Pahadi Kitchen: A taste of Garhwal

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June 4, 2019

Rudraprayag: 2015. Two years after the Kedarnath deluge ‘Kedarnath Kitchen’ was set up in Sonprayag to bring employment to the youth of the region and also serve authentic Garhwali food to people who came visiting Kedarnath shrine from home and abroad.

Fast-forward to present day. A more refined version of Kedarnath Kitchen called Pahadi Kitchen with a sitting capacity for 40 people, has flung open its doors at Sonprayag, serving piping-hot traditional Garhwali cuisine for lunch and dinner.

From daybreak, this otherwise sleepy town comes to life with it eateries of all shapes and sizes buzzing with people. It is here where all vehicles come to a stop and from here you either walk, or take the shuttle to Gaurikund enroute to Kedarnath.

Refurbished and reopened on the 24th of May, Pahadi Kitchen prides itself for serving authentic cuisine, Manoj Semwal, the owner of the restaurant tells us, “For years we have been serving in the Kedar Valley. We started the Pahadi Kitchen with the whole purpose of generating employment for the youth here and also to serve authentic Garhwali food to people who come to Devbhoomi.”

With Chardham Yatra on full swing and over 12 lakh pilgrims, visitors and tourists on road, Pahadi Kitchen has the cash register ringing. At this point of time, there are close to twelve to fifteen people including four women working round the clock in the kitchen, here.

The menu boasts of mouth-watering traditional Garhwali dishes such as bhatwani, chausa, bhanjeer chutney, mandua rotis (Millet Bread), Chaulaee roti (Amaranth Bread), brown and red rice, and to end it all, jhingora kheer (millet dessert) to treat your sweet tooth.

“With the blessings of Lord Kedarnath our business is flourishing. Our clients are giving us an excellent feedback on the menu, which is heartening not only for us but also for our employees, who are eager to serve.”

If you happen to visit Kedarnath by road then do make sure you stop at Pahadi Kitchen and return with a flavour of the hills.

Project Devalsari: Home away from Home

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Tania Saili

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June 2, 2019

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homestay, devalari, eco toursim — Devalsari homestay

“We are convincing villagers not to sell their land and homes. Instead, we are bringing responsible tourism to their doorstep. We want them to remain owners of their land and homes and not earn their living by working for someone else.”

It is this thought that pioneered the Devalsari Environment and Technology Development Society in the year 2016.

Situated some 50 kilometers from Mussoorie, beyond Thatyud, Devalsari Environment and Technology Development Society Project is spread over a radius of 70 kms, and is one of its kind success story.

Today ten villages under the banner of the Project are leading by example of sustainable, responsible eco- tourism in the heart of its lush green deodar forest.

27-year-old, Arun Gaur from Bangseel one of the twenty villages in Devalsari, is your point-person here. Under the project Arun has been training the young and old in the field of hospitality, turning them into perfect hosts and nature guides who take you along for bird watching, butterfly walks, heritage walks under the mighty trees.

For now, the Devalsari project caters to twenty tourists with tent accommodation and authentic Jaunpuri cuisine any given day.

Telling us more, Arun adds, “ I am a beekeeping expert by profession and have held numerous workshops all over the State, but a few years ago. I returned home and started working with the NGO as the idea of environmental conservation along with self employment, appealed to me.”

Although, the best season to visit Devalsari is from January to June and then from September onwards, Arun suggests, “Every season has something different to. We have round the year clients that bring with them direct or indirect employment to over fifty people. From daily labourers, to pony owners, ration shop owners, they all earn a living through these camps.”

In the past two years, the project has shown an overwhelming turn over of 15 lakhs a year. With four more home-stays in the making, Arun is sure that their success story will be replicated in other villages ensuring there are no more ghost villages that define Uttarakhand.

Awake: A project that seeks your vote

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Tania Saili

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May 29, 2019

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Awake - Spiritual Transformation (1) — Pic Courtesy: Mukesh Khugsal

Dehradun, Calling themselves story-tellers, two young men, Nitesh Yadav and Mukesh Khugsal from Uttarakhand have taken the onus of bringing to the limelight, the real-life story of a 42-year-old white guy who goes on to become a Sikh, in Canada entitled ‘Awake.’

Being made for a telecom company Telus, which gives a handsome grant of 50,000 Canadian Dollar to aspiring filmmakers whose pitch video is short-listed by online voting for grants from individuals, organisations in Canada itself, is a much-sorted grant.

The one-minute pitch video of the documentary, shot under the banner of Storyhive has been shot around Canadian landscapes and opens with the lead character talking about his life.

Telling us more, Director Mukesh Khugsal adds, “Almost 400 filmmakers from two Canadian Province of Alberta and British Columbia are participating in this competition. The grant will be provided to 30 projects. The fact that the story has a Uttarakhand connect due to Yoga, the storyline is close to my heart.”

Once the pitch-video is voted online and receives the grant, the 20-25 minute documentary has to be ready by March 2020, for which Mukesh and his team plan to come to Uttarakhand as well.

Sharing the storyline, Mukesh Khugsal tells us how the documentary revolves around a white man born and brought up in Calgary who works as an EMT before realizing his childhood dream of becoming a firefighter.

“It is his journey of internal and external turmoil as he is assaulted for no fault of his. During his search for inner peace, the protagonist is drawn to ways of the ancient and practices Kundalini Yoga. This life-changing incident sees him convert to Sikhism, spreading happiness and healing tortured souls along the way,” he adds.

With one vote per-day, for the next two days before the final voting ends, Mukesh and his team is looking for support from their friends and family back home.

Every vote counts, make sure you cast your vote twice over at the below-given link:

https://www.storyhive.com/project/show/id/5032#anchor-vote

The Uttarakhandi architect behind Modi’s Rudra Meditation Cave

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Tania Saili

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May 29, 2019

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Rudraprayag, With just his paintbrush and flute for company, Krishna Kuriyal, the architect behind the Rudra Meditation Cave at Kedarnath, is also the second person after Prime Minister Narendra Modi to have spent a night there.

Kedarnath, Maun Guffa — Entrance to the Meditation Cave

At an elevation of 12000 ft, and at a distance of 1 and half kilometer on foot from the Kedarnath Shrine, across the Mandakini river, the cave had been tucked away into the mountainside until Prime Minister Modi who himself lived and meditated in Kedarnath, came up with the unique idea of refurbishing the ‘Meditation Cave,‘ with the idea of reviving meditation in the hills, as a way of life.

Working on war footing, constructed by the Woodstone Team of Col. Ajay Kothiyal and sponsored by JSW who initiated the reconstruction of Kedarnath, a month later, this Cave was ready. Equipped with basic amenities such as electricity, attached toilet, bathing area with hot water, sit-out and a single bed facility, phone and meals.

Kedarnath, Shrine, Cave — View of Kedarnath from the shrine

Though the cave is not centrally heated, it is protected from high winds from all sides by a thick 3 feet wall made from local material basically stone, making it snug as a bug in a rug. A small window on the inside, is positioned in such a place that it opens to the direct view of the Kedarnath Shrine.

For now Mr Rauthan, the caretaker of the cave, which is being run by the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, has his hands full with bookings on in full swing. A day in the cave is priced at a nominal 990/- while a night here is priced at 1500/- and as Krishna Kuriyal puts it, “It is cheaper than any room in Kedarnath vicinity. ”

Having spent his time in the cave painting images on the wall and playing the flute, Krishna tells us, “It is a great place for meditation, art, music, writing. It is an ancient cave which has been slightly modified, one has to still crawl inside, as it has a low ceiling but that is its USP too.”

Adding, “there’s a lot of scope for improvement as far as artistic touches are concerned, which we shall add on as we progress.”

To make your bookings, click on this link:

http://gmvnl.in/newgmvn/trh.asp?id=161

Free health check-up camp for all: Waste Warriors Society

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newspost

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May 28, 2019

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Dehradun, With the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) & Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Private Limited, Waste Warriors Society (NGO) joined hands with CHC Raipur, Dehradun to conduct a free health check-up camp for all the people working towards our environment.

The camp was conducted in Community Health Center Dehradun, on 28th May (Tuesday) which started around 10 am till 1 pm. The program was inaugurated by Dr. Anand Shukla, Superintendent CHC Raipur.

It is often seen that people, who work on keeping the environment clean from day to night, are unable to avail services to protect themselves from the consequences of coming in contact with garbage waste such as respiratory, skin related, heart disease, blood disorders, etc. In view of all these problems, for the better and healthful life, all the stakeholders came together to organize this health camp in the CHC Raipur for the first time.

The program saw the participation of 50 patients for several check-ups along with availing the facility of free medicines over the counter. With the help of Mr. Shubham Mishra, Mr. Rahul Panwar and Ms Anushi Chauhan from Waste Warriors Society, Dr. Anand Shukla, and Admin officer C. K. Bhatt , the medical camp was successfully conducted for the benefit of environment

Pandavaas ‘Maangal:’ Reviving Tradition

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Tania Saili

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May 27, 2019

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Next time you attend a Garhwali wedding, the chances are you wont hear the bride walking down the aisle with a Punjabi score in the background, but that to the Garhwali Maangal score by Pandavaas.

A 25 minute compilation of six melodious but forgotten Maangal tracks sung during auspicious ceremonies in Garhwal have been given an interesting musical twist by Pandavaas who attempted to bridge the gap between tradition and modern.

Kunal Dobhal tells us, “We were asked to put together a score for a marriage in Shri Trijuginarayan which is an upcoming wedding destination. Instead of working on something new, we have tried to rework on the ancient traditional Maangal scores, with a new twist which still reverberates with the ancient score above the tweaking of the orchestra.”

While the songs are sung in pahari tune the foot-tapping orchestra complete with sitar, violins and shahnaee doesn’t take away the old-age charm of the songs.

Talented, raw artists from as far as Delhi and Haryana attended a three-day workshop in Srinagar, Garhwal, earlier this year to get the correct pronunciation, accent and intonation which took close to a year to be ready for release. Eight young female artists, few non-garhwali have lent their voice to the melodious tracks. Anamika Vashisth, Anjali Khare, Avantika Negi, Ekta Negi, Ruchika Kandari, Shalili Bahuguna, Shiwani Bhagwat, Sunidhi Vashisth, Sushma Nautiyal along with three male artists Aman Dhanai, Deepak Naithani and Ishaan Dobhal sang the six tracks in the compilation, each relating to a particular ceremony during weddings, such as Haldi haath, Pheras, Vidai etc.

Maangal will soon be released on digital platforms such as iTunes, Gaana and Juke Box on Youtube so that the collection has an international appeal and access to everyone.

About the idea of digital release, Kunal Dobhal says, “its not always about profit and loss, some creativity is done for the love of rituals and traditions and keeping alive, that which was once an inseparable part of our past.”

Biopic on Modi has a Dehradun connect

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Tania Saili

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May 25, 2019

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PM Modi — Actor Satish Sharma and Dr. Anjali Nauriyal in Pm Narendra Modi

Dehradun, Doonite Satish Sharma and Dr. Anjali Nauriyal are making their presence felt, yet again on the silver screen, with their latest release PM Narendra Modi.

Helmed by Director Omung Kumar known for ‘Mary Kom’ and ‘Sarbjit’, and co-produced by Suresh Oberoi, along with Sandeep Singh, the film was shot on-location at Dehradun’s premier institute, Forest Research of India earlier this year.

Prime Minister, Biopic, Modi — Pic Courtesy: Twitter

The biopic saw its own share of controversies as it was slated for an early April release in 23 regional languages, but with Lok Sabha election dates announced around the same time, the movie was put on hold.

The Premier of the movie was held in Mumbai on Thursday late night and released worldwide yesterday. Talking to us, Actor Satish Sharma said, “I have two scenes in the movie. The feedback from fellow actors has been reassuring. My aura, look, along with dialogue delivery has been appreciated, which is good to hear.”

Adding, “It took close to three hours for Actor Vivek Oberoi to complete his get-up with prosthetics and beard essaying the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” recalls Satish Sharma.

Dr. Anjali Nauriyal who plays a cameo role, that of the wife of an MLA in the movie tells us, “It’s a cameo in a comic scene. But it sure feels great to be associated with a film on our Prime Minister.”

Scenes from the PMO were enacted with Actor Prashant Naraynan, veteran actor Anjan Shrivastav and Satish Sharma in the conference room of the Forest Research of India that has been showcased as the Prime Minister’s Office in the movie.

The magnificent corridors of the Forest Research of India also come alive in a few scenes from the biopic.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi sweeping the Lok Sabha elections, the controversial biopic has already generated immense publicity and is said to show promising results at the box office too.

Breathing new life into Aipan: Savita Joshi

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Lucky Singh/Tania Saili

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May 24, 2019

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Aipan, Kumaon — The face behind Aipan art

Nainital: Aepan, Aipan or Alpana, is a traditional art form which has been handed-down by mothers from one generation to the next and still holds a special place in the Kumaoni household.

Today, this way of the ancients is being kept alive by 34-year-old Savita Joshi who grew up in Haldwani, Uttarakhand and is now settled with her family in Gurugram.

Doctorate in Botany, Savita is a Senior Research Fellow as well as a freelance Research Paper Reviewer with over fifteen national and international research papers published under her name, along with being a full-time mom to a two year old.

And when all that isn’t keeping Savita busy, it is her passion to sustain the age-old tradition of Aipan, an art handed down by her grandmother, and then her mother, which gives her ultimate peace and contentment.

Telling us more about it, she says, “while surfing Instagram I came across artists who had showcased their traditional art and craft. Some were using their fingers as a paint brush dipping it in rice paste, which is very similar to Aipan, but there was not much on Uttarakhand and Aipan, which made me start my Instagram handle on Aipan designs.”

And since then, Savita hasn’t looked any further. Today, thanks to talented artists like her, this popular ritualistic art form has got a fresh lease of life. “I never thought that Aipan would have such a fan-following. My Aipan designs are appreciated in home and abroad. I also get customized design ideas on my Instagram and Facebook page.” “Some designs such as Aipan Lakshmi Padchinha and Aipan Diya make excellent co-corporate gifts,” she adds.

Traditionally, Aipan were designed around places of worship inside and outside homes; doors and entrances, around Tulsi plants using Geru (red earth soil) and rice paste i.e. red background with white designs either geometric or tribal or inspired by nature, using the last three fingers of the right hand.

Today Aipan designs such as Aipan chowki , Janaoo Chowki, Namkaran Surya, Saraswati, Lakshmi Peeth, Jyoti Patti, Shiv Shakti Chowki are an all time favorite with Savita’s clients which are designed by her on paper, along with diyas, coasters, trays, pots and planters, bookmarks and puja thaals etc.

In the near future, the artist would like to hold Aipan workshops around the country to share her talent with the next generation, so that Aipan Padchinha continues to welcome friends and family, into their hearts and homes, forever.

Topper Gaurangi Chawla teaches PEN-India School students

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newspost

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May 21, 2019

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Gauraangi Chawla, Pen India family — Gauraangi with Pen India family

Doiwala, Uttarakhand CBSE topper, Gaurangi Chawla gave a guest lecture to the students of PEN-India School which is an initiative of PEN-India Foundation to provide free and quality education to the underprivileged children. Students appeared very enthusiastic on meeting Gaurangi and her sister Aparna Chawla.

Gaurangi Chawla along with her sister visited PEN-India School where students gave the a warm welcome. Students appeared very enthusiastic and recited poems, counting and alphabets in both Hindi and English. Gaurangi spoke the children and wished them for a bright future. She along with her sister distributed colours and drawing books to the students.

Mr Anoop Rawat, the Founder and Chairperson of the Foundation along with Mr.Santosh Budakoti, the co-founder and Director of the Foundation felicitated Gaurangi with a momento. Volunteer teachers, Mrs Ritu Sharma and Mrs Deepalika Negi were also present.

I want to be a volunteer teacher – Gaurangi

Mr Anoop Rawat, the Founder and Chair person of the Foundation spoke highly of Gaurangi and her sister who were impressed by the students and expressed their desire to become a volunteer teachers in PEN-India School.

Both the sisters also met Dr Prakash Keshaviah, the Patron of the Foundation. Dr Keshaviah said, “its a good initiative that youngsters like Gaurangi and her sister are coming forward to educate the underprivileged children.” Co-founder and Director, Mr Santosh Budakoti spoke on the occasion stating, “students from various educational backgrounds like PhD scholar Anukriti, Shilpa Manwal from Nursing Department and Aarti Pundir from Engineering Department were also associated with PEN-India School as volunteers.”

Earthbound: A thing of beauty is a joy forever

By

Tania Saili

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May 20, 2019

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WhatsApp Image 2019-05-16 at 23.01.59 — Some of the jewellery designed by the ladies

Dehradun, Very seldom do we come across people who make their hobby a career option not only for themselves, but also for those around them. Earthbound, is one such exclusive boutique, which gives the buyer an interesting array of original jewellery and accessories to choose from.

The face behind Earthbound, an exquisite jewellery boutique

The brainchild of Surbhi Mamgain, Earthbound encapsulates the essence of Jute as the main body of every ornament along with silk, cotton, velvet, rayon fabrics decorated with unique German Silver inserts, adding to the collection, a classy yet ethnic look.

Sociology Honours students, along with a Post Graduate Diploma from Apeejay Institute of Design, Surbhi got hooked to the idea of designing jewellery in the year 2016.

What started of as one person’s passion, soon became a mini-industry. Surbhi ably put together a core-team of ten women, whom she single-handedly trained to create designs. Today, these self-dependent women work out of their respective homes, earn a living and dare to dream big.

Her artisans are essentially homemakers who have earned financial and artistic freedom, with every piece that they design. From neckpieces to anklets, bracelets and even belts, Surbhi is exploring more avenues with limited pieces per design being their forte.

Her passion for earthly, simple and rooted fibre and fabric along with the calm and soothing environ of Dehradun took her creativity to whole new level, “Since I moved to Dehradun a couple of years back – I found the city a boon to my creativity and started to design jewellery.”

Telling us more about her artistic bent of mind, Surbhi says, “Contemplation of the design is like a day-dream with no set pattern. But, as soon as an idea comes to me, I am always ready with my material to make that design come alive.”

A worker weaving magic with metal and fibre

Surbhi’s growing list of clienteles comes from across the globe who are strong, self-employed, connoisseur of arts – or simply those who are looking to go beyond the conventional look. “Most of my jewellery finds its owners by word of mouth. I have been sending my jewellery to various countries to individuals as well as collectors.”

Not underestimating the power of social media, Earthbound products can be found on online portals like Jaypore, The loom, Trendroots(USA). Retail outlets like : Anantam in Gurgaon, Hotel Regenta LLP Dehradun, ‘Either Or’ – Pune, showcase her art work as well.

In the near future, Surbhi dreams of creating jobs for hundreds of women who would like to unleash the artist in them and create designs, which will make Earthbound a global brand.

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