Saturday 11 December 2010

Rural Life in Chakrata

Rural life in the hills has always enchanted me. Here are a few shots of the area in Uttarakhand near the town of Chakrata

A Village Beauty
While walking on a trek met this woman who was sitting outside her home and who invited me to sit and rest and chat with her for a while. She must have been in her fifties or even sixties but still retained the beauty of her earlier years. Look at her tattooed hand. Most women, and even men, in rural areas earlier had parts of their bodies tattooed. Only in the urban areas this is a new trend and that also once it caught their fancy because the western civilization was doing it.

Multi-tasking Hearth
The concept of multi-burner gas ovens is a recent phenomenon, at least in India. But five things can be cooked at the same time on the hearth in the picture above!

A local dish
The dish above is made after drying and grinding of 'khurmani' a dry fruit from the peach family which is then dried in the sun for several days. And it is grounded in this stone grinder lying out in the open.

A Stone Grinder

A Traditional Tile Roofed House
 Most houses in this area have slate tiled roofs and are normally at least two storied and sometimes more than two storied as well. The ground floor, normally, houses the animals like cows, goats, sheep and other such domestic animals and the first floor is used by the family for cooking, living and sleeping purposes. This serves two purposes. First the animals can be given good shelters as well as place for the fodder. Secondly, the heat generated by the animals also keeps the floor above warm in winters.

A Natural Storage Space
I noticed that several villagers keep the hay on the trees. This keeps the hay from getting spoilt if lying on the ground and also keeps it safe from stray animals eating it.

2 comments:

Anuradha Shankar said...

rural life is always enchanting.. even to me.. nice post!

Makarand Mody said...

Dear Anil,

Greetings from West Lafayette, Indiana.I am a PhD student in Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University.

I am looking to conduct a research project in India in the summer on the motivations of domestic tourists to travel to rural areas in India. It is part of a project which will help me complete my Ph.D successfully.

I came across your blog, and was wondering if you would be willing to assist me with my project. I will be looking to conduct interviews and focus groups in the month of June/July 2011 in Mumbai and Pune.

If you are interested, please do let me know and I will be more than happy to provide you with more information.
My email address is mmody@purdue.edu and makarandmody@hotmail.com
I would really appreciate your assistance with my project. It will not take too much of your precious time.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any clarifications.

Regards,

Makarand Mody
PhD Student/Graduate Assistant
Hospitality and Tourism Management
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907
Cell: +1-765-409-4395
Department Website: http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/HTM/