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Ramman fest gets a new lease of life
India, Nepal join hands to curb wildlife trade
Zero jumbo-hits on rail tracks |
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Pankaj selected for Asian Indoor Games
Volleyball: ONGC, BEL triumph
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Ramman fest gets a new lease of life
Dehradun, October 28 UNESCO has selected Ramman, a religious festival and ritual theatre whose antiquity is still being debated but its origin can be traced to Ramayana (Ramman originated from Ramyana). The festival and ritual is held annually at Saloor-Dungra village of Joshimath (Chamoli district), but fading interest among people has seen it being performed last time in 2007. Now, with UNESCO stepping in to save it, there will be no dearth of financial assistance for the revival of the festival. “The financial assistance will renew interest for the festival among performers, who may have been pushed to penury. Efforts like these would ensure that the endangered ritual does not die out and the chain of handing down traditional art from one generation to the other would continue,” said Dr DR Purohit, reader with Hemwatinandan Garhwal University (HNB), Srinagar, and culture expert. The festival is held in the last week of April and the date is selected by village ‘purohits’. Local historians say the first written record pertaining to the hosting of the fair has been found to have been made in 1911. Ramman is enacted in a dance form and supported by ballad style of singing. The life of Rama, Prince of Ayodhya, and other characters is beautifully woven around eighteen taals that are danced out at the centre of Panchnam Chowk of Saloor-Dungra village. The presiding deity of the village also makes an appearance at the festival. “For the viewers, the perfect harmony among performers and drum players is awe-inspiring. Not one step is out of line, nor an extra taal performed because a person sitting nearby is entrusted with the task of counting the beats and signalling the entry of performers and the complete story of Ramayana is performed,” said Dr Purohit who is also a trustee of Rural Entrepreneurship in Art Culture and Heritage (REACH). The special attraction of the festival, which may continue for one or more day, are the masks used by the dancers, each vividly different from the other displaying the ingenuity of the creators who continue to follow rigid traditional rules in the selection of material used to make them. “The selection of the tree is made in “amrit mahurat” and in Shukal Paksh (as per the Hindu calender). Preferred trees for picking wood are generally walnut, bhojpatar and madar,” said Lakshman Singh Negi, a writer and activist who has undertaken studies on the practices of festivals and rituals of Garhwal.
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India, Nepal join hands to curb wildlife trade
Dehradun, October 28 In the border township of Dharchula situated along the banks of the Kali river, that forms a part of a focal point of wildlife trade route stretching from Uttarakhand to China, incidents of ferrying of wildlife products have repeatedly been reported. There have been little efforts so far from both the Indian and Nepal authorities to check activities of poachers in this area. But, there has been a glimmer of hope after both the Indian Nepal authorities recently came together to hold deliberations at Dharchula over an effective wildlife-trade control across the porous Indo-Nepal border. The two-day key discussions were organised by the Uttarakhand Forest Department and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) with support from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and were aimed at refreshing cross-border cooperation and understanding among the relevant authorities to effectively control wildlife trade along the western Indo-Nepal border. Owing to its proximity to Nepal as well as Tibet, Dharchula is notorious as an important illegal wildlife trade hub in the northern India. An investigation by the IFAW and the WTI on the shahtoosh trade had revealed Dharchula as one of the stops for raw shahtoosh wool smuggling using porters from Taglakot (Burang) in Tibet. “Illegal trade in wildlife products such as parts of tiger’s body and shahtoosh wool between India and Nepal, as well as between India and Tibet, takes place via Dharchula. “Effective wildlife trade control around this region will go a long way in helping conserve the natural heritage of India as well as Nepal,” said Ashok Kumar, Vice-Chairman, WTI, while explaining the rationale behind choosing Dharchula as the venue for the workshop. The participants at the workshop were representatives from various enforcement agencies, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Customs, the Army and the civil administration, besides the wildlife authorities and NGOs from India and Nepal. “Wildlife-trade control is not only the responsibility of the wildlife authorities but also the role of other enforcement agencies like the SSB, ITBP and Army, especially
along international borders, is absolutely vital for an effective control of wildlife trade. “Through this workshop, we aim at spreading awareness on the wildlife trade, the kinds of articles traded and their identification as well as wildlife laws among these agencies,” added Ashok Kumar. Uttarakhand’s WTI coordinator, Dr Anil Kumar Singh, said the participation of enforcement agencies in the Dharchula deliberations had helped these agencies understand how to strengthen powers vested in them towards curbing the wildlife trade in the region. He said the talks also laid emphasis on a formal institutionalisation of the process of information-sharing, both on inter-departmental and government fronts. Rajendra Prasad Yadav, Regional Director for Forests, Nepal, and Sher Singh Jaguna, Under Secretary, Nepal, expressed hope for a better coordination between India and Nepal towards curbing wildlife trade in the region. The Indian Forest authorities were represented by Paramjeet Singh, Director, Nandadevi Biosphere, and other senior forest officers, including Sharavan Kumar, Surendra Kuamr, Nishant Verma and Amit Verma.
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Zero jumbo-hits on rail tracks
The film ‘On the Right Track’ documents interventions that have ensured zero-elephant deaths in train accidents in Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand, since 2002. A total of 18-km stretch of the Haridwar-Dehradun railway line passes through Rajaji. Between 1987 and March 2002, at least 20 elephants were killed in accidents on this track. “A Rapid Action Project (RAP) conducted by the WTI in 2001 with the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s support had recommended a number of interventions to be carried out jointly by the Forest Department and Railways to reduce these preventable deaths. “Acting as the connecting link between the two departments, the WTI then ensured implementation of the recommendations, under its National Train Hits Mitigation Project. “Due to this joint initiative of the Forest Department and Northern Railways facilitated by the WTI, no elephants have been killed in railway accidents in Rajaji since then,” said Dr Anil Kumar Singh, Coordinator, WTI. The success of the National Train Hits Mitigation Project in Rajaji has triggered similar projects in other areas where elephants are falling victims to train accidents. The project is being replicated throughout Assam and a survey has also been initiated in Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh. With the support of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the WTI will also be initiating surveys in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Interestingly, WTI’s second film ‘A Shawl to Die for’ which was among the finalists last year, will be screened at the same venue on Friday. The film traces the ancient craft of Shahtoosh-weaving in Kashmir and its links to the decline of the endangered Tibetan antelope found in the Tibetan plateau.
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ASI team visits Jhanda Sahib
Dehradun, October 28 The team of artists and conservators from the Archaeology Survey of India had restored mural paintings dating back to the 17th and 18th century. Senior artist Ranjan Chakraborty of ASI, who was part of the team, said that the restoration work was challenging as the site is a private property which is visited by lakhs of tourists. “While taking up conservation work, colour integration was not done, but only matching was undertaken. At the entrance of the gate, there is a painting of Ravana with ten heads. Only the colours were matched, but the missing arms were not added,” said
Ranjan. The ASI had also carried out a unique water-seepage treatment on the ceilings of Jhanda Sahib. “The ceiling at Bhai Bhalo Darwaza had a water-seepage problem. Most of the paintings were destroyed due to micro-vegetation growth. Water repellent was used along with water tightening and proofing agent. This has helped in containing the seepage.” Mural painting that had soot deposited on them were cleaned by organic solvent mixture. Jhanda Sahib had also suffered damage during earthquake and the conservators had to fill the cracks. A demonstration of techniques used in modern painting was also held.
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Pankaj selected for Asian Indoor Games
Dehradun, October 28 He is right now attending the Senior Camp at Bangaluru. Pankaj is a promising athlete of the state. He has recently given a good performance at the inter-state competition, which earned him a spot in the Asian Indoor Games squad. He still holds the best national timing of 800m in u-18 group, clocking 1:53:08 second. Speaking to The Tribune, he said, “I have been doing well at the national circuit and this has attracted the attention of the national coaches, as a result I got selected for the upcoming championship. It is my dream to represent India in the Olympics. But before that I still need to improve upon and enhance my performance at the national level to create a national record in my discipline, thereafter I will think of Olympics.” Pankaj is presently under the guidance of a foreign coach Dr Nicloi. “There is a great difference between training under a foreign coach and Indian. “Both have their own methods and style of working and I am confident to do well at Asian Indoor Games, he said.” Pankaj is a product of Maharana Pratab Sports College, Dehradun, which he had joined in 2001. After clearing his basics at the college under coach, Manoj Sharma he made a rapid strides at the national level u-18 category. After recovering from the knee injury he won a bronze medal in inter-state competition.
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Welham girls down Jaswant cagers
Dehradun, October 28 The Welham Girls team gave a dominating performance in their match against Jaswant Model School. The Welham Girls School team scored five points against Jaswant Model School, who could only score one in first quarter. The Welham Girls team kept on increasing the score to finish the match by 20-4. In the second match, Doon Girls defeated Doon International School by 19-6. In the first quarter there was not much scoring from both the side. But the Doon Girls School got its rhythm in the second quarter and scored seven points against Doon International School’s three points. The final score in the end was 19-6 in favour of Doon Girls School.
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Dhruv, Ishaque enter semifinals
Dehradun, October 28 West Bengal’s Ishaque Eqbal won his quarterfinal match against Nihit Rawat of Chandigarh to advance into the semifinal. It proved to be a one-sided match as Ishaque completely outplayed Nihit to win the match by 6-1, whereas he won the second set by 6-2. The second quarterfinal match was played between Hariyana’s Shrey Gupta and Utsav Patel of Gujrat, Shreya Gupta won the match with ease. He displayed a strong forehand shot to win the match in the end by 6-3, 6-4. In the third quarterfinal, Vishu Prasad won the match by 6-1 and 6-4. Dehradun’s Dhruv Pal won his match against Chinmay of Delhi by 6-0 and 6-4. Quarterfinal results: In u-14 boys: Aman Rawat of Delhi defeated Rahul Singh of Delhi by 7-6, 4-6 and 6-3. Sachin beat Dhruv Pal by 6-2, 6-0. A Pattnaik of Orissa beat Amritanjay Kumar of Chandigarh. Ishaque Eqbal of West Bengal beat Vishu Prasad of Delhi by 5-7, 6-3 and 6-2. In u-12 girls: K.Karman (DLI) beat Nidhi Surapaneni Nidhi (AP). Yuden Shyodhi beat Srija Kodali by 4-2, 5-4. Nandani Sharma beat Arushi Bhasin 4-1, 5-3. Ria Vardhan beat S.Dhanda 4-2, 5-3. In u-14 girls: Ria Vardhan beat Karman Kaur by 0-4, 4-0 and 10-3. Yuden Shyodhi beat N.Surapaneni 4-0, 4-2. Arushi Bhasin beat Srija Kodali 4-0, 1-4, 10-5. Charvi Saxena beat Sachi Belwal by 2-4, 4-2, 10-8.
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U’khand Police drub Doon United Club
Dehradun, October 28 In the second match, Doon Girls School defeated Doon International School by 3-1. In the first match between the Uttarakhand Police team and the Doon United team, it was a hat-trick by its forward Vir Singh and a brace by Himanshu that did the trick for the police team in the match. In the first half, Doon United Club showed some resistance, resisting their opponent much scoring chances. Deepak Kandari for the Uttarakhand Police team scored the first goal in the 25th minute of the match to set the momentum that continued right till for the Uttarakhand Police team. In the second half, Vir Singh stuck the second goal in the 40th minute of the match and came back to score his second goal just two minutes latter. Himanshu made the score line 4-0 for his side by scoring the goal in the 43rd minute. Vir Singh completed his hat-trick in the 49th minute of the game making 5-0 for his side. The last goal for the team came in the 52nd minute through Himanshu. In the second half there was not much action from the Doon United team as the team was completely on the defensives. Meanwhile in the second match, the Sundarwala Boys team dominated the game against Shivalik Club to win the match. Himanshu scored the first in the 22nd minute of the match to open his team account. At the end of the first half Sundarwala was leading the match. In the second half the team pumped another two goals. It was Himanshu again for his team to score a goal in the 50th minute of the match, whereas Abhishek scored in the 56th minute of the match. On the other hand, Shivalic Club could only manage to scored a solitary goal through Sushil Rawat in the 59th minute, the match ended with scoreline showing 3-1.
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Volleyball: ONGC, BEL triumph
Dehradun, October 28 ONGC emerged winners in its match against OIL. ONGC team won the first set by 25-18. The second set was no different as the team won it again by 25-18. In the last and final set, OIL team did not put up much fight and went down 25-12. In the second match BEL won the match against NLC 25-11, 25-17 and 25-19. In the third match, SAIL beat NALCO by 25-7, 25-11 and 25-14. In another match BEL beat Coal India in four sets 25-18, 21-25, 25-17 and 25-18.
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SGRR Race Course, Vasant Vihar in last four
Dehradun, October 28 Results: Sahastradhara beat Patel Nagar in the first quarterfinal by 6-2, whereas Bombay Baag defeated by 12-9. In the league matches Sahastradhara beat Bindal by 11-5, Talab beat Nehru Gram by 11-9, Bombay Baag beat Balawala 15-8. Patelnagar beat Balawala by 17-13.
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Dehradun, October 28