Dehradun, January 20
Uttarakhand has been a crucible for several cultures, and its past would always guide its present. Presenting an outsider’s view, Anjali Diwan from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, said the people of the state had been very flexible to welcome several religions.

“It is here that the Buddhist religion flourished together with Hinduism, a conglomerate of several civilizations. The essence of the past, however, has remained unchanged. The art, crafts, dance and music remain centered to this day on many gods and goddesses as well as the seasonal cycles,” she said in her talk titled “Uttarakhand: Manifestation of Art, Culture and Ethnicity”.

Age-old religious ties and rituals are followed in the state and wandering folk singers and dancers still provide some of the most wholesome entertainment around. “The region has its footprints all over India and abroad. The architecture and religious beliefs can be observed in the Southeast Asia. Several years of inter-mixing of cultures can be seen in the religious practice, food, art and craft here,” she added.

Anjali said confining the region to certain boundaries would be gross injustice to the heterodox nature of the regions where Buddhists and Hindus confront each other in the united celebration of unity and diversity. “I found my connection here, and I have a fair amount of understanding now why the region is called the abode of the gods,” she averred.

Dehradun, January 20
While sharing details about changing food habits from her paper ‘never sick in my time, social change food and identity in Uttarakhand Himalayas’ at the Doon University today, Cecilie Nordfeldt, PhD fellow, Department of Social Anthropology, Oslo, Norway, said, “A discerning note of unhappiness could be detected among the elderly men, who do not like the vegetables entering their markets from the plains,” said Cecilie.

However, the women said, “They did not have to worry about the elaborate meals and the laborious preparations that went into making the meals. It saves time,” she said.

Though, from Norway, Cecilie was quick to detect the gender phenomenon, “The women have enough time at their disposal. They were empowered with gadgets, but it also made women lazy and at the same time the songs that they sang in the forests, too, have are no longer sung,” she said.

“These songs were woven with daily experiences and are now fast disappearing,” said Nordfeldt. “Changing food habits is also having an impact on local biology,” said Nordfeldt.

Dehradun, January 20
In Garhwal since 2002, Karin Polit’s engagement with traditional folklore began after she witnessed a Chakravyuha performance in Dehradun. She is a researcher from the Institute for Ethnology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.

Ever since, she has been travelling all over Uttarakhand and researching the traditional practices and folklore of the state.

At the international workshop currently under way at Doon University, she said, “Traditional practices are never lost. There are several aspects of mythology that find an echo in modern times. Mountain people all over the world have clung to their practices and, at the same time, bravely adapted to changes,” she said.

Chakravyuha is the spectacular enactment of the death of Abhimanyu, son of Arjun. It is popular in Uttarakhand and is of special interest to her.

“Pandav Lila is a recent addition - from the 1970s. Nevertheless, people consider it as an ancient tradition. It has undergone gone aesthetic changes and is being performed in non-ritual settings. The Chakravyuha performance allows the people of Garhwal to participate in their traditional practices while striking a balance between tradition and modernity,” emphasised Karin.

A researcher who has often been guided by her father, and Dr DR Purohit of Garhwal University, she said, “Cultural practices will continue to abound, though some aspects may get lost. But this loss can be overcome through documentation. Value has to be found in folk practices and the elite should not look down upon these. It is also liberating at times to soak in our traditional practices when globalisation has also unleashed an economic downturn and people have lost jobs,” she said.

It is with a sense of pride that villagers talk about their past and Karin found it easy to interact with them. Today, she presented a paper titled “The Performance of the Chakravyuha - Aestheticising ancient local traditions in Garhwal Himalayas”.

Dehradun, January 20
Popular antiquaries replaced folklore, diminishing the importance of multiple identities. Ethnographic identity was referred in hoary past, an archival effort only to become a footnote.

Dr Vasudha Pande, fellow History, Delhi University, stated this at the international workshop on folklore and intangible cultural heritage of Uttarakhand held today at Doon University.

“British historian ET Atkinson set upon a mammoth task of writing the history in print and giving shape to new historical constructs, while at another level his efforts relegated the oral tradition of the folklore to the background. The paradigm by Atkinson resulted in the ouster of Nagas, who were our ancestors, from our collective consciousness,” said Vasudha.

While speaking with the Tribune, Dr Pande said, “The culture has no boundaries and one has to look at alternatives to history and the past in multiple forms. The census undertaken by the colonial regime further truncated history and folklore, pushing Das, Doli and Damai, the performers, to the lowest category. How could they be ignored from the history of Kumaon, when Dasis were Gurus of Katyuri Kings? It affected folklore, repression and loss was what came their way,” she said.

Essentially the Atkinson paradigm resulted in blanking out the past, “The association with Khaas (who once ruled Kumaon) was pushed aside, now all the inhabitants owed their origin to the Indo-Gangetic plain. The Khasa past was blanked out and vedic practices were mentioned in the books and literature appearing during that period. Prior to 1865, there was no mention of Rajputs, but the phenomenon increased after this period. Legitimacy was also given to hierarchy. Even the local magazines and history books written by the Indian authors began to explore the Hindu identity aligning with the rest of India, said Dr Vasudha.

In the period between 1920-1950, the efforts got further strengthened endangering the folklore, “The predominance of political and colonial viewpoint while writing history dominated. A diverse identity was repressed and a pure Kumaoni identity was forged with links in the Indo-Gangetic plains,” said Vasudha. She also presented a paper, “How not to read folklore for historical anthropology.”

Dehradun, January 20
The main force behind the Ramman dance form getting recognition from the United Nations (UN) as an intangible cultural heritage, Molly Kaushal is now keen to anchor the interests of villagers towards building a museum of oral history.

“The Bhomiyal temple has already been renovated and in its courtyard performances are being held. Villagers of Saloor Dungra (Chamoli) keenly watch these performances. Now, we have to document this folk form and a museum of oral history with a special provision for archival facility would be an ideal option,” said Molly, head of the Division Janapada Sampada, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), while speaking to The Tribune on the sidelines of a workshop held at Doon University yesterday.

She said to make the new generation conversant with the text and art forms, a teaching exercise based on the guru-shishaya parampara too is on the anvil. “In role reversal of sorts members belonging to the Das community would share knowledge about dhol and damaoun while the Jagar singers would act as teachers together with the village elders at Saloor Dungra,” she said.

Molly said folklore could never be static. It could ebb now and then but it’s flow never stopped. “We should stop thinking, if it is a folklore it can exists only in villages. It can exist in cities as well. Despite social changes, culture has inbuilt inner resilience to reinvent during each epoch in history. It will survive in spite of us and despite us,” averred Molly.

Studying from Moscow University, Molly went on to do a research on the Baddi tribe of India with the focus on the crying issues of their immediate surroundings. A firm believer that culture is a vehicle for building bridges, she stressed the need for keeping culture away from politics. “We should stop politicising culture and not use it as a tool for propaganda. It is imbued with an identity of the nation and folklore plays a major role in formulating an identity,” she added.

Living cultural traditions are of special interest to her. “We have a history of oral tradition with no built edifice. It is communicated through word of mouth and we need to undertake research and documentation,” she said.

A firm believer that for culture to flourish intellectual creativity has to be of the highest order, she said regular discourses could evoke the interest of the people. No wonder then discussions, setting up archival documentation and propagating figure are high on her agenda.

Mussoorie, January 20
The resolve to introduce contract farming in the state by the BJP-led Government has made the socio-political fraternity a little cautious and wary in their approach as many feel that the government should first weigh the pros and cons, then implement the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act.

Congress state vice-president Jot Singh Bisht is of the view that the introduction of contract farming in the hill state will destroy the basic socio-cultural fabric to a disastrous end and, hence, it should not be introduced in haste.

Bisht, speaking to The Tribune on his visit to Mussoorie yesterday, said the whole issue of contract farming on the surface looked lucrative, but one needed to look into it with an in-depth analysis and comprehensively.

Bisht said the major drawback of contract farming was that ignorant marginal farmers who were still involved in farming would rent their land and migrate to urban areas as they would have nothing left to do in the village. This would increase the migratory trend to enormous proportions. This would also lead to decrease in the trend of settling down in villages after a few years of work in urban areas, thus, breaking the basic socio-cultural fabric of the state.

Bisht further said most of the cultural structure of the state revolved around farming, but when villagers would stay away from farming, the culture and tradition would also vanish within a span of a few years from the hill state.

Another important question that needed to be addressed was the ownership issue of the farm land.

Bisht was of the view that marginal farmers, once they entered into contract with multi-nationals or corporate would find it difficult to remove them from their land and end up losing the only asset they had cherished for centuries.

The other main concern was that the land, which was currently used to grow staple crops like wheat and rice, would be used to grow crops required by the food-processing industry, which also had a significant overseas market. The switch to contract farming, therefore, would lead to a rise in exports and eventually food security loss, making the state dependent on imports.

The other factor was that, with the government without providing any alternative or creating special tourism zones for the farming population made idle by contract farming, the unemployment ratio would rise advertently leading to more chaos and anarchy in the state. Another concern was that contract farming would also lead to the loss of natural seeds as companies might use the crop required by them which was not recommended for the particular area, thus, having a negative impact on the soil.

Jot Singh Bisht reiterated the fact that he on principle was against contract farming in the state and said if at all it was introduced, a monitoring and regulatory body should be in place so that marginal farmers were not exploited in any way. The government should first talk to the farming community before introducing the APMC Act in the state, added Jot Singh.

Dehradun, January 20
The Tourism Department of the state had been participating under the umbrella of the Tourism Department of the Government of India in international fairs and festivals till now, but come ITB, a tourism festival in Berlin in March, it will get to have its own exclusive space and representation.

The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) is also going to represent the state at various travel fairs at the domestic level this year, to start with Delhi and Mumbai in January and February respectively.

The UTDB, which has been participating in these travel fairs for quite some time, have started valuing their importance because of which it also organised a workshop with the collaboration of the German International Cooperation (GIC) on the issue of ‘successful participation in international trade fairs’.

International trade fair consultant from Germany Alfons Eiligmann clarified that such fairs sharpen the profile of the participants. “These travel fairs facilitate exposure, business contacts and business boom for the participants and are the learning grounds for them, as they get to learn a lot from their competitors and gauge the trends under one umbrella,” he said.

Eiligmann nodded that the Tourism Department of the state was evolving over the years in connection with the realities at the international level “We are having regular meeting with the UTDB, which has started updating its system. It needs to upgrade it further to the international standards.”

Strangely, the state government, which should pave way for the smooth progression of the tourism of the state at the international levels, is creating bottlenecks.

Joint director, the UTDB, AK Dwivedi expressed helplessness over the sluggish pace at which the state government responds in giving approval for these fairs.

“As it is understood, the department has to shortlist the names of the participants which it has to take to the international fairs and then communicate with the organiser for the allocation of the space at the venue and other arrangements such as hotel and transportation booking much in advance, besides the appropriate decoration of the stall. But the government takes its own time and informs us at a short notice. We do not get to invite many participants at a short notice and the delay also makes it difficult for us to put our best foot forward at these fairs.”

Dwivedi also accepted that the problem of the delay from the state government side was incorrigible and could not be resolved. District tourism officer Vijay Singh Chauhan said the department had got all the clearance from the state government. It was yet to get clarification on the issue of the participants.

Hotelier from Haridwar Arun Garg asked for subsidised package for small hoteliers and tour operators from the state government to participate at the international level, which he said was not happening now. The participants in the workshop satiated their queries on many points.

Deputy general manager, The Competent Palace, Selaqui, SP Malasi asked how he could project his hotel well at the fair, whether he should do so in the backdrop of the state and the city, or in exclusivity.

MD of the Diamond Tours and Travels Abhishek Ahluwalia wanted help in gaining more insight and precise about the technical aspect of the adventure sports they represented at these fairs, since they had to explain it to the visitors, who were either professionals or experts in such activities. He asked the state government to extend more help to them in updating themselves at these travel fairs.

Nainital, January 20
Efforts are on to promote Uttarakhand as a major global tourist destination at the forthcoming tourism trade fair in Berlin, which is said to be the biggest in the world.

Moving in this direction, the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB), Department of Tourism and the German International Co-operation (GIZ) held a workshop at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) here, in which the local hoteliers and those associated with the trade were given tips by trade fair specialist Alfons Elligman.

District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli, who has also been the ex- managing director of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN), emphasised upon the need to do the pre-participation exercise in a proper manner, so that maximum benefits could be availed by those participating in the international trade fairs.

He stressed upon the need to properly showcase Uttarakhand as a tourist destination for the global market. Emphasising on the need for proper marketing, he said, “We should be able to market properly whatever we have. People associated with the tourism should be able to get a proper price for their enterprise. Once this is achieved, they can move to the higher levels.”

Bagauli lamented that in the past, there had been very little private participation in the various trade fairs. He pointed out that such fairs were an opportunity for the entrepreneurs in the tourism sector to interact with various personalities associated with the trade.

Elligman gave an insight on the forthcoming Berlin fair and said it was the biggest event of its kind in the world, where more than 190 participants make their presence felt from India alone. The participants from 182 countries take part in the event. In the recent past, the fair had 1,35,000 visitors, out of which 81,000 were professionals from the tourism-related trades.

He gave tips to the participants on what was to be expected at Berlin this year and how they could sell Uttarakhand as an adventure tourist destination. The participants also raised queries on how they could benefit from the event, to be held in the second week of March, and dwelt on the need for them to come together and prepare joint itineraries.

Ironically, while the administration is helping private and government parties for participation in the fair, very little is being done to facilitate the tourism. The administration and the institutions involved in the tourism promotion need to set their house in order before they could think of competing with states like Goa, Kerala, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

The administration till date has failed to regulate the fares for taxis and has also failed miserably to compel the hotels to display tariff cards in destinations like Nainital. There are several other issues that remain unaddressed and this raises questions on the significance of participation in events like the Berlin fair.

Haridwar, January 20
In view of the thermal pollution emanating from the electricity production process, there is a need of cost-effective ways to minimise the pollution level.

This was the focal point of the workshop organised on thermal power plant and environment management that concluded in the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Ranipur unit, here today.

The experts, engineers, environmentalists and representatives of the state boards from across the country attended the three-day workshop that was held at the Pollution Control Research Institute (PCRI).

Central Electricity Authority’s former member S Sheshadri said a large number of thermal plants were coming up and there was much more to be done to ensure that the environment does not get affected from them. Demanding high standard research and intense monitoring, Sheshadri said ways should be created to ensure minimum impact on environment.

Elaborating on the need of pollution-free power generation, executive director Devendra Kumar Mody said in view of the global warming there has been a market demand of eco-friendly power production and thus, the objective of this workshop also assumes greater importance.

Informing that the BHEL was the largest pubic sector unit in the entire Asian continent to provide thermal power production equipments, Mody said, “We are trying to incorporate more environment-friendly technologies.” PCRI chief Khalid Zaheer highlighted on the contribution and work being done in the environment management and the work of the institute. 

Nainital, January 19
The Udham Singh Nagar administration will be carrying out an encroachment removal and demolition drive in Kitcha on January 27 in accordance with a High Court order. The decision to carry out the drive was taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of District Magistrate BVRC Purshottam yesterday afternoon.

Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) MC Pande, who was present at the meeting, said the encroachments and illegally erected structures had been marked and all those in their possession had been informed of the drive.

The District Magistrate said the entire area where the drive was scheduled to be carried out had been divided into various sectors, and magistrates would be deployed there to supervise the operations.

Executive Officer at the Kitcha Municipality Jayvir Singh Rathi has been directed to carry out a drive through loud speakers asking those in possession of illegal structures to vacate these voluntarily as the encroachment removal and demolition drive would start at 8 am on the designated date.

Kitcha has been a venue of massive encroachments that have come up over the past few years. These encroachments are causing massive hurdles in the administration and day-to-day lives of local residents.

Dehradun, January 20
Kanpur today beat Shamli BMS by 10 wickets and entered the semifinals of the 25th Late Banke Lal Shah Memorial Cricket Tournament being held on the Rangers College Ground.

With this win, Kanpur has won both its league matches. The participating teams are divided into four pools of three teams each.

In another league match played today, Shamli BMS defeated Meerut by 59 runs. Meerut won the toss and opted to bowl first. Shamli took the full advantage of batting first and made a massive total of 142 runs for five wickets in 20 overs.

Opening batsman Jitender (41) top scored for the batting team. He was ably supported by Manoj (33) and Rahul (21) who played cameo knocks to help their side to build a good total.

Dushyant Sharma and Vijay got two wickets each. Sabir got one wicket. Six bowlers were employed by Meerut.

Batting second, Meerut disappointed as their batsmen could not build on their starts. Sahikhu (22) and Naveen (18) chipped in with some good runs. The team scored 83 runs all out in 16 overs.

Tarun of Shamli bagged four wickets. Anuj took two wickets. Vijay, Shiram and P Rajat got a wicket each.

Meanwhile in the third match, Little Master Club got the better of Little World Club by 69 runs.

Dehradun, January 20
Advisor to the Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) SS Panghti, who played a major role in bringing the winter games to the state, said he had not resigned but if the players associated with the winter games were not promoted then he would dissociate himself from the federation.

Clarifying on the media reports about his resignation from the post of advisor to the federation, Panghti said as there existed no post of advisor after the games were over, the question of his resignation did not arise.

Panghti is unhappy because the players were allegedly neglected in the first South Asian Federation (SAF) Winter Games held from January 10 to 16 in Dehradun and Auli in two phases. Though it was an international event in which seven nations took part, there was no prize money for the players. There were only gold, silver and bronze-plated medals, which were given to the winners.

Panghti is also said to be angry for some players were not presented with medals at the prize-distribution ceremony by ministers and were handed over the medals later.

“Even in the National Winter Games a minimum cash prize of Rs 1 lakh is given to the players but here in this international event not even a single penny was given to the winners. The prize money would have certainly boosted the confidence of the players and encouraged them to do well in future,” said an official of the WGFI.

Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the WGFI Prakash Chand Thapliyal said Panghti, who solely had the credit of pioneering the winter games in the state, had been disappointed with the treatment meted out to the players.