“The mountains were his masters. They rimmed in life. They
were the cup of reality, beyond growth, beyond struggle and death. They were
his absolute unity in the midst of eternal change.” - Thomas Wolfe
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| Trishul in clouds |
Views of the Kumaon Himalayas, like this, are only for us The Great Indian Tourist. For life
on the mountains must continue, earlier the seasons dictated the pace of life,
now it is calendars and global warming.
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Mules are used where the walking track has been
widened |
Building a house at the end of a walking track is difficult,
all the supplies have to be brought by mule or by hand. Now that cutting and
selling wood is not feasible (it’s mostly pine which is not good for
construction), the building has to be of modern materials got from outside. Pathways have to be found for mules, where earlier a man
trudged, now mules go.
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| A very tired mule |
Mules did four rounds where I was staying, hauling sand, and cement. The Tor rods were hauled all the distance by men. More and more people from the plains are buying or leasing traditional houses, tearing them down, and building unsightly monstrous behemoths in their place.
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| the working man |
Most of the labour is from other states, paradoxical though, as the younger generation from the mountains are leaving as there are no jobs to be had...
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| people who own houses, come infrequently... |
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| ...otherwise houses remain locked |
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| clothes that have dried and are ready to be taken in... |
Drying is with the sun, clothes are washed when it is bright
and sunny and put out to dry. So are the vegetables, most of which are grown on
the property itself.
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Pumpkins grown on the property, these are
being readied for Shivratri |
And life must go on, the eternal cycle of drudgery. The Munni Devi's of the mountains gather firewood, look at the sky, if it is a clear day...
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| gathering firewood |
"Your
faith can move mountains, and your doubt can create them." — Swami
Vivekananda
