Part 1_Defamiliarising the Dwelling Morphohenesis in Parvati Valley, HP by Namrata Toraskar

Defamiliarising the Dwelling Morphogenesis in Parvati Valley, Himachal Pradesh - A case of Grahan village. submitted by Namrata Toraskar guided by Shilpa Das

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Defamiliarising the Dwelling Morphogenesis in Parvati Valley, Himachal Pradesh - A case of Grahan village. submitted by Namrata Toraskar guided by Shilpa Das

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Declaration

28 . 05 . 2018

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Dedicated to the Grahanis ... who are the present and future stewards of their endemic landscape in the Western Himalayas.

tHANK YOU

A Grahani, 2015 (Source: Author)

Maa and Papa for their unconditional love and gradually evolved trust in me and all my endeavours. Thanking the two will definitely put down their sacrifices and undermine our journey as a family. Sathya Prakash Varanashi for the visceral discussions that filled the numerous lunch and driving hours in Bangalore- to all those timeless words of Sathya and Deepa Ma’am that chiselled the ‘stone’ that I was. Prof Kireet Patel- for being patient enough with my cluttered thoughts and channelizing them with those bench discussions in the single height of FD, Dr. Seema Khanwalkar- for always letting the door open into her vast knowledge and experiences and warmth of her lovely home at IIM, Prof. Rishav Jain – for all the encouragement and steadfast support that he rendered during this student journey of mine, Prof. Bharat Dave, Prof. Jay Thakkar and Prof. Mansi Shah for their book ‘Prathaa’ on the traditional katthkuni dwellings of Parvati valley and all other faculty and non-faculty members of CEPT University who have efficiently played their role in polishing the ‘chiselled stone’ that I had entered Ahmedabad as. Dr. Shilpa Das for the immense trust she bestowed in me and the research intentions I had, for critical critiques during the entire process of getting this

thesis book together and most importantly, for having brought my attention to the gendered facets of the villages in Parvati valley. Didi Contractor, Joseph, Kirin Narayan, Ken George and Kiran Vaghela for their distinct perspectives on ‘doing nothing’ in Grahan and the other villages of Parvati Valley. Sumit Asher from Himdhara Environmental Collective for throwing light on environmental activism in Himachal Pradesh. Subrata Da for his words of wisdom, hope and ‘concern’ which I’m still in the process of understanding. Dhara aunty for being an unconditional listener of my adventures in life and the constant source of solace that she is in the alien city of Mumbai. Malakh Sir and Bharati Kapadia for the strong, ethical foundation they provided in my formative days in the fields of ecology and arts. Meena Thakur for being the medium that allowed my connection with the celestial patterns, drawing me to Grahan village. Lot Rama Thakur for the mint-chai spiritual sessions by the tandoor and letting me occupy a corner in his humble home in Grahan, till the time I emptied myself and ‘turned zero’ as he joyfully recounts. Meena’s and Tima’s families for adopting me during my annual, month-long stints in Grahan. Lot Ramajee, Mangalchand Thakur (Masterjee), Laganchand Thakur (Village Gur) Hukam Ramajee (Grahan’s senior-most shepherd) for their immense knowledge of the landscape and dwellings of Grahan and the other villages of Parvati valley and the Pahadi lives therein. Narpatram jee & Dilip Kumarjee, the mistris from Mandi, Jagdish Chauhan from Manikaran and Suresh Negi for their invaluable inputs on the traditional and modern construction activities in Parvati valley. Tekchandjee, the Secretary at the Kasol Panchayat for all the prompt-help provided on behalf on the Panchayat. Mummyjee, Balma aunty, Negi aunty, Haridevijee, Nisha, Krishna and Shalini Bhabhi, Mandbharijee, Deepak baaijee, Anita and Chandra for all the shared love, care and nuanced details and memories of their households. To all the Grahanis and the Pahadis of Parvati and Kullu valley for the warm smiles exchanged on the long journeys undertaken in these valleys. Kaushik for being Kau, Lakshmi for being my lady from across the mountain, Anuradha for being Wakdi, Pratik for being Auri and majorly, all four for taking interest and seeing the potential of me as a person and in the long-term vision envisioned in the villages of Himachal Pradesh. To Nithya, Raj, Janani, Anoop, Aparna, Prarthana, Rajaram for bearing my numerous melodramatic tantrums during our times both on and off campus and to all my other batch-mates for leaving me with a lesson or two about life. To the SID double height, plaza, North lawns, Doshi Gufa, Kanoria, terraces, FD 302 studio for conversing with me. And to all those who have been unknowingly left out from being mentioned.

tABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures

Research Overview 0.1

Abstract ......................................................................................................................

0.2

Introduction ...............................................................................................................

0.3

Purpose Statement ...................................................................................................

0.4

Aim, Objectives & Hypothesis .................................................................................

0.5

Relevance of the Study .............................................................................................

0.6

Methodology .............................................................................................................

0.7

Implication of the Study ...........................................................................................

0.8

Scope and Limitations ..............................................................................................

Part 1 Tracing Grahan... - Himachal Pradesh - Parvati Valley - Grahan 1.1

Himachal Pradeshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Story of Change .......................................................................

1.2

Villages of Parvati Valley ........................................................................................... 1.2.a Navigating Parvati valley ......................................................................... 1.2.b Current Culture Currents .........................................................................

24 24 27

1.3

Situating Grahan village ........................................................................................... 1.3.a Identifying Places with Patterns .............................................................. 1.3.b Plotting the Parameters of Places .......................................................... 1.3.c Identifying the Patterns across Places .................................................... 1.3.d Identifying the focussed Pattern and Place ...........................................

42 42 46 48 48

Part 2 The Grahan that is...

- A pattern in Landscape, Dwelling and People

2.1

Dwelling Perspective .................................................................................................

2.2

The landscape that isâ&#x20AC;Ś ............................................................................................ 2.1.a Mapping the journey towards Grahan ...................................................... 2.1.b Mapping Grahan ........................................................................................

2.3

The dwelling that is... ...............................................................................................

52 53 58 66

Part 3 Reminiscing of the Grahan that was and is… - Rituals of inhabiting the landscape and dwelling 3.1

Identifying the leverage ...........................................................................................

3.2

Rituals and processes of dwelling ........................................................................... 3.2.a The rituals in landscape ............................................................................ 3.2.b The rituals in dwelling ...............................................................................

77 77 80

Part 4 Preserving the Grahan that is... 4.1

Technologies of Defamiliarisation ..........................................................................

4.2

Defamiliarising Grahan’s Dwelling Morphogenesis ..............................................

Part 5 The Grahan that could be… - Inferencing and assuring the ‘Grahan that could be’ 5.1

Inferences .................................................................................................................

100

5.2

Implementation Model ............................................................................................

101

A. Glossary of words .................................................................................................

104

B. Appendix ..............................................................................................................

106

C Bibliography ..........................................................................................................

111

List OF figures Figure 0.1

Traditional dwellings of Himachal Pradesh ...........................................

Figure 0.2

Table showing the morphogenetic and morphostatic processes in villages of Parvati valley ....................................................

Figure 0.3

Traditional dwellings of Parvati valley (Thunja village) in the katthkuni construction system ........................................................

Figure 0.4

Flowchart showing the relevance of the study ......................................

Figure 0.5

Flowchart showing the research Methodology adopted .....................

Figure 0.6

Working sample of the transcript ...........................................................

Figure 1.1

Landscape of Himachal Pradesh (Parvati valley) ..................................

Figure 1.2

Dam-site at Pulga, Barsheni in Parvati Valley .........................................

Figure 1.3

Himachal Pradesh in Western Himalayan region ..................................

Figure 1.4.a

Districts visited in Himachal Pradesh, India ..........................................

Figure 1.4.b

Villages / Towns visited in Himachal Pradesh .........................................

Figure 1.4.c

Indigenous construction systems across the vernacular settlements visited in Himachal Pradesh ...............................................

Figure 1.5.a

Commodities available in make-shift shops located in remote areas to cater to the tourists (Kheerganga)

........................

Figure 1.5.b

Inaccessible tourist hot-spots preparing for the tourist peak season to start in summer (Grahan) ......................................................

Figure 1.6 b

Inaccessible tourist hot-spots preparing for the tourist peak season to start in summer (Grahan) ......................................................

Figure 1.7

Graph showing the prominence of Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh in the tourist-influx ....................................................

Figure 1.8

Parvati river along Kasol in Parvati valley ...............................................

Figure 1.9

Map showing the Parvati River Basin with the villages dotting along it ........................................................................................

Figure 1.10

Congested construction, promotional shop boards, bills polluting the visual culture in public places ..........................................

Figure 1.11.a

Voices from the Valley .............................................................................

Figure 1.11.l

Figure 1.12

Traditional dwellings of Himachal Pradesh ...........................................

Figure 1.13

A rendering of the landscape of the area under focus in Parvati valley ...............................................................................

Figure 1.14

Table showing the plotted parameters of V1, V2, V3 ...........................

Figure 1.15

The choses village type V3 - (l to r: Grahan village, Thunja village) ....

Figure 2.1

Landscape of Grahan village ...................................................................

Figure 2.2

New Kasol with guest-houses along the main spline road and the deforestation at the upcoming parking area- cum- garden ..........

Figure 2.3

Cement shops at the fringe of New Kasol and the horses being readied to be taken to Grahan village .......................................

Figure 2.4

Narinee Re Khokha at the start of Grahan trail .....................................

Figure 2.5.a

Pandahar Gouu ........................................................................................

Figure 2.5.b

Instructions painted on boulders of Pandahar Gouu ...........................

Figure 2.6.a

The upcoming road towards Grahan with a sign-board marking entry into Kanawar Sanctuary; Mar 2017 ...............................

Figure 2.6.b

The road construction inching closer towards Grahan; Mar 2018 .......

Figure 2.7

Map indicating the ritualistic pause-points in the landscape along the Grahan trail ............................................................................

Figure 2.8.a

‘Mathi na’ besides the first bridge ........................................................

Figure 2.8.b

Jodi Setu

................................................................................................

Figure 2.8.c

Ramlaljee’s Dhaba at Charni Re Cheta ..................................................

Figure 2.8.d

RS Cafe at Shonna ...................................................................................

Figure 2.9

Madu Dev, where the steep climb towards Grahan starts ..................

Figure 2.10

Glimpses of Grahan through the barley fields .....................................

Figure 2.11

Map showing the settlement of Grahan ................................................

Figure 2.12

A typical Cluster-section of Grahan ......................................................

Figure 2.13

Grahanis involved in the daily tasks ......................................................

Figure 2.14

Main connecting spline of the village

.................................................

Figure 2.15

Pause points along the main spline of the village acting as minor- community spaces ................................................................

Old Krishna Guest-house - Grahan’s first house in RCC .......................

Figure 2.16.b Interiors of old Krishna Guest house ......................................................

Figure 2.16.a

Figure 2.17

The upcoming New Krishna Guest-house in RCC ..............................

Figure 2.18

Central village square along Yagya Valkya Rishi temple .......................

Figure 2.19.a

Old Yagya Valkya Rishi temple ..............................................................

Figure 2.19.b Mahamaya temple .................................................................................... 65 Figure 2.20

The dwellings of Grahan in the katthkuni construction technique ......

Figure 2.21

Major components of a dwelling constructed in katthkuni technique .................................................................................

Figure 2.22

A typical traditional dwelling in Grahan ..............................................

Figure 2.23

Alien construction materials like concrete blocks & cement bags stacked in Grahan .....................................................................................

Upcoming under-construction road towards Grahan ..........................

Figure 3.2 Sleepers of deodar wood stacked for commercial use at the Forest Department Office at Kasol ........................................................

Figure 3.3

No Alcohol warnings put up by the Chand Yuva Mandal of Grahan ..................................................................................................

Figure 3.4

Nati dance during the mela held in the villages square ......................

Figure 3.5

Foundation stage of a katthkuni dwelling ............................................

Figure 3.6

Main door installation stage of the katthkuni dwelling........................

Figure 3.7

Bhanda laying ceremony

......................................................................

Figure 3.8

Patdu laana ...............................................................................................

Figure 3.9

A traditional chulh on the attic floor .......................................................

Figure 3.10 New guest-house with the relocation of the kitchen in the khud (ground floor) ........................................................................

The graphic novel ‘Voices from the Valley’.............................................

Figure 4.1.b Experimenting the usage of an visual intervention like a graphic novel with the Grahanis ...................................................

Figure 3.1

Figure 4.1.a

Figure 4.2

Visual Exercises being conducted with the Grahanis .......................

Figure 4.3.a

Image building exercise for dwelling processes ...............................

Figure 4.3.b

Way-finding image building exercise for their idea of landscape .........................................................................................

Figure 4.4

Participatory narrative map of Grahan................................................

Figure 4.5

‘Mera ghor khoke sa?’ - Disturbing the habituated through the medium of shock.............................................................................

Figure 4.6

Attempt at defamiliarising the habituated through

the exhibition named ‘Mera ghor khokhe sa?’ ...................................

Figure 5.1

Old Kasol - New Kasol... with the advent of road... Old Grahan - New Grahan? .............................................................

103

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Research Overview What I Why I How of Research Design

0.1 Abstract The research aims at understanding the application of Shklovsky’s defamiliarisation theory on the dwelling morphogenesis in Parvati valley. In the recent decade, the morphogenetic (change driving) mechanisms have dominated the morphostatic (stability enhancing) mechanisms in the dwelling processes of the Pahadis of Parvati valley. Moreover, the inhabitation of the dwellings over a period of time has led to the habituated perceptions of these Pahadis with respect to their traditional dwellings, thus losing the importance for the rituals associated with the traditional dwelling processes and hence the dwelling itself. Further, new and modern popular images are being bombarded on the Pahadis by various agencies like the government policies, tourism, mass media and visual media. In this context of change, the research examines certain specific aspects of the villages in Parvati valley which are interlinked to the proximity to the road & local resources. Analysing the patterns in these villages, the research focusses on the villages with the least and most proximity to the road and local resources respectively. This type of villages stand at the threshold of being engulfed by the morphogenetic mechanisms at work in Parvati valley. With the village of Grahan acting as the case-study, the research addresses the irrational change in the dwelling processes in this type of villages at two levels: - behavioural level: which Shklovsky’s defamiliarisation theory allows - environmental level: which certain amendments in the Government policies allow. Thus, with the focus on Grahan village, the research investigates the ritualistic characteristics of the dwelling processes in Grahan through Ingold’s ‘dwelling perspective’. The patterns that derive through this investigation are analysed to identify the leverage of the society that affects the behavioural patterns of Grahanis with respect to their landscape and dwellings, on which the defamiliarisation tool can be used. Further, the research applies the defamiliarisation theory through the medium of art and literature by showing an unfamiliar image of their dwelling and landscape to the Grahanis to disturb their habituated perceptions of dwelling. The research culminates by exhibiting the habituated perceptions of the Grahanis in a new revelatory narrative map which is juxtaposed on a visual intervention that produces shock through the means of cross-cultural juxtaposition. This attempt at defamiliarisation thus explores the role of an outsider, in this case the author, in bringing in a fresh perspective to the habituated perceptions of the Grahanis and adding to their existing knowledge. This might educate and trigger a change in perception of the Grahanis to enable them to see the consequences of the morphogenetic mechanisms at work. This self-driven change in perception of their habituated dwelling processes will lead to preservation of the traditional dwelling processes and hence the traditional dwelling. Keywords: Defamiliarisation theory, Parvati valley, dwelling morphogenesis, Grahan.

Research Overview

0.2 Introduction “We enjoy the fruits of the plains and of the mountains, the rivers and the lakes are ours, we sow corn, we plant trees, we fertilize the soil by irrigation, we confine the rivers and straighten or divert the courses. In fine, by means of our hands we essay to create as it were a second world within the world of nature.” (Cicero, 1979) Human beings mark their presence in the world by creating places- houses, villages, farms, towns, industries and cities. According to Crowe, humans create an artificial nature or “second nature” as Cicero coins it. He further adds that while creating a house, the creator strives to create a shelter which is his own version of the natural world (1995). Testifying this, the traditional dwellings in the villages of Himachal Pradesh have created this “second nature” by striking a balance of the natural and the man-made world owing to certain contextual social structures.

Fig 0.1. Traditional dwellings of Himachal Pradesh; l to r - Katthkuni houses in Kullu valley, Mud houses in Spiti valley, Stone masonry houses in Kangra valley. (Source: Author)

According to M. Alvesson, and K. Skoldberg, these social structures refer “to configurations of casual mechanisms, rules, resources, powers, relations and practices” (2009 as cited in Pratt, 2014). Pratt further says that the social structures which are established by the activities of those in the past become the base for humans and the continuance of these social interactions further builds up or transforms these structures for the generations to come. In today’s globalised age, there is a rapid change in the transformatory mechanisms of these social structures. Margaret Archer (2013) in her book ‘Social Morphogenesis’ throws light on the process of ‘social morphogenesis’ as a generative mechanism of social change that leads to radical social transformations. According to her, morphogenesis are “those processes which tend to elaborate or change a system’s given form, structure or state in preference to the morphostatic processes, that tend to preserve or maintain a system’s form organisation or state” (2013).

Research Overview

The villages in Parvati valley of Himachal Pradesh in northern India have always been in a state of morphogenesis counter-balanced with the morphostatic processes. However in the recent globalised times, the social change in the villages here has been rapidly intensified because of the generative mechanism followed by morphogenetic processes in the valley due to which “morphogenetic processes increasingly predominate over morphostatic one in terms of their outcomes” (Archer, 2013). The following table illustrates certain morphogenetic and the morphostatic processes in the villages of Parvati valley in the recent decade:

Morphogenetic Processes

Morphostatic Processes

Processes which tend to elaborate or change a system’s given form, structure or state

Processes which tend to stabilize and recreate a system’s given form, structure or state

Illustrative examples in Parvati valley:

Illustrative examples in Parvati Valley:

Occupational shift from agriculture and animal husbandry to tourism. Road connectivity to the remotest parts. Ever-increasing external control over the local resources Narcotic trade Land encroachment for commercial activities

The institution of devata Self governance Devaban systems of forest resource usage Learning traditional rituals Craft practices like weaving, building dwellings in katthkuni technique, metal works etc.

Fig 0.2. Table showing the morphogenetic and morphostatic processes in villages of Parvati valley. (on the basis of the informal discussions with the Pahadis of Parvati valley from May 2014-Mar-2018)

Moreover, Parvati valley in the earlier epochs saw transformatory mechanisms that were exogenous like climate, earthquake disasters or conquests rather that endogenous factors caused internally by the social structure. Thus the villages had morphostatic societies, wherein “the transformational mechanisms were exogenous rather than endogenous” (Archer, 2013). However, with the advent of globalization and the resultant development proposed in the Parvati valley, the transformatory mechanisms are endogenous making the societies here ‘morphogenic’. There is thus a dominance of morphogenetic processes over morphostatic processes which is evidently seen in the act of dwelling in the valley which can thus be termed as ‘dwelling morphogenesis’ The traditional dwelling forms that are found in Parvati valley are built in the construction system named “katthkuni, i.e., all with wooden corners” (Handa, 2001). This construction system has been evolved empirically by the “ingenious local artisans” (Handa, 2001) and “matured slowly in form and detail over long period of time” (Thakkar, Dave, & Shah, 2012) The katthkuni construction system of these dwellings has evolved in response to the challenges faced in terms of material and labour constraints and a need to respond to the ever-present high seismic activity, the mountainous terrain and the extreme climatic conditions in the valley.

Research Overview

Fig 0.3. Traditional dwellings of Parvati valley (Thunja village) in the katthkuni construction system (Source: Author)

In addition to such tangible factors, these traditional dwellings in Parvati valley have accommodated the “SAC: structure, agency and culture (Archer, 2013) in their evolution over time i.e. : 1. Structured environments in which the dwellings are built 2. The embodied schemata of life rituals and activities in which the Pahadis interact through their act of dwelling. 3. The elements of Pahadi culture that are embedded in the dwellings built. “If we examine the general laws of perception, we see that as it becomes habitual, it also becomes automatic. So eventually all of our skills and experiences function unconsciously automatically” (Bartelt, 2010). Owing their constant inhabitation in Parvati valley, the Pahadis have become habituated to the perceptions of the SAC parameters through their “lived experience of place” (Kumar, 2016). Moreover, in the recent years, this constructed, perceived image of their landscape and dwellings has been further reinforced by mass media and visual media. “These means reinforce the image produced, till it is established as the defining image of place, eventually leading to habituation of the portrayed image. Though this popular image production enhances few chosen elements of landscape, more often it leads to neglect and degradation of others” (Kumar, 2016). The transformations that have occured in Parvati valley due to the habituated perceptions of dwellings and landscape is a gradual process has eventually resulted in dominance of the morphogenetic processes over the morphostatic processes. This process is so slow that it is difficult for the Pahadis to comprehend the changes that lead them to form popular images which ultimately become unanimous and universal and the degradation of the habituated. This is evidently manifested in the landscape change of Parvati valley in the form of congested construction activities and rampant deforestation to cater to the ever-growing floating tourist population in the valley etc. Thus an urgent intervention on the dwelling morphogenesis

Research Overview

becomes the need of the native societies in Parvati valley to slow down the rapidity of the morhogenetic processes by increasing the duration of perception of the Pahadis which Shklovsky’s Defamiliarization Theory allows. Russian Formalist, Viktor Shklovsky in his work ‘Theory of Prose’ presents the idea of ‘Defamiliarization’ as the technique of presenting to audience common habituated things in an unfamiliar way (1991). In the chapter, Art as a Device, Shklovsky asserts that ‘technique of art’ is to make things ‘unfamiliar,’ to make forms obscure, so as to increase the difficulty and the duration of perception. By making forms obscure, Shklovsky intends to create a disturbance of the established habitualised perceptions of a culture and forms. The familiar perceptions of Pahadis in Parvati valley are built by learning “to perceive in the manner appropriate to a culture (...) by hands-on training in everyday tasks whose successful fulfilment requires a practices ability to notice and to respond fluently to salient aspects of the environment” (Ingold, 2011). Thus, adopting Ingold’s dwelling perspective1, their perception of dwelling and landscape gets shaped by their very interaction with the environment in the current of their life activities, “for it is in their very process of dwelling,” (Ingold, 2011) that forms are built. The villages of Parvati valley exhibit an archetypical cyclic pattern based on certain parameters which are all linked to the proximity of the villages from the vehicular road. Villages that are easily accessible from the vehicular road are engulfed by the gentrification due to the lucrative narcotic trade and tourism activities in the valley. Unlike them, the remote villages like Grahan and Thunja which are highly inaccessible due to the lack of road and dense surrounding coniferous forests are at the threshold of being consumed by the morphogenetic processes. However, such villages still has the potential to be immediately acted upon owing to its remoteness. Taking Grahan as the case-study, the research identifies the leverage of the dwelling morphogenesis that lies in the Grahanis’ “bounded rationale behind their roles in the landscape” (Kumar, 2016). Therefore in order to bring to the notice ‘the dwelling morphogenesis’ to the Grahanis, an outsider’s2 perspective becomes necessary. Using the tool of defamiliarization through the medium of arts (visual interventions) and literature and adopting the dwelling perspective, the familiar perceptions of the Grahanis are understood with respect to their habituated dwellings and landscape. The findings of this process are furnished to the Grahanis along with a participatory narrative map to enhance their perceptions. Also, by the means of cross-cultural juxtaposition, a visual shock is attempted with the Grahanis to disrupt their

Referring to the dwelling perspective by Tim Ingold, according to “which forms that people build, whether in imagination or on the ground, only arise within their current of life activities” (2011).

A person who is unfamiliar to the landscape.

Research Overview

habituated perceptions of their dwellings and landscapes and educate and make them aware of the choice they would make with respect to the dwelling processes they adopt. This self-driven change in perception of their habituated dwelling processes will lead to preservation of the traditional dwelling processes and hence the traditional dwelling.

0.3 Purpose Statement The purpose of this study is to present the Grahanis with habituated perceptions of their traditional dwelling processes in an unfamiliar way to hopefully enable its preservation. The thesis intends to understand the familiar perceptions of the Grahanis with respect to their dwellings and landscape through a dwelling perspective. The leverage that connects the natural, cultural and social cycles of the Grahanis is further identified and used upon for the interventions at the behavioural and environmental level. Thus through the case of Grahan, the thesis evaluates Grahan through the application of defamiliarization theory and hence provides the Grahanis with defamiliarized perceptions to enable them to form conscious choices for the sustenance of their traditional dwellings.

0.4 Aim, Objectives and Hypothesis The aim of the research is: To understand the application of the theory of defamiliarisation on the traditional dwellings of Parvati Valley in Himachal Pradesh, through the case-study of Grahan village. Its objectives are:

- To understand familiar perceptions of the Grahanis with respect to their dwellings and landscape.

- To identify the leverage affecting the built environment that would be a common parameter among the natural, cultural and social aspects of the landscape of Grahan

- To re-establish a sense of pride and importance towards the vernacular dwellings of Grahan by creating a new meaning of the landscape through applied research.

The hypothesis of the research is: Defamiliarization theory is a critical theory in the preservation of vernacular dwellings of Parvati Valley in Himachal Pradesh.

Research Overview

0.5 Relevance of the study

Fig 0.4. Flowchart showing the relevance of the study

For a remote village like Grahan, the various morphogenetic mechanisms like gradually increasing popularity among tourists, an exclusive vehicular road inching steadily towards Grahan, everincreasing control of government agencies on the usage of local resources etc. are creeping into its social structure. Moreover, the floating tourist population brings in its own images of the landscape of Grahan which gets reinforced on the existing popular image of the dwelling processes and landscape in Grahan leading to the cultural shift in Grahanis at the perceptive level. This cultural shift in Grahan has led to the economic shift which is evidently seen in the increased assets of the Grahanis in terms of their material aspirations & the number guesthouses to cater to the tourists. Thus in order to cater to such an irrational change from cultural to economic shift, an intervention through behavioral sciences and an implementation policy is needed, wherein Shklovskyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defamiliarisation theory allows the changes at the behavioral level and a participatory implementation model through certain policy amendments allows the changes at the environmental level.

0.6 Methodology Keeping in view the objectives of the research for addressing the behavioral and environmental aspects of change in the landscape of Grahan village, the research followed a mixed methodology in its long term program of inquiry by integrating: 1. Ethnographic research methodology

- Data Collection

- Data Analysis

2. Applied anthropological research methodology

- Application of Defamiliarisation Theory

Research Overview

Conclusion

Application of Defamiliarisation theory

Data Analysis

Research

Anthropological

Applied

Research

Ethnographic

For ensuring better future engagemnetwith the environment

For invoking a perception change

Identitification of the leverage

Understanding the familiar perceptions of dwelling and landscape

- the resource usage regulations for dwelling activities

Participatory Implementation Policy

- visual intervention through the means of an ethnographic graphic novel (invoking the perceptions)

Cross-cultural Juxtaposition

- emergent coding - line-by-line coding

Coding

- Semi-structured interviews - criterion and snow-ball sampling - recording, note-taking

Interviews

- proposed design model

Further Study

- idea of dwelling - way-finding maps of the dwelling in the landscape - development of a participatory narrative map

Visual Exercises

- identification of the similarities and differences

Visual analysis

- participant observations

Observertions

- exhibiting a visual narrative â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Mera ghor kokhe saâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to create disturbance in the perceptions - conducting the exhibition in the village square

Exhibition of the perception visual exercises

For addressing the Behavioural and Environmental aspects of change, the research follows a mixed methodology

Fig 0.5 Flowchart showing the research methodology adopted

Data Collection

research methodology

1. Ethnographic Research Methodology: Ethnographic research methodology involved the author being an ethnographer observing Grahanisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; individual and collective behavior. The field-research was conducted in the summer months annually from May 2014 to May 2017 and intensively in the winter months of 2018. Grahan thus becoming a laboratory for the author, this methodology was primarily adopted for the collection of data and its analysis. The various stages involved in this research methodology are as follows:

1.1 Data Collection The data collection used the tools of interviews, observations and visual exercises from primary sources like the Pahadis of Kullu valley and Grahan village in particular for understanding the familiar perceptions of the Grahanis regarding their dwelling and landscape. The interviews were semi-structured interviews. The interviews with the middle-aged and older folk predominantly were centered on their idea of Grahan as a village and its surroundings, their idea of home and the memories associated with the same. The samples for interview were homogenous and determined by criterion sampling and snow-ball sampling. The criteria for the sample being that the interviewee should be a Grahani, a native of Grahan village and the snow-ball sampling was started from the few acquaintances in the village to further look at the other prospective samples.

Participant observation was used as a technique to actively participate in the activities of the Grahanis. This was done by establishing a good rapport with them over the years, paying attention to every minute detail of their lives in terms of their relations with each other as well as with their dwellings and landscapes. These observations were recorded as notes, sketches and photographs the way they were exactly seen without attributing any meaning to them. Also, as there wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t any prior documentation of the settlements and the dwellings in the village, a few sample houses were sketched during the stay therein and a basic settlement plan was developed with the reference of Google maps and cross checked with a prelimnary documentation.

This data gathered on filed was supported by a literature study of the villages of Kullu and in particular Parvati Valley for validating the on-site observations. This involved secondary sources as follows: 1. Ethnographic data of Grahan and villages of Parvati valley in Kullu from the District library of Kullu, online thesis and research papers on the villages of Kullu. 2. Statistical data regarding the tourism in Kullu valley from District Tourism Development Office(DTDO), Kullu, 3. Statistical census data regarding the dwellings- the number of households and the population of Grahan village from the Panchayat of Kasol which

Research Overview

comprises of Grahan village. 4. Existing policies regarding the timber usage and the devaban regulations from The Forest Department Office in Kasol. 5. Online archives of Himdhara- Environment Research and Action Collective for the ongoing activist activities and the habitat and forest policy amendments with respect to the villages of Parvati valley.

1.2 Data Analysis The data gathered was subjected to analysis qualitatively for the purpose of identifying the leverage for the application of defamiliarization theory. This is done by the process of coding for organizing and sorting the data procured from both the primary and secondary sources. While coding the data, a hybrid of pre-set and open coding was used: - Pre-set coding involved certain â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;start-list codesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; based on the on the objectives of the study, problem areas etc. - Open coding involved emergent coding that evolved out of the interviews, observations and field-notes from Grahan. For both these coding types, marginal remarks on the transcripts of interviews were undertaken as show in the following figure:

Fig 0.6

Working sample of a transcript

Research Overview

Applied Anthropological Research Methodology:

This methodology has been used for the application of defamiliarisation theory to the identified needs of Grahan village. This is done by firstly identifying the familiar perceptions of the Grahanis and secondly, by triggering the perceptions of change regarding their dwelling and landscape. The collaboration that involved with the Grahanis saw the following stages in which the applied anthropological research was undertaken:

2.1 Cross-cultural Juxtaposition By using cross-cultural juxtaposition, examples were drawn from the neighboring villages who have fallen prey to the changed landscape in order to pose questions and drive attention about the cultural scene in the Grahan village. Also, this method utilizes the visual tool a graphic novel as an experiment to know its efficiency among the Grahanis with respect to the visual content portrayed therien

2.2 Collaborative Visual Intervention with the Grahanis The visual interventions designed with the Grahanis involved three stages. The first two stages were used for further triggering the perception of the Grahanis with respect to their own dwellings and landscape while the third stage attempted at creating a disturbance in their familiar perceptions through a visual medium.

a. Visual Exercises with the school children

b. Development of a Participatory Visual Narrative of Grahan.

c. Illustrating the Disturbance of Familiar by means of a shock.

2.3 Exhibition of the Perceptions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mera ghor kokhe sa (Where is my home) An exhibition of all the visual interventions done was held in the central village square to invoke a change in their perceptions through the technique of defamiliarisation.

Further in order to assure that the change of perception has a long-term guarantee, a participatory implementation model in terms of a proposal for the resource-usage management for dwelling activities and a design prompt for the continuation of traditional dwelling processes is developed with the Grahnanis to ensure a pragmatic support for the perception change.

Research Overview

0.7 Implication of the Study As quoted in Alf Hornborg’s book ‘The Power of the Machine’ (2001), “We cannot understand or hope to solve global problems of solidarity and survival unless we are prepared to experience a radical defamiliarisation (...) What is required is a major epistemological or paradigmatic shift.” (Marcus & Fischer, 1986). By evaluating Grahan village through the theory of defamiliarization, the thesis would attempt at slowing down the current dwelling morphogenesis in Parvati valley by increasing the duration of perception of the Pahadis. This would eventually assist in preserving the vernacular dwellings of Himachal Pradesh for its long term sustenance. The implications of the research would be: - The findings of this study can be used for studying the application of defamiliarisation theory on the vernacular houses of similar villages in other regions with different cultural traits. Thus by preserving the naivety of such houses, the thesis seeks to develop a sense of ‘confidence’ about the traditional processes among the natives. - As this study attempts to offer an insight into the rituals and patterns associated with the dwelling and landscape of Grahan village, it can be useful for cross cultural studies and comparisons in relation to other vernacular settlements and dwellings in Himachal Pradesh. - Further, it can be used as a source of reference for the persons/agencies concerned with the development of the Pahadi villages of Kullu valley and in particular, Grahan village.

0.8 Scope and Limitations - The leverage identified for the application of defamiliarization theory would be limited only to the remote villages of Parvati valley. - The familiarity of the perceptions of the Grahanis regarding their dwellings and landscape are based on the ‘dwelling perspective of environment’ - The author not being an insider to the villages of Parvati valley, the primary information was organically learnt, experienced and gathered with the sole intention of collecting participant observations. In this process of ‘learning in the moment’ there might have been a neglect of certain native information related to the villages of Parvati valley.

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Tracing Grahan Himachal Pradesh I Parvati Valley I Grahan

1.1 Himachal Pradesh’s Story of Change

Fig 1.1 Landscape in of Himachal Pradesh(Parvati valley) (Source: Author)

Reminiscing Reginald Rankin’s Himalayan journey of 1898 (1930, as cited in Thakkar, Dave, & Shah, 2012) and his words on Shimla:

“The country we passed through was wild and grand, and yet homelike and domestic;

for while the eternal snows dominated the landscape the foreground was a parterre

of fresh green crops and fallow, dotted over hillsides that looked tame by comparison

with the cyclopean masses of snows. Then there were firs everywhere – deodar and

spruce; patchy and partial; sometimes covering the lower summits with dense forest,

sometimes sparsely timbering the valleys; always a joy to look at, and, when the path

led through them, exhilarating in their resinous fragrance.” Inching further in his journey,

Rankin added: “These Indians are an artistic race. Their houses are wonderfully designed

and carved; even the poorest have an eye to aesthetic effect. As in Japan, so here.”

Almost over a century after Rankins’s travel, Himachal Pradesh’s landscape has seen a drastic shift as evident in author’s description of Pulga and Barsheni villages of Parvati valley in 2015 from her travel notes:

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Fig 1.2 Dam-site at Pulga, Barsheni in Parvati Valley (Source: Author)

“As I treaded down along the pathway from Pulga towards the dam wall, it was apparent that the construction was nowhere near to completion. A dam at the confluence of Tosh and Parvati river was underway with truckloads of alien construction materials and machineries clearing the mountainsides. It is my very first time exploring the deep reaches of Parvati valley and the villages therein... It took me time to realize that I couldn’t hear the roaring sound of the Parvati river that thundered in the depths of the deeper pristine tracts of valley. Peering down the dam-wall that bridges Pulga and Barsheni villages, I could see only a small controlled stream flowing in midst of huge boulders. Even the distant hill-side and the walk towards Barsheni village seemed strangely silent, minus the bird-chirps and the incessant, cacophony of insects usually found in the conifers. The only sound which deafened the surroundings were the honking of the numerous impatient trucks loaded with materials like steel and concrete and the throbbing of the diesel machinery in the vicinity of the dam-site. While developments of such kind ensure hydro-electricity to the urban population situated in the plains far away from the hydro-project site, there is definitely an enormous ecological and a cultural drift price to be factored into it.”

“This is the era of change, a transition,” says Ludarbhai, 54, from Tosh (2017) – a view echoed by a plethora of older Pahadi folks who describe the significant changes in the once self-sufficient villages of Parvati and Kullu valley in the western Himalayas. The change that these ecologically sensitive valleys of Himachal Pradesh are undergoing has aroused a lot of interest among researchers, scholars and activists in the fields such as sociology, architecture, craft, geography, ecology and various other disciplines. Himachal Pradesh’s ‘change’- one, that is forced upon and the other that occurs naturally- has been a subject of constant debate amongst the scholars and driving them to understand the relationships between society and nature in Himachal Pradesh.

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Areas with architecture in katthkuni construction technique in Himachal Pradesh Fig 1.3

Himachal Pradesh in Western Himalayan region [Illustration adapted from (Handa, 2001)]

Owing to its location in the Western Himalayas, Devbhoomi (the land of Gods), as it is colloquially called, Himachal Pradesh has some unique physical aspects, in terms of its geography, geology, climate and biology. In addition to these physical features, Himachal “also has a unique individual and collective component of human cognition” (Pirta, 2007). Pirta acknowledges this collective component of human cognition in Himachal to the thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, aspirations and hence, culture of the Pahadis. According to him, the societies in these regions have their empirically evolved ways of mediating the relationships between the individuals and the surrounding landscapes. The manifestation of this human-nature mediation is evidently seen in the indigenous settlements, organically dotting the different valleys of Himachal Pradesh like Kullu, Parvati, Beas, Kangra etc. Visiting more than 40 villages and towns across the states of Kullu, Spiti, Kinnaur and Kangra, the settlement patterns and vernacular construction systems of the houses therein were observed as seen in the figure 1.4.c. Describing these indigenous settlements, Thakkar Dave and Shah in their book Prathaa (2012) throw light on the seismically and ecologically sound nature of the construction techniques used in the settlement houses of Himachal Pradesh. According to them, the Pahadis have empirically evolved their houses with refined aesthetic sense despite having limited access to few local materials which were fashioned using sparse tools and finished with finite labour resources in the mountains. Moreover,”…An equally fascinating aspect of this indigenous architecture is how it reflects more than just a site for buildings in a prosaic sense and instead binds people, belief systems, landscapes and various practices in a rich network of interdependencies; each node in the network sustains the others” (Thakkar, Dave, & Shah, 2012). The development of such dwellings and the lifestyles of the Pahadis is thus responsive to the specific regional culture, physical conditions and constraints and also to their individual and collective cognition. However, in the past decade, roadways and other rapid development initiated by the

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Fig 1.4.a

Districts visited in Himachal Pradesh, India

Fig 1.4.b

Villages / Towns visited in Himachal Pradesh

Fig 1.4.c

Indigenous construction systems across the vernacular settlements visited in Himachal Pradesh

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government in the towns like Bhuntar, Kullu, Shimla, Dharamshala etc. have brought access to the once alien consumer goods, agricultural and hydroelectric innovations, health incentives and education- one strong force for economic change. “This is the era of education,” says Haridevi, 46, from Barsheni (2016), another interior village in Parvati valley. With herself educated meagerly like many woman of her age, she favours the new opportunities that education promises to bring. Yet, a frown soon furrows her face when she thinks of her son and daughters going to the cities for further studies and then not returning to the villages. “How many young children come back equipped with the knowledge from the cities to give back to the villages, to the farms, to the forests, to the valley for its natural growth?” (Thakur H. , 2016) Moreover, a 101.05% decadal increase from 2008 to 2017(Refer appendix 1 & 2) in the tourist influx in these valleys is feeding into the resources from the remote villages and leading to the economic growth of these towns. This is further the reason of the behavioral development of popular and eventually new familiar perceptions of ‘What is in vogue! What is modern!’ for the villagers of these remote areas. This increased stress to cater to the tourists is reflected in the sudden rise in the number of guest-houses and the allied infrastructure needed to cater to these tourists. The direct impact of tourism on the local communities is thus evidently seen in their increased economic assets which are manifested in their materialistic aspiration.

Fig 1.5.c Commodities available in make-shift shops

Fig 1.5.b Inaccessible tourist hot-spots preparing for

located in remote areas to cater to the tourists Location: Kheerganga in Parvati valley; June 2017 (Source: Author)

the tourist peak season to start in summer Location: Grahan; Mar 2018 (Source: Author)

Throwing light on the changing behavioral attitudes caused by the tourist influx and modernization of the villages of Himachal Pradesh, Sachin Kumar, 54, (2014) from Sangla valley describes: “I’m more worried about the youth… my children. The children in the village want their Coke, Sprite, Lays every day. Lantern houses in cement and other modern materials is a sign of prosperity now. I run two guest-houses which I also constructed in concrete because it was tension-free. Running the guest houses gives us money… ...Money is needed for educating the kids and for the health of the family, what choice are we left with?”

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The omnipresence of the growth of this new consumerist attitude among the Pahadis is a common observation by the author during the annual field-visits undertaken across the various valleys of Himachal Pradesh. The mountains and villages of Himachal Pradesh in valleys like Kullu, Parvati, Kangra, Satluj, Spiti etc. “have been the victims of materialistic civilization, which aims at converting nature to cash” (Pirta, 2007). Moreover, Pirta (2007) adds that the government of Himachal Pradesh has been envisioning to popularize luxury tourism for adding onto the revenue and overlooking the scars left behind on the Himalayan landscape. Validating the observation in the Himalayan valleys, Mansi Asher and Sumit Mahar from Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective have asserted the environmental crisis and the pressures of the new consumerist societies faced by the local communities. In their article, ‘Pot Pilgrims and Gods of Himalayan Things’, Asher and Mahar (2017) say, “The ecological crisis that has been unleashed by tourism is perhaps the most starkly visible impact. Proliferation of concrete structures and piles of garbage, especially plastic, are the most obvious signs of the tourist deluge… …Never ending traffic jams on the Chandigarh-Manali highway are now commonplace in tourist seasons. There are no signs of the government attempting to control or regulate tourism in any way yet, as this is a major source of revenue for the state. With more than a crore of tourists visiting Himachal Pradesh each year, tourism contributes to close to 7% of the state GDP”.

Fig 1.6.a Tourist-traffic chaos on the way to Rohtang Pass in Kullu District (Source: http://www.tribuneindia. com/news/himachal/courts/rohtang-redesign-manalibarrier-in-a-week-ngt-tells-hp/245777.html)

Fig 1.6.a Cold drinks being ferried into Tosh village in Parvati Valley; September 2017 (Source: https://thewire.in/environment/pot-pilgrims-and-gods-of-himalayanthings)

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According to the records from District Tourism Development Office (DTDO), Kullu the tourist influx in Kullu district alone was 38.65 lakhs of which 37.32 lakhs were domestic tourists in 2017 as opposed to 21.14 lakhs of which 20.01 lakhs were domestic in 2008. This clearly shows a decadal 82.82 % increase in Kullu district, which ranks the highest in terms of the tourist influx as shown in the graph below:

Fig 1.7

Graph showing the prominence of Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh in the tourist-influx

Foreseeing this massive scale of tourism rise, the Himachal Tourism Department introduced a Home stay Scheme in 2008 to “take tourism to the rural and interior areas of the state” (Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Himachal Pradesh, 2008) for curbing the concentration of tourists in towns like Manali, Kullu, Shimla etc. According to the policy, certain tax exemptions are provided to the locals who register their home extensions as tourist home-stay facilities. However, “while the number of actual registered home-stays are not very large, there seems to be a rush to build in the last few years. And though the policy provides exemptions for only up to three rooms, people have gone ahead and constructed huge guest houses. The home-stay policy has no restrictions on the kind of construction materials used or the architecture style” (Asher & Mahar, 2017). Taking into consideration the rapid, pervasive onslaught of urbanization and ever-increasing tourism on the changing behaviors of the Pahadis, it is therefore crucial to study the culture shift occurring in the Himalayan landscape at the behavioral and environmental level. This leads to the identification of research intent:

How can the preservation of the culture of indigenous Himalayan settlements be undertaken at the behavioral and environmental level?

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This can be undertaken by studying the existing nature of the cognitive relationships of the Pahadis towards the environmental life supporting systems like devabaan management, biomass collection, agriculture, sheep-rearing etc. in the mountains. Describing its importance, Pirta says, “…our survival, biological and cultural, is dependent upon the survival of the life support system” (2007). According to him, such a study is extremely essential for intervening directly or indirectly in these societies. An intervention by such a method affects the local decision-making processes to evoke an informed and a natural change in the Pahadis and their settlement patterns.

Therefore narrowing down on an intervention in the Himalayan settlements that is based on collective human cognition, the research deals with studying the behavioural aspects of the local Himalayan communities. It hence demands an anthropological approach to be undertaken, wherein the researcher has a rapport built with the local Himalayan communities. This is to ensure a holistic understanding of the villagers in these indigenous Himalayan settlements and the nitty-gritties of the perceptions of their environment. Considering the author’s prior association developed with the local communities in the villages of Parvati valley over the past four years, the research thus narrows down on Parvati valley for evaluating the ‘changes that happen’ in the villages of this valley and further addresses the perceptions related to the built and cultural heritage of its villages.

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1.2 Villages of Parvati Valley 1.2.a

Navigating Parvati Valley

Fig 1.8

Parvati river along Kasol in Parvati valley (Source: Alok Kumar, https://commons.wikimedia.org)

Situated along the river Parvati in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, Parvati Valley is one of the most scenic valleys in the Western Himalayas. Widely popular for its rich coniferous vegetation, the altitude of the Parvati valley gradually increases from Bhuntar town (1100 m) - the confluence of the rivers Parvati and Beas to Mantalai lake (4100 m altitude). Across this entire 130 km long and 1.5 km wide stretch dot numerous villages which are quite popular amount the tourists because of the culture and mysticism they offer. Ripe with its myths and folklores, Parvati valley enchants tourists for their various objectives time and again. A significant section of the tourists visiting the valley are adventure, trekking and photography enthusiasts, revellers and smugglers who are majorly allured in Parvati valley for the world famous Marijuana, which is popularly called Malana Cream. “The valley has become the axis of ‘Cannabis’ trade in the country and is famous for high quality ‘cocaine’” (Himshikha, 2013). Besides being known as ‘Charas’ smuggler’s paradise and as a ‘Psychedelic’ Rave Party Capital, the valley is also famous among the pilgrims who visit places like Manikaran and Kheerganga for spiritual interests.

Tracing Grahan

Fig 1.9

Map showing the Parvati River Basin with the villages dotting along it

From the town of Bhuntar, the meandering Parvati River meets several small valleys and villages like Chhong, Shat that dot the steep-sided valley slopes. These villages present glimpses of the idyllic village life to the tourists with apple and walnut orchards lining the terraced farms and a couple of tea and refreshment shops near the bus-stops. The precipitous road of the narrow valley leads further to Jari village (1642 m) which is the hub for the neighbouring villages for procuring to stores selling provisional goods, equipment and the other paraphernalia required for farming activities, banks, schools etc. Towards the east of Jari village, a side valley leads to the ancient village of Malana (2652 m) which “is considered as a Republic and the ‘Oldest Democracy of the world’” (Rana, 2014). Until the last few years, the self-governing administrative system of Malana ensured that the village retained their own lifestyle and social culture much unaffected by modern civilization. The village however attracts excessive tourism due to the production of high quality cannabis products like charas and ganja, popularly known as ‘Malana cream’. Struggling to shed this cannabis tag, in 2017, “the village has just become off limits for tourists after its presiding deity Jamlu ‘ordered’ the closure of all guest houses and restaurants ‘to protect’ local culture and traditions” (Bisht, 2017). Also, the construction of a large dam – Malana Hydro Power Plant on the Malana nullah is transforming the landscape of Jari-Malana stretch. Further deeper into the valley, the road passes through Kasol (2614m) which is an upcoming town and a famous tourist spot with its reggae and psychedelic bars, traceless guesthouses and restaurants and internet cafes. The late 20th and the early 21st century saw it famous among the Israeli or the Hippie crowd who were lured to Kasol for the local charas or hashish hub. However in the last 10 years, along with the international Hippie crowd it is equally thronged by the domestic tourists, mostly the young revellers. Eastwards from Kasol, a side valley formed by the Grahan nullah has the villages of Grahan and Thunja doting its landscape. Owning to

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the remoteness and inaccessible nature of these villages, these are predominantly popular among trekking and nature enthusiasts interested in Sar Pass and Kuari pass treks and certain tourists who wish to enjoy the hashish in peaceful environments away from the maddening tourist crowd of Kasol. From Kasol towards the northern side of the valley, the road passes through the famous Sikh and Hindu pilgrimage town of Manikaran (2090m). The air in Manikaran is filled with a strong sulphurous smell due to the presence of several hot water springs which ultimately merge with the waters of the Parvati river. Several mythological stories with respect to these hot water springs trace its roots to Hindu and Sikh religions due to which several pilgrims make a beeline for Manikaran. Around 14 km from Manikaran is a small village called Barsheni (2150m) with the government road terminating at Pulga (2895m). It is here that the valley broadens and offers a panoramic view of the villages like Barsheni, Kalga, Pulga and Tulga villages. Across this panorama, the construction of Parvati Hydro Power Plant dominates the landscape. From Pulga, a 7 km long gentle climb through a zigzag tract lads to a beautiful village called Tosh (2400m) where there are remains of an abruptly terminated hydel power plant project. After Kasol, Tosh is the village that is frequented by high number of domestic young tourists owing to its proximity to Kasol; it has lesser tourist crowd than Kasol, equally good availability of hashish and other guest house facilities and some breath taking views that it offers of Paravti valley. Another pedestrian diversion and pathway from Barsheni takes one to the Kheer Ganga trek trail though a village named Nakhtan which is dotted with small restaurants and cafes to cater to the tourists as a stop-over. Further north of the trail along the Parvati river, the pathway ascends through coniferous forests and several makeshift cafes to a small temple and a waterfall at Rudra Nag, which is named after its resemblance to a water snake. Beyond Rudranag, the trail leads to dense coniferous forests to a meadow strewn with several makeshift accommodation and cafes for tourists who throng Kheer Ganga (2960m) for its hot water springs. From Kheer Ganga, â&#x20AC;&#x153;as the altitude increases, the trail continues through a landscape covered with waterfalls, lakes and meadows to reach Thakur Kuan at an altitude of 3560m. Beyond Thakur Kuan, the valley ascends to Pandu Pull (3860m) where two natural rock bridges cross the Parvati river and a southern tributary. From Pandu Pull, the wide valley climbs to the sacred site of Mantalai Lake (4100m) which is the origin of river Parvati. From Mantalai Lake one can cross Pin Parvati Pass (5319m) into Pin Valley National Park and to the village Mudh in Lahaul-Spiti.â&#x20AC;? (Himshikha, 2013)

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1.2.b

Current Culture Currents

“Human life is a process that involves the passage of time- this life process is also the process of formation of the landscapes3 in which people have lived (...) the landscape is constituted as an enduring record of – and testimony to - the lives and works of past generations who have dwelt within it, and in doing so have left there something of themselves” (Ingold, 2011).

Ripe with myths and folklores of Gods visiting and staying back, the landscape of Parvati valley is also shaped due to several mythological stories in the form of folklore that float across generations of communities who have inhabited the villages herein. M. R. Thakur (1997) in his book, Myths Rituals and Beliefs in Himachal Pradesh highlights the importance of folklores in the traditional settlements of the Himalayan valleys. Owing to the prevalence of gross illiteracy in the hills, Thakur says that it was a tradition to remember particular events, popular personages and sacred places, by means of oral folklores instead of making records, or erecting material monuments. Like the majority of the Himalayan regions, the villages of Parvati valley were predominantly self-contained and largely undisturbed for centuries. Despite the harsh climate and relative isolation of the hilly terrain, the Pahadis living in the traditional settlements of Parvati valley are happy and contented. Due to their self-reliance, their lives are driven by frugality and cooperative nature with each other. “A deep-rooted respect for each other’s fundamental human needs and an acceptance of the natural limitations of the environment” (Norberg-Hodge, 1991) are the basics of the rituals of these Pahadis which are often reflected in the Pahadi folklores. A illustrative example of a popular Pahadi folklore is given below:

“Baro re khetm domi ri pacchiyan, Rangro to kheti, khair ni jan. [A field next to the road, Acquaintance with the mean and the lowly, And friendship with the rich, All three are harmful eventually]” (Sharma, 2006)

Treading on the trail that leads to Kheer Ganga from Barsheni village, Lot Rama Thakur, a native of Grahan village (2015) narrated a few tales from folklore. Talking about the origins of Parvati valley and its name, he said, “It is said that along with his son Kartikeya, Shiva meditated at Kheer Ganga for more than three thousand years in this valley. One fine morning, Shiva opened his eyes and was stunned by the serene landscape, which was bountiful with water in the river

According to Ingold (2011), the landscape that he refers to is not just a naturalistic view that is a neutral, external backdrop to human activities, but also a culturalistic view that any landscape is a particular cognitive or symbolic ordering of space.

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by his side. Looking at its pristine water, Shiva could only reminisce his beloved wife, Parvati and hence named the river after her beauty, strength and power… Since then it has been Goddess Parvati’s blessings that are bestowed on the valley and the villages along it.” Moreover, the traditional villages of Parvati valley are the homes “of Vedic saints, Gods Goddesses and of God-fearing and honest people…” (Thakur M. R., 1997). Sudha Vasan in her paper ‘Devaban Institutions of Kullu’ emphasizes on the significance of devata system as an important local social and community parameter in the religious and cultural world of native people of Kullu. Throwing light on this institution of devata, Ludar Thakur (2017) from Tosh says, “Every village in Parvati valley has its own devata. Grahan has Mahamaya and Valkya rishi, Gaushal village has Gautam rishi, we have Jamdagani Rishi… We share our Jamlu devata with Malana village. Through the kinship relations that he maintains with the other devatas, the communications and interactions among the different villages have been sustained. The village melas become the times of celebration when the devatas from the neighbouring villages visit us.” Sudha Vasan also writes that in the villages of Kullu, “devatas own property of various kinds – temples, idols, palanquins, jewellery, agriculture and forest lands. Devaban are only one of the constituents in the asset portfolio of the devata.” Thus the cultural, religious and the spiritual life of the villagers heavily revolves around the institution of devata. Every act of importance begins with His or Her consent. This association with the devata goes to the level that the Pahadis consider natural calamities as their failures to keep the devata contended. The devata represents the harsh elements and is the savior for them too. It thus can be assumed that the relations of the Pahadis of the Paravati valley with their devata is one of the major reasons for shaping the landscape of the villages therein. However, in the past two decades, this landscape of Parvati valley has been in rapid flux due to the transformations that the villages and the communities are being subjected to in the form of “a number of social, economic and cultural changes” (Vasan, 2002). This has reflected in the changing attitudes of the Pahadis due to the over-powering and lucrative tourism businesses, government interventions in the form of several hydro-power plants and the allied consumerist aspirations. Expressing the situation in Malana village, Vivek Mohan, winner of a national award for his critically acclaimed documentary on Malana, in an interview with Gaurav Bisht from Hindustan Times said, “Malana managed to preserve its culture due to two factors: devotion to Devta Jamlu and its geographical isolation. Now both are getting diluted due to the Malana hydro project and mobile telephony. Their devotion to the devata is keeping them together, but how long will it be before it becomes a cosmetic ritual.” (2017) The consumer culture that is promoted by the government is taking over the valley and the scenario is worsening because of sticking promotional bills, political and commercial posters, bunting, sign-boards etc. on public places. As a side-effect to the consumer culture, dumping of litter, congested construction activities is a common sight in Parvati valley, especially in the places of tourist and commercial importance.

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Fig 1.10 Congested construction, promotional shop boards, bills polluting the visual culture in public places. (Clockwise from top) Manikaran, Jarri, Bhuntar villages, Jan 2018 (Source: Author)

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Visual environment is no less significant a part of fabric of communities as clean water or air and animal habitatâ&#x20AC;? (Madan, 2016). The Pahadis in these valleys are constantly bombarded by this visual clutter leading to the change in the way they use and hence perceive their landscape. Moreover, one of the significant effects of the consumer culture in Parvati valley is the shift in the usage of materials for construction purposes. The indigenous architecture in the Parvati valley technique which predominantly require the usage of wood and stone are being rapidly replaced by houses constructed in reinforced cement concrete. The omnipresence of huge promotions, painted on the walls of houses, bellowing out cement as the new modern material is in vogue across the valley. The major reason for the shift in the usage of materials are the stringent laws [Himachal Pradesh Forest (Timber Distribution to Right Holders) Rules 2013 and Himachal Pradesh Mineral (Permit Grant for Stone/Slate) Policy 2013] levied by the Himachal Pradesh Government on the usage of locally available materials, with the laws being the most stringent for the procurement of timber especially from the surrounding forests. The gradual loss of importance in the devata and the resultant dissolution of the local devaban system is leading to the strengthening of the Government-run Forest Resource Management system thus dividing the Pahadis from their native forests and ecological, sustainable habitats .

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Fig 1.11.a Voices from the Valley - Cover

In an attempt to document and record this morphogenetic mechanisms in the villages along the Parvati river, the semi-fiction graphic novel, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Voices from the Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by the author, attempts at presenting the ethnographic life of the Pahadis of Parvati valley. A result of her numerous informal discussions in the villages like Grahan, Tosh, Barsheni etc., the graphic novel brings forth a visual narrative of the nuances of dwelling processes and landscape of Parvati valley

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Fig 1.11.b Voices from the Valley - 01

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Fig 1.11.c Voices from the Valley - 02

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Fig 1.11.d Voices from the Valley - 03

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Fig 1.11.e Voices from the Valley - 04

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Fig 1.11.f Voices from the Valley - 05

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Fig 1.11.g Voices from the Valley - 06

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Fig 1.11.h Voices from the Valley - 07

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Fig 1.11.i Voices from the Valley - 08

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Fig 1.11.j Voices from the Valley - 09

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Fig 1.11.k Voices from the Valley - 10

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Fig 1.11.l Voices from the Valley - 11

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1.2 Villages of Parvati Valley The current cultural current that has taken over the villages of Parvati valley in recent decades is thus resulting in an abrupt fragmentation of the valley’s landscape and the gradual neglect of the traditional dwelling processes. This current is a reflection of the global trends trying to reach the remotest regions of the valley. The so-called ‘progress’ that is propagated by the Government in the form of ever-increasing tourism and infrastructural development leads to take the Pahadis further away from their native earth and from one another. Therefore, to address the multi-layered influences and the inter-related forces that are leading to the probable break-down of the villages of Parvati valley, a thorough analysis of these villages is an urgent need which the this section looks at. 1.3.a Identifying Places with Patterns

“As our world grows smaller, previously isolated places are inevitably being brought into the greater human family. Naturally, adjustment takes time, in the course of which there is bound to be change.” - H. H. Dalai Lama in (Norberg-Hodge, 1991)

As seen in the section 1.2, the once self-reliant villages of Parvati valley are in a rapid flux. This has resulted in the gradual rise of its dependence on outside government for coping with the ever- increasing and lucrative tourism business. Significant changes are brought about in the valley’s landscape in the fields of agriculture, architecture, daily utility goods etc. by the introduction of modern technologies which are predominantly reliable on capital and fossil fuels. The shift to cash-crops and fruits from subsistence agriculture and co-operative barter, modern houses constructed in RCC from thermally and seismically efficient katthkuni houses, plastic utility utensils and baskets from luhar-made brass vessels and self-weaved kilta, time-wasting travel and stressful jobs in towns from village-based economic activities – is a common scenario across the villages of Parvati valley. According to Norberg-Hodge, such a dependence on the external world for basic livelihood needs “erodes personal responsibility and clouds the fact that the resources are limited.” Further in her book, Peter Mattheissen adds, “Is it that the would-be corporate developers and the would-be benefactors, with their inappropriate technologies, are out of touch with reality, or is it that, while quite aware of the debt, dependence and environmental pollution being inflicted on a formerly clean and self-reliant culture. They pursue nonetheless the easy shortterm profit, leaving behind not just pollution but frustration, misery and anger” (1991).

“…no pattern is an isolated entity. Each pattern can exist in the world, only to the extent that is supported by other patterns…” (Alexander, 1977)

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Thus, in order to ensure that the current cultural current in Parvati valley doesn’t permanently threaten its landscape, it is crucial to understand its patterns followed by the villages of Parvati valley. This can be done by observing the multifaceted aspects of the change in these villages. From these aspects, recognizing the parameters that are instrumental in the changing landscape of the villages across the valley would be crucial. An analysis of these parameters would further result in identifying and documenting the patterns in the villages across Parvati valley. The prominent parameters that are resulting in the landscape shift and which came across through numerous discussions with the Pahadis were:

1. Road connectivity – Increased mobility- Availability of ready-made, packed food items like Lays, Pepsi, Super-fine flour etc.- Day-long traffic jams in peak tourist seasons.

2. Tourism Business - Hashish trade among youth - Increased Financial assets Introduction to unfamiliar culture, clothes, habits of tourists - Rampant increase in the number of guest-houses.

3. Cheaper substitute construction materials - Guest-houses construction (in the left- over bighas from the 5 bighas allotted per family)

4. Forest Department’s control over devabans - Timber Distribution (TD) permit from the Forest Department

5. Mobile connectivity – Internet connectivity – Youtube streaming- Facebook accounts – new communication and socializing mediums.

6. Hydro-Power Plant – pollution by ferrying trucks – encroachment of farmlands - land, air pollution in the project area – employment opportunities.

Tejsingh Thakur, a native from Manikaran and the Secretary of Kasol Panchayat, says, “In the past two decades, the constant that has been in the landscape of Parvati valley is the road. It is a spine of the valley which connects at least half the number of villages from Bhuntar to Pulga.” (Thakur T. , 2018). In the hilly terrains like Parvati valley, the road is the route “to connect eligible unconnected habitations with a population of 250 persons and above.” (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana Guidelines, 2012). As mentioned in the PMGSY 2012 guidelines, road connectivity in rural areas not only is a major component of rural economic and social development, but also an important factor in reducing the poverty sustainably. The guidelines further promises that rural road connectivity would ensure an increased generation of “agricultural incomes and productive employment opportunities” (2012) in the unconnected habitations. Also, talking about the advantages of road connectivity in Himachal Pradesh, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari stated that “good roads would boost the tourism industry in the state.” (2016) Proximity to vehicular road therefore becomes an important constant parameter on which a majority of other parameters of change like rely on.

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Further, the variable parameters that would be considered for the analysis would be:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Popularity amongst tourists Percentage of Concrete Houses Proximity to Local Resources Mobile Connectivity Environmental Degradation

Accordingly, for analysing the landscape change across the villages visited in Parvati valley, the villages herein have been categorized on the criteria of the proximity of villages from the road as follows: 1. 2. 3.

V1 – Villages which can be easily accessed from the road like Kasol, Jarri V2 – Villages that are moderately difficult to access from the road like Tosh, Nakhthan V3 – Villages that are difficult to access from the road like Grahan and Thunja.

Fig 1.12 Map of Parvati Valley highlighting the village types V1,V2, & V3 and the potential sample villages

As case-studies, one sample village- Kasol, Tosh, Grahan has been chosen from each of the categories V1, V2, V3 respectively. As seen alongside in figure 1.13, a rendering by a tourist, Moutushi Sarkar, the meanings associated with each of these places and the highly popular, middle-stretches of the valley as a whole from the point of view of a tourist are worth to be noted. The portrayal of a scenic Parvati valley with snow-capped peaks framing every horizon, dense coniferous forests along the gushing Parvati river and the cultivation of cannabis plants along its entire stretch making it a ‘charas-hub’ catering to both the domestic and international tourists – describes the familiar perceptions of the tourists when they visit Paravti valley. Kasol being illustrated as the rave party-hub and mini-Israel with a plethora of modern cafes, restaurants and guest-houses catering to the needs of the large number of tourists, Tosh as an idyllic hub with the houses being converted as home-stays and with outdoor quaint cafes and Grahan being remote, isolated and tucked in the side-valley it is less popular among the tourists and hence not illustrated in the rendering. Thus being apt samples for the three cases of V1, V2, V3, the villages of Kasol, Tosh and Grahan shall be analysed in the following section.

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Fig 1.13 A rendering of the landscape of the area under focus in Parvati valley (Source: Moutushi Sarkar https://www.theydrawandtravel.com)

1.3.b Plotting the Parameters of Places A semi-structured survey was conducted across the three sample villages Kasol, Tosh and Grahan. The criteria for the samples surveyed being that the person should be a middle-aged, an original native of the villages surveyed and the sample size was restricted to 10 Pahadis per village. The findings of the survey are plotted in the table below:

Types of villages

kasol

tosh

grahan

Note:

Fig 1.14 Table showing the plotted parameters of V1, V2, V3 (Image Source: Author)

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- Houses in RCC construction technique

Popularity amongst tourists

Note:

- High

- Moderate

- Low

Percentage of Concrete Houses

Proximity to Local Construction Resources

Mobile Connectivity

Environmental Degradation

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1.3.c Identifying the Parameters across Places The observations from the plotted patterns can be explained as follows:

As seen in the case of the category V3, the parameter of villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proximity to the road does plays a role across all the variable parameters which are related to it.

2. The parameter like villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proximity to the road is directly proportional to the parameters like percentage of concrete houses and environmental degradation.

3. There exists no relational pattern between the villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proximity of local construction materials with the parameters like the percentage of concrete houses therein and its proximity to the vehicular road.

1.3.d Identifying the focused Pattern and Place

Fig 1.15 The choses village type V3 - (l to r: Grahan village Thunja village) (Source: Author)

Owing to their current remoteness in terms of accessibility, a villages like Grahan and Thunja in the V3 category stand at the threshold of a drastic behavioral and environmental change in its landscape. Owing to the gradual rise of the morphogenetic mechanisms, the processes of building a popular image that these villages are going through are leading to the gradual decline of their habituated perceptions regarding their landscape and traditional dwelling processes. The villages V1 and V2 stand a testimony to this change in the traditional dwelling processes and hence the dwellings. Therefore, in the times of ever-increasing tourism and the upcoming road increases its vulnerability to the morphogenetic mechanisms, the V3 type villages thus demands an intervention at:

Behavioural level: behavioural changes are needed for enabling the Pahadis to

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reflect at their changing landscape.

Environmental level: With this respect, the non-contextual stringent rules that are levied on the villages in terms of their relations with the devabans and their subsequent rights on the usage of the local resources especially for the construction activities demands an urgent policy-level intervention.

The absence of such an intervention shall soon result in the villages V3 following the degradation paths of villages V1 and V2. The research with its intention to preserve the traditional dwellings at the:

Behavioral (which the defamiliarisation theory allows)

Environmental level (which a participatory policy with the Government allows),

makes a village type V3 like Grahan an ideal case-study. Hence, further narrowing its focus on Grahan village, the thesis aims at the preservation its traditional dwellings which are built in the katthkuni construction system.

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The Grahan that is... Patterns I Landscapes-Dwelling I People

2.1 Dwelling Perspective

“We do not dwell because we have built, but we build and have built because we dwell, that is because we are dwellers (…) To build is in itself already to dwell (…) Only if we are capable of dwelling, only then can we build” (Heidegger, 1971 as cited in Ingold, 2011)

Based on Heidegger’s above idea of dwelling, Tim Ingold in his book ‘The Perception of Environment’ describes ‘dwelling perspective’ as “the forms people build, whether in the imagination or on the ground, arise within the current of their involved activity, in the specific relational contexts of their practical engagement with their surroundings” (Ingold, 2011). Due to this perspective of Ingold, a temporal and processual quality is rendered to the spaces. Such temporality of space is also described by Lefebvre (1991) in his seminal work ‘The Production of Space’ in which it is stated that space is in a constant state of becoming. According to him, space isn’t merely a container of social and cultural activity, but is in fact produced by such activity. Ingold’s concept of ‘dwelling perspective’ attempts to reconcile the separation between man and landscape by imagining the landscape as a continually unfolding story, much unlike the notion of landscape as a mere backdrop to human activities. It is thus a lasting record and a proof of the lives and the tasks of the past generations who have gone through the process of dwelling within it. Therefore, “to perceive the landscape is therefore to carry out an act of remembrance, and remembering is not so much a matter of calling up an internal image, stored in the mind, as of engaging perceptually with an environment that itself is pregnant with the past” (Ingold, 2011). Further defining the spatial and temporal dimensions of landscape in human-life, Ingold introduces the concept of ‘taskscape’ in which temporality inheres “in the business of dwelling” (Ingold, 2011). Thus taskscape, according to him, represents actions that people, or a group of people perform and it exists only as long as the processes of dwelling actually last. For example, in the journey undertaken to reach a particular place, “the paths and tracks ‘impose a habitual pattern on the movement of people’ (…) they also arise out of that movement, for every path of track shows up as the accumulated imprint of countless journeys that people have made- with or without their vehicles or domestic animals – as they have gone about their everyday business (…) In this network of paths and tracks is sedimented the activity of an entire community, over many generations. It is the taskscape made visible” (Ingold, 2011). Accordingly, the following sections adopt the dwelling perspective to understand the perceptions of the landscape and dwellings through the lived experiences and folklores of the Grahanis. These lived experiences which are characterized by “agent-in-an-environment” (Ingold, 2011) give rise to the habitual, familiar perceptions of the Grahanis with respect to their landscape and dwelling through the very act of moving around, dwelling and interacting with their environment, which Ingold collectively terms as the ‘process of mapping’ the environment.

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2.2 The landscape that is…

Fig 2.1

Landscape of Grahan Village (2014) (Source: Author)

2.1.a Mapping the journey towards Grahan Having found a resting alcove in middle of a few shrubs and gazing at mountains dominating the landscape surrounding Grahan, Lot Rama Thakur, a Grahani bursts out singing with a spark in his eyes: “Jeena pahde da jeena ho, Thandi thandi hava he chaldi, Barfa da pani peena ho.” [Living in the hills is living well, Waters here are icy cool and the breezes are gentle] (2015) This “lived experience” (Kumar, 2016) and nostalgic descriptions of the valley to an outsider like me presents a meaning so unreal that it almost seems real. A rickety colorful bus that takes one to Paravti valley from Bhuntar crosses the bridge over the holy confluence of the grey waters of Parvati river and brown waters of Beas river at Bhuntar. While the bus crosses the ParvatiBeas sangam bridge, few of the fellow Pahadi passengers shut their eyes and with a slight head-bow show respect to the river underneath. After crossing the sangam bridge, the bus

The Grahan that is...

takes a diversion at Bhuntar and enters Parvati valley, the landscape suddenly changes from a wide sparse, barren valley with gentle-sloped mountain sides to with a narrow valley with steep-sided mountain edges along the road. With some nati songs bellowing out of the bus speakers, the rough, winding road that the bus passes through, sees numerous villages and terraced orchards of apples and walnut trees and fields of barley and cauliflower along the road, while the driver negotiates some threatening turns and the busy tourist traffic on the narrow road.

Fig 2.2 New Kasol with guest-houses along the main spline road and the deforestation at the upcoming parking area- cum- garden (Source: Author)

As the bus nears Kasol, the valley very gradually becomes more scenic with lush green coniferous trees of Kanawar wildlife sanctuary trying to tower the rugged skyline. Further inching towards new Kasol, the humongous, unmindful guest-houses for accommodating the floating tourist population along the main spline road block the view of the Parvati river and have deforested large tracts of the Kanawar sanctuary near the road. This is reflected in the mounds of logs and trees which are cut and piled up to be sold thus making way for the brand new parking area â&#x20AC;&#x201C; cum â&#x20AC;&#x201C;garden to cater to the high tourist influx in new Kasol. Further into the new Kasol, a walk along all the shops selling hippie goods takes one along a stream named Grahan nullah that is one of the tributaries of Parvati river. Hiking being the only option to reach Grahan for both the locals and tourists, the 10 km hike through the woods presents you with unpredictability as soon as one takes the turn from new Kasol towards Grahan. After the bridge crossing the Grahan nullah, as you tread from new Kasol market towards Grahan, you spot the gabion-walled edges with plastic waste dumped and a few makeshift sheds for the Nepali labourers and the cement shops busy with loading unloading tasks . These Nepali labourers are usually involved in the RCC construction activities of the new guest-houses that are rampant in the areas around new and old Kasol. Further along Grahan nullah is an under-construction road that is currently been used as a pedestrian path strewn with boulders and plastic waste along its edges. Until March 2018, a diversion from this from this road led you to a small cottage named Narinee Re Khokha from where a pathway led to a gradual climb towards a spot named Pandahar Gouu where

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Fig 2.3 Cement shops at the fringe of New Kasol and the horses being readied to be taken to Grahan village (Source: Author)

Fig 2.4 Narinee Re Khokha at the start of Grahan trail (Source: Harsh Singh www.tripoto.com)

Fig 2.5.a Pandahar Gouu (Source: Harsh Singh www.tripoto.com)

Fig 2.6.a The upcoming road towards Grahan with a board marking entry into Kanawar Sanctuary; Mar 2017 (Source: Harsh Singh www.tripoto.com)

Fig 2.5.b Instructions painted on boulders of Pandahar Gouu (Source: Harsh Singh www.tripoto.com)

Fig 2.6.b The road construction inching closer towards Grahan; Mar 2018 (Source: Author)

two huge boulders mark the entrance into the Kanawar Sanctuary on the pathway leading towards Grahan. The ritual associated with this particular spot made both the tourists and the Pahadis aware of their entrance into a zone of sanctity of the devaban which is now under the Forest Department as Kanawar Wildlife sanctuary. However, in Feb 2018, a kilometre long

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extension of the road construction towards Grahan that was open for pedestrian use now ensures that the people neednâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go through the Pandahar Gouu thus gradually making them loose the awareness of entering into the devaban and hence maintain its sanctity. This pause in the landscape is replaced by a sigh-board (figure 1.21a) by the Forest Department along the upcoming road, suggesting the entrance in the sanctuary. The point at which the under-construction road ends leads you to the trails into the woods which is marked by red arrows all along the way to the village with a YHAI tag suggesting the Sar Pass trek run in the month of May by Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI) which renders yet another image of the landscape to the outsiders. The trail takes you through the forest with huge coniferous trees like deodar, fir, kail etc. and broad leafed trees Rhododendron, Kharshu, Prunus etc. with herbs like bhang (Canabis sativa), Rubus, Guchi, Lingadi along the way. The constant cacophony of birds like Great Barbet, Grey-headed woodpecker, Black Bulbul, Brown Dipper, Golden Bush Robin and the buzz of the a bees and insects still keep you company on the way.

Parvati River

The trail also involves crossing a few wooden bridges over the gushing Grahan nullah. After the first bridge crossing is a sacred spot named Maathi Na(Fig 1.24.a) which marks the entrance into the territory of Goddess Mahamaaya from Grahan. This is usually the first rest-spot wherein the locals bow their head and offer a leaf or two to the sacred deodar tree in which iron nails are driven into from which pieces of red cloth and old iron articles like trishul, water vessels

Kasol

Thunja

Grahan Dabag

Jodi Setu Charni re Cheta Pandaahar Gouu

Maathi na

llah

Madu Dev

Shonna

Fig 2.7 Map indicating the various ritualistic pause-points in the landscape along the Grahan trail

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Pulgi

Fig 2.8.a ‘Maathi na’ besides the first bridge (Source: Author)

Fig 2.8.b Jodi Setu (Source: Author)

Fig 2.8.c Ramlaljee’s Dhaba at Charni Re Cheta (Source: Author)

Fig 2.8.d RS Cafe at Shonna (Source: Author)

are left below the tree. On the other hand, for the tourists, this spot becomes their selfie and photograph point with the backdrop of the wooden bridge. The second bridge which comprises of two bridges is known as Jodi Setu (Fig. 1.24.b), beyond which is the next rest spot known as Charni Re Cheta which marks the half-way point to Grahan. The idyllic Ramlaljee’s(age 47) dhaba (Fig 1.24.c) located at this point is the perfect pit-stop with its make-shift tent and logs to have chai or a quick snack while sharing conversations for both the tourists and the Pahadis. The huge boulders shaded by the dense tree cover and a comparatively flatter terrain at Charni re Cheta provides a pause in the journey towards Grahan.

The flat lands named Shonna beyond Charni re Cheta served as grazing ground for the village sheep and the goats. However, since 2017, the trail has seen an addition in the form of RS Café (Fig 1.24d) run by Shyamlal Thakur (age 29). The introduction of the café has transformed the usage of Shonna with the fenced boundaries and now an upcoming permanent single-storeyed cottage constructed with concrete blocks. While the Pahadis simply pass along the fenced boundary towards Grahan, RS café is majorly visited by the tourists because of the seating and tented accommodation facilities provided. The café surroundings are often spotted with plastic waste strewn around. the Pahadis simply pass through.

The Grahan that is...