GANGAAD

SOUL OF INDIA LIVES IN IT'S VILLAGES

                                           -MahatmaGandhi

This is a country whose most of the population still live in villages. There is always a gap between urban and rural India as far as development is considered though things are changing in a better way. During my various Himalayan journeys I have been to plenty of villages,few on the borders with Pakistan, China, Bangladesh and even Myanmar and all were in a transitional phase as far as development is considered. But this particular village which I visited this year was something unique and special.

I  read about the detailed itinerary of my Har ki Dun trek and was astonished to find couple of villages enroute though personally I am not in a favour of any settlement on my trek route. One loses solitude if too many people are seen on a trail but that is very subjective. But what I saw unique about these four villages, were it's location,it's culture and heritage. All were obviously not connected to the road but were at the highest point of the hills across the river. Why? Why on earth would someone stay so away from basic necessities? What was the need?Was there any compulsion?

I always read about the place which I am visiting but had hardly any information about these villages. There are four. Datmir,Gangaad,Puani and Osla. I am going to talk about Gangaad. All are situated close to each other on the Har ki Dun trail in the Govind National Park in the state of Uttrakhand. Many centuries ago the aggressive king of Tehri who was from Nepal started attacking villages, looting them and taking the loot to Nepal. Few hundreds of people along with their livestock escaped and searched for safer haven. Thus they selected highest point on the hills adjacent to the river. Also they selected place deep inside the forest so one has to pass plenty of mountain bends to reach it. Thus this people survived and out of fear never ventured into the mainland and thus this civilization was lost to the rest part of the world. 

We started our trek from the postcard picture perfect basecamp village of Kotgaon. One hour and 15kms of bumpy ride took us to Taluka,the last motorable village, at the altitude of near 7 thousand feet. We descended to the base of the Tamsa river with gradual ascent with few mountain bends keeping the sweet voice of the river below for our company. Deodar,Pine, Walnut and intermittent Rhododendron trees gave us the required shade and the desired birdsong on the loop. Rhodos were in full bloom and fiery red colour kept it's impression on the evergreen background. After 5 hours we reached a couple of bridges over the river and in front on the hill lied few age old structures. We had reached the the village,our stay for the coming night. This village was Gangaad.

The hill had a partially concave shape thus the river took a semicircular shape and to the north of river lied the Har ki Dun valley and its peak was seen from afar. I got stuck on the bridge,all of 50 years, taking photos after photos making use of every angle geometry has taught me and my 256GB one plus had all the capacity to store my priceless pictures. One old villager was astonishingly observing me and gave me a smile to which I reciprocated with namaste. Few kids ran towards me and asked for mithai(chocolates). I refused to give them. They asked for money. I said I don't have. Then their statement shook me out of senses. They asked me to Gpay. The term which was even new to me few months back.

I had to climb almost 80 feet to reach our homestay. The locals were seeing us as we were seeing them. Gangaad is an ancient village at an altitude of 8500ft and no more than 50 structures housed few hundreds of people and half of them were children, plenty of them. A pediatrician in me was very happy to see this. On record this village is 800year old with the attires matching both the sexes. The house comprises of ground floor for the cattles mainly cow's,sheep's and mountain goats while few had mules. Dogs as large as German Shepherd roamed in style. On the first floor stayed the people while the top floor was meant for storage of stocks. All houses were made up of wood and designed in a peculiar style. The wood is obtained from the forest and according to our guides one family gets four trees after getting required permissions. So this is one of the few villages where cattles and humans live under one wooden roof. A nice way of coexistence.

The house which we were staying was well furnished with nice wooden floor,a good broad verandah for gathering and having meals. We had to remove our Forclaz out like most of the homes in India. Couple of toilets on the outskirts with a drum full of water. Solar panels helped us to get some artificial lights in the late evening for charging our better half..... mobile phones. After getting fresh and layering up for the bitter cold climate,our tired legs turned to march in this ancient village full of heritage. Children of all ages playing under the sun with fresh air full of oxygen making their already acclimatized lungs more recoiled. One with contused lacerated wound on forehead with the blood clotted few hours back the other with abrasions over the various parts of his body,the reason being outdoor games interspersed with fights. This is what I precisely did when I was their age. I was missing my childhood and looking at them felt very nostalgic. What was common in all the kids were their double layered clothes which were never-ever washed so do their faces with layers of dirt scattered on their rosy cheeks with ever flowing nostrils with colourful fragrant fluids. Though they had a peculiar body smell, all were very innocent. Innocent in their body language, their smile, their asking for mithais,paishe or Gpay. Their innocence poured out when they started eating a banana with its peal. They had never seen a fruit called banana in their life.

We crossed few houses to reach the ancient old temple of lord Shiva known as Someshwar. Not a single person knew the history of the temple nor they knew why wooden animals and birds were placed on the top of it. There's a binnual festival held where they worship and dance on the playground adjacent to the temple on which we played a game of cricket with the locals. Everyone from the village as well as people from other villages attend the festival and it is here where marriages are made. Love marriages. Guys approach girls take down their addresses and start posting letters. Love letters,Yes 'Prem patra' as mobile connectivity is almost non-existent so only way to keep in touch is through writing letters. Postman is very busy here. But it's 'Chat Mangni Patt Byah' for the to-be couple. No elders object for love marriages. Infact here what I got knowledge from our guide is that one can have polygamy. The owner of the place where we were staying,Like Dasharatha from Ramayana, had three wives. 

A solitary school upto 4th standard is all this village can offer one as far as education is concerned. One has to travel all the way till Sankhri, around 20kms, to learn till 12th standard and for further studies descend further down to the capital. We took a U turn from the school as it culminated with the boundary of this heritage village. With no mobile connectivity, minimum electricity on solar power, no idiot box or panel, no newspapers, this is the village which is in India without knowing much about it. Oblivious to the Covid world,the political happenings, IPLs and Bollywood these bunch of villagers looked happy and content in their life. During summers they along with their livestock go higher up in the high altitude meadows only to come back in autumn. With all the natural resources at their helm they live a life like no others. Women and children work hard, very hard. Men are usually grazing lands and their animals. During winters they stay indoors all prepared for the trying times. All together gossiping to the glory. To keep themselves warm and alive till the arrival of bright summer sunshine. Life goes on.....