.

The beta version of the App was recently launched for Android handsets in an attempt to get an honest feedback from its over hundred users who will assist the team in refining the ‘Hello Uttarakhand App,’ even further.

“The connotation and pronunciation of our regional languages changes drastically every 50 kms or so,” states Akash, “we want the users of our Beta Version to give us an honest feedback so that we can in-corporate those changes in the final version of the App.”

The team is working hard on incorporating changes and fine-tuning the App with the feedback it is getting from its users every day, once the changes are in place, the final version of the ‘Hello Uttarakhand App,’ will be officially launched on 21st February 2020, universally celebrated as, ‘Mother Language Day.’

Mussoorie gears up for New Year Eve

By
Tania Saili
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0

Mussoorie, If you haven’t quite decided where you want to head this New Year’s Eve, then maybe this article will help you make up your mind.

Perched a mile high in the sky, Mussoorie is sprawled across the first foothills of the Himalaya. Throughout the year, the town attracts visitors  from home and abroad, but as the year comes to an end, crowds flock to get away from it all, and enjoy the festivities in town.

Mussoorie the ‘Queen of Hills’ is ready to ring in 2020 on a high note. Decked in sparkle and glitter, The Mall brims over with sunshine and smiling people of every age group. With the Mussoorie Winterline Carnival being hosted from the 25th-30th there is more than one special reason for everyone to pick the hill-station to begin their New Year.

Smitabh and his friends from Delhi tell me, “Actually we were thinking of something new for the new year. All eight of us decided to go to a hill station and we chose Mussoorie as its closer to  Delhi, the weather is lovely, no pollution and lots of activities lined-up.”

Rajinder Singh with his family from Amritsar, came to town looking for a sunny getaway from the fog enveloped plains of Punjab, and he is not disappointed, “There is a temperature dip in the evening and morning, but the sun is lovely during the day. We and the children are enjoying themselves walking the length and breadth of town.”

“The streets lit up at night makes Mussoorie look like Las Vegas, except there aren’t any casinos in town,” quips Romy Wadehra, a resident in town.

Most hotels boast of 80% occupancy with different themes to woo their clients. From famous Djs to a live orchestra, tantalising menu and games, there is something from everyone, as 2019 comes to an end.

As yet another spectacular sunset brings us closer to new year eve with snow peak mountains and the magnificent winterline out in all its glory, there is still time for those left out of the fun.

Pack their bags and head to Mussoorie.

Dindyaali: Home away from Home

By
Tania Saili
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0
Dindyaali in all its glory

Dehradun, 20 kms from the state capital of Dehradun, tucked away on the Dehradun-Thano road in village Siriyon is a unique home-stay called, Dindyaali.

Recently renovated and fixed with modern amenities, this is a traditional Garhwali two-storied homestay. Complete with a meditation hall on top and three rooms on the ground floor, Dindyaali is an ideal get-away from the city madness to enjoy the serene, calm surroundings of Siriyon and treat your taste buds on some traditional flavours of our hills.

A joint venture of Raturi and Naithani family turned their ancestral house into a pahadi homestay. The idea was to give those who walked through its doors, a true flavor of Uttarakhand on the lines of its motto, ‘atithi devo bhawa.’

The proud host and hostess with their guests

The highlight of the visit is the traditional welcome, the traditional attire  and jewellery worn by passionate host and hostess, and of course, nothing beats the lip-smacking, authentic Pahadi food like freshly grounded chutney, kaafli, chaisu, phaada, jhangura ki kheer, koday ki roti served on bio-degradable cutlery, to guests comfortably sitting on the ground, pahadi style.

Badrish Chhabra from Dehradun visited Dindyaali a few days back and is full of praise for the place, “it feels as if I am sitting somewhere in the hills, far away from the city. The flavours and ambience of Dindyaali brought back memories of childhood spent in the the interiors of Uttarakhand. Simply amazing,” is what this Pahadi sardar had to say. And others who have been through its doors, promise to return soon.

Pahadi cuisine to tantalize the taste buds

Giving us more insight, Navendu Raturi tells us, “We will be organising a, ‘pahadi theme party on the 31st of January for 50 guests. Complete with pahadi food, culture and traditional games, the guests can re-learn dancing steps of thadiya and chouffla, our traditional dances.”

For now, Dindyaali easily homes ten people, but the family is working on increasing their space in tune with their surrounding. They can want to open their doors and hearth to guests who come looking for more than just your run of the mill, regular, home-stay close to Dehradun.

Dehradun latest Plastic Bank comes up at Indian Council of Agriculture Research

By
newspost
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0

Dehradun, As a part of the Swachhta Pakhwada drive, Dehradun based ICAR-IISWC joined hands with CSIR-IIP and Gati Foundation to establish a Plastic Bank in their campus.

Gati Foundation is working with Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) to create a supply chain of plastic waste. IIP is recycling plastic waste to fuel with the help of a plant that is installed inside the campus of IIP.

During the program Anoop Nautiyal, Founder Chairperson, Gati Foundation graced the occasion as Chief Guest. “We are really happy to establishPlastic Bank at IISWC and are really hopeful that this is a big step towards addressing the massive problem of plastic waste in our cities,” said Nautiyal. He also informed that till now Gati Foundation has been able to provide more than 1000 kgs of plastic waste to IIP from the five, community-driven plastic banks in the city.

Dr. Sanat, Senior Scientist, CSIR-IIP informed the gathering about the technology of converting plastic into fuel and thereby converting waste into wealth. He was accompanied by Dr. Atul Ranjan, Senior Scientist, CSIR-IIP.

On this occasion, Dr. P.R. Ojasvi, Director IISWC stated that the institute will collect the plastic from the campus for its further supply to IIP through Gati Foundation. He also asked the scientists to evolve some biological technique to decompose the single use plastic.

Dr. Bankey Bihari, Head, HRD&SS Division and Dr Harsh Mehta, Head Plant Science Division from IISWC were also present in the program. At the end of the program, a formal vote of thanks was presented by Dr Indu Rawat, Scientist and Nodal Officer, Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. From Gati Foundation Pyare Lal, Anushka Martolia and Rishabh Shrivastava were also present in the program.

Snowfall snarls traffic this weekend

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun: Kilometers on end. Inching bumper to bumper. Cars of all shapes and size, thrown in with a few hundred bikes and scooties have choked the Mussoorie-Dhanolti bypass, even before the season’s first snowfall settled.

It started yesterday morning. As the first flake danced to the ground, vehicles snaked their way to Dhanolti and Mussoorie from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana. Arriving in droves, as little as one year olds to people in their late seventies came to town, to get a feel of the ‘Real Thing!

Cars of all shapes and size, choke the Mussoorie-Dhanolti bypass,

For shopkeepers big and small, from Dehradun to Mussoorie and even Dhanolti meant good business. The local administration stepped in for the safety of visitors by diverting traffic at various entry points. Though the strategy of limiting entry worked well yet, led to tipping point as the vehicles kept pouring into town, late into the night.

Mussoorie SHO Vidhya Bhushan Negi has had a busy weekend. Talking to Newspost he said: “Due to snow, traffic was diverted from the Jaypee bend to Mussoorie to ease traffic snarls along the Dhanolti-bypass. Police force has been deployed at important landmarks such as Battaghaat, Lal Tibaa, Library Chowk, Barlowganj. Tehri and Dehradun police are working in sync and diverting traffic time to time to ensure there is no untoward incident,” he added.

As for local residents, the enthusiasm of tourists to take their vehicles along with them has caused, “pure mayhem. Rental bikes and scooties are rage of the day, tourists refuse to walk and enjoy themselves,” Smarty Singh from Landour Bazaar tells me, as he sorts out, yet another traffic jam on the sharp incline.

 The waltz of the snowflakes is once in a lifetime experience, but it comes with its own share of peril for those who refuse to dance in harmony with it.

Trail of memories: Apoorwa D Karnatic

By
Tania Saili
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0
Poem, Poet
The poet at an Open Mic reciting her poem

Nainital, 22-year-old Poet, Apoorwa D Karnatic has roots in Mukteshwar, Nainital. It is here, her home in the hills, that Apoorwa found her true calling, poetry.

A final year Mass Communication student from Galgotia University, Apoorwa captured her feeling in words and composed her first poem in 2007 when she lost her Grandmother.

“Whenever I feel a strong connect with an event or an issue, I put pen to paper and string words together. At times, all it takes is half an hour to express myself in words,” Apoorwa tells me over the phone. For years now, the young talent has been composing poetry on issues faced by the hill-state and its folks.

poem, poet
The poet with her strength, her family

Kahani Palayan Ki, HitMyarPahad recited by Apoorwa at an Open Mic organised by Poem & Kahaniya was  appreciated by the audience. It gives a glimpse into the written magic that the poet weaves about her home state and has an instant connect with the audience. Apoorwa talks about important, need of the hour topics such as Responsible Tourism ” adds Raman Shelly who happened to hear the young poet at the gig.

 

Apoorwa’s annual summer visit to her home in the hills made her empathise with the hardships of hill folk. She has seen how despite adversities, these brave people, do not give it up, instead “they keep moving forward with a certain resilience and a smile on their face.” Her next compilation, ‘Happy Pahadan’ to be released in the coming January 2020, is about that.

In the near future, once her final year is behind her, Apoorwa plans to continue her illustrious poetry career but take up pertinent issues on ground too.

Hygiene and sanitation amongst womenfolk is what I want to address Apoorwa shares with us. It is here, amongst her people, that her heart and mind reside and finds her true inspiration to weave magic with words.

Strategy to curb e-waste in Dehradun: Gati Foundation

By
newspost
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0

Dehradun, city based environmental action and advocacy group, Gati Foundation, conducted an extensive study on e-waste management in Dehradun. The study focused on: e-waste management practices at authorised mobile dealers/centers; citizens’ awareness on e-waste management and informal sector of e-waste recycling in the city.

The study visited 14 authorised mobile centers of one of the largest mobile companies in India; conducted an online interview with over 130 people; and interacted with city-based informal recyclers. The research team visited authorised mobile centers at Rajpur Road, Jakhan, Dilaram, Ballupur and GMS road in the city.

The findings of the study revealed shocking facts and figures: authorised mobile dealers in the city are openly flouting the legal norms enshrined under the E-waste Management Rules 2016 notified by the Government of India (GoI).  94% of the mobile dealers do not have a separate dustbin for e-waste disposal as mentioned under rule 7(1). 88% of the mobile dealers are not aware of the E-waste (Management) Rules 2016, which governs the entire domain of e-waste management in the country. 63% of the mobile dealers are not even aware of the term ‘e-waste’.

As per rule 5(1)(d), it is mandatory for mobile dealers and brand owners to roll out buyback scheme or deposit refund scheme in order to manage the e-waste. Surprisingly, not even a single mobile dealer is aware of the buyback scheme or does not have a system for managing the deposit refund scheme.

“E-waste rules pose a strict liability on brand owners, dealers and recyclers engaged in e-waste management. The mobile dealers are found to be openly flouting the rules. It is a grave danger to the environment as the informal ecosystem has the potential of causing serious pollution to soil, water and air. Companies must facilitate a complete solution to manage the e-waste getting generated in our cities post their product usage,” says Anoop Nautiyal, Founder of Gati Foundation.

The second part of the study focussed on the citizen survey. 90% of the citizens are not aware of any registered e-waste recycler in the city. 9 out of 10 respondents agreed that companies must take responsibility for  e-waste generated post-consumer use of their products. 50% of the citizens are disposing of e-waste by selling it to a local Kabadiwala. 8 out of 10 respondents say that they prefer buying a new phone instead of buying a second hand or refurbished device.

“The infrastructure to handle electronic waste in the city is in a critical state right now. Role of companies is crucial here as they can help in executing pan-city e-waste awareness and collection drives which can help in curbing the problem. State agencies can be mobilised to act against the illegal units engaged in dismantling of e-waste inside the city, causing environmental pollution“, said Rishabh Shrivastava, Lead – Public Policy and Communications, Gati Foundation.

The study also highlighted that a large number of illegal units in the city are engaged in unscientific dismantling or recycling of the e-waste, contaminating the soil and water bodies in the region. Most of the e-waste from these illegal units is being transported and dumped in neighbouring cities of Uttar Pradesh like Saharanpur and Moradabad. Based on the findings of the study, Foundation has sent a legal submission to mobile companies and is working to implement strategies to curb the problem of e-waste in Dehradun.

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