A day in Churah Valley.

 A day in Churah Valley.

The first day of Shodyatra began with climbing up the hill to Bhanjararu for breakfast. It was a steep hill. On our way we could see in far away distance mountains which were covered with lusty green trees. Below these mountains we could see dried river covered mostly with small rocks. The entire day was spent on walking up and down the hills on virtually deserted roads. Finally, we reached Devikothi village late in the night. We spent the night in one of the schools. Since we were very tired because of the day long trekking, we slept off immediately after having dinner.

On our way to Bhanjraru for Breakfast

I woke up the next day to a beautiful sight of the mighty Himalayas and found myself sipping tea with friends amidst the cold breezes. During the day, we had an interaction with a herbal healer from whom we got to learn ancient ways of healing and curing various illnesses. This individual had been doing such practices for years and his knowledge about it was passed down to him through his forefathers. He could diagnose various illnesses by closely observing pulse rates of patients. Medicines are prepared by himself out of various herbs and other natural ingredients. Such ancient practices of diagnosing patients with herbal medicines are on the verge of extinction due to various challenges including restrictions imposed on such practices on legal grounds also.

While walking down the lane to visit the Devi Kothi temple, we encountered a couple of mules along the path with their guide. A wooden structured temple located at the centre of the villages is one of the oldest temples in the area. It has all its walls painted with old murals comprising ancients Hindu Gods and there were also paintings of a person practicing Yoga in different postures, figures of people in horse chariots engaged in wars, animals fighting with each other and many more. Even the roofs also had a sculpture of some gods. The mesmerizing beauty of the temple is complemented by a fantastic view of the nearby Pir Panjal mountains covered with snow.

Devi Kothi Temple

After a delicious and nutritious breakfast at one house, we left for a local school for interaction with its students. The students at the school were very shy initially but they became very friendly later. They were subsequently seen playing cheerfully with some of our exchange students despite the language barrier. Some of the students even came up with brilliant innovative ideas which have the potential of finding solutions to problems they faced in the village.

Eco friendly grinding mill which uses running water

As we were on a short and limited visit to the place at the right reason, we get so overwhelmed by its natural scenic beauty but we often tend to be indifferent to the problems and challenges faced by the community there. We were also told that it gets extremely cold in the winter and the area remains covered with snow for about five months cutting it off from the rest of the places. Landslides due to torrential rainfalls causing frequent destruction of roads in the area and the virtual extinction of their ancient cultural practices of the villagers are some of the serious concerns that needs to be introspected.

In the end, I would like to thank Professors Anil Gupta and Navdeep Mathur for including me in this trip and on their efforts in recognizing innovations of village school children and preserving their culture.