The Himalayan tragopan

The western tragopan or western horned tragopan is a Himalayan bird found from Pakisatan to eastern Himalayas including Uttarakhand. It is medium sized brightly plumed pheasant. This species of bird is classified under highly endangered species.

These birds are found within the range of 1750 m to 3600 m.

Summer : 2400 m to 3600 m (in temperate forests)

Winter : 2000 m to 2800 m (in dense coniferous and broad leaved forests)

Feeds : leaves, shoots, seeds, insects and invertebrates.

Female : The feathers are black patched with central white streaks. The upper part is pale brownish-grey which is finely vermiculated and spotted with black. Weight : 1.25 to 1.4 kg, length : 48 to 50 cm.

Male : The body is dark, black and grey with white spots in plenty. The spots are bordered with crimson and black patches on sides and at the back of the neck. The facial skin is bare and red with bare blue throat. Weight : 1.8 – 2.2 kg, length : 48 – 50 cm.

The males show inflated throated into lappets that appear purple to attract. The display of blue horns resembling to the Greek mythological god Pan earned the name tragopan. The male calls and sings during the display. The song is loud two-note ringing who-weee. This song is repeated every second for a long period. They build the nests in hollows at the lower portion of the tree. The breeding season is May – June.

In Himanchal, Kullu region this bird species is locally called jujurana which means the king of birds. The state Himanchal nominated this bird as the state bird in 2007.

This bird is one of the rarest living pheasants. These birds are very sensitive to the anthropogenic disturbances ( e.g. Hydroelectric projects). Presently, the rough population of this species is around 5000 worldwide including captive ones.

Restoring the traditional music.

Uttarakhand government has decided to keep alive the traditional music. In this direction, the government is giving traditional music instrument to the impoverished folk artistes.

The initiative is being done in order to save the traditional heritage of music from vanishing. The artistes associated with the traditional music are slowly moving to other professions. This scheme is aimed to provide livelihood opportunity to the artistes associated with the traditional art form.

Under this scheme, the artistes whose income is less than Rs. 2000/- per month shall be given one free folk musical instruments like   Dhol, damau, mashakbean, ransingha, nagada and turahi. The preference shall be given to the artistes hailing from the families practicing the music / art for generations. As of now, the scheme is open for schedule castes of the state, and soon shall be open for general and schedule tribes of the state.  The artistes between age 18 yrs. To 60 yrs. can apply to the district magistrate offices of all the districts by Oct 31, 2016. Only one member of the family shall be given the instrument . The descriptions of the musical instrument are as follows:

Dhol

Dhol : An ancient drumming instrument of the state.

Damau

Damau : A small drum hung around the neck and two sticks used to play.

Mashkbean

Mashkbean : It’s a bagpipe version.

Ransingha

Ransingha : A type of primitive trumpet, like bugle.

Nagada

Nagada : A folk drum

Please click for the video of  A traditional music and folk dance

Tiger safari in Corbett National Park

The officials of Tiger reserve are awaiting a nod from the Central Zoo Authority before preparing a detailed project report on tiger safari – cum – rescue centre in the buffer zone of the Jim Corbett national park. The chief warden of the wildlife has sent the proposal to the zoo authority in the month of August 2016. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has already given the approval for setting up the centre.

       

       The buffer zone shall be in Pakhro in the national park having an area of 200 hectare, where the centre for safari-cum-rescue centre has been proposed. The entry for this zone shall be from Kotdwara. Initially, only a part of this area shall be exposed to the tourists and remaining shall be other activities like medication and injured tigers.

       The environment for the tigers shall be made as in the wild. The old and injured tigers shall be caged for the tourists, who fail to see the tigers in the wild. The capacity of the tigers shall be 10 to 20 around. There shall be utmost effort to provide a glimpse of Royal Bengal tigers.

       Before giving it’s nod, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) will send a team to the area where this safari has been proposed. According to the NTCA, the permit for tiger safari is permissible in the buffer area of the tiger reserves. Clause 16.21 says’ “Tiger safari may be established in buffer areas of tiger reserves which experience immense tourist influx in the core / critical tiger habitat for viewing tigers.”  The core area of the Corbett national park is 821.99 km and the buffer area is 466.32 sq km.

       The tourist influx during a season is around 2 lakh (or 200,000) which generates a revenue of Rs. 7 crore (or Rs. 7 million). As per the Corbett officials, the tiger safari shall bring more revenue to the national park and help boosting the economy of the locals.  

Floating huts in Tehri lake

Tehri dam is located in Uttarakhand state. The dam has been constructed for hydroelectricity generation. The area of this lake is around 42 sq km. The lake starts from Chinyalisaur in full season. Uttarakhand government is planning to start tourism activity in Tehri lake. The planning is to start water sports in the lake. In order to promote the lake, a festival is being held during the winter in the month of November.

Soon the tourists visiting the lake shall have additional attraction of staying in ‘floating huts’ having design based on house boats in the Dal lake of Jammu and Kashmir.

The state tourism minister on Saturday (6/9/15) said that the lake has an area of 42 sq km which is nearly double the area of Dal Lake. The introduction of the floating huts shall add new dimension to the tourism activities in and around the lake spread over 42 sq km.

The number of the floating huts shall be 10 initially and gradually be increased on the response of the tourists.     

The floating huts shall be modelled based on house boats of the Dal lake. The dimension of each floating boat shall be 10x12 ft each with attached toilet and small balcony. In future, the design of the boats shall be changed to adjust larger accommodation.

The tourism in the lake shall be eco-friendly and the waste from the boats shall be deposited in separate chambers prepared for the dumping purpose. The wastes shall be disposed beyond the peripheries of the lake.

The work on building of these floating huts has already been started by a Mumbai-based company. It will take at least eight months to completion of the boat building. Each boat shall cost Rs. 40 lack. The entire project is being looked after by the Lake Development Authority.  

Tourism promotion in Uttarakhand

Shri Badri Vishal

The government of Uttarakhand is not leaving any stone unturned to promote the tourism in Uttarakhand. Recently, the tourism department announced that the state shall organise  few festivals and carnivals during winter 2015-16. The focus shall be Mussoorie, Tehri & Auli along with the winter Chardham. The two pillars for the state government have been Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN).  These two organisations have provided basic infrastructure and information regarding tourism activities in Uttarakhand.

               

Rafting in Rishikesh

In order to promote the tourism activities in Uttarakhand, the Chief Minister, Mr. Harish Rawat has assured to provide financial support to GMVN to revamp its facilities and infrastructure.  GMVN and state government tourism department have not been doing well since 2013 disaster. In a review meeting, the Chief Minister announced to give a support of Rs. 5 crore to GMVN for renovation and development of tourist rest houses. Simultaneously, he instructed to adopt a professional model to tackle the tourism promotion in the state. The CM also instructed that the Nigam should focus on generating more revenue by promoting itself. The nigam should adopt the latest business models to compete and survive in the market.

Chandrashila

The CM also instructed to co-operate with the travel professionals and agents. A total of 21 guest houses have been allocated Rs. 3 crore for modernisation and Rs. 2 crore has been allocated for renovation of tourist rest houses and resorts. The CM has also asked to keep utmost care of Dron hotel, Dehradun and Mussoorie GMVN rest house. The tenting and trekking in Badrinath and Kedarnath should be kept in mind for tourism and pilgrimage activities. The state government employees in tourism activity should be inspired for better performance and be given adequate reward. GMVN and KMVM should be jointly recognised as state’s valuable assets. The state’s products should be promoted in these rest houses. The review meeting was attended by all higher officials of Uttarakhand tourism department. 

The origin of Badrinath name.

The other name of Lord Vishnu is Sri Badrinath. The mythological story behind the choosing of this Badri valley as the abode  of Lord Vishnu and subsequently the another name of Vishnu after this valley has an interesting story behind.

The lord Vishnu was taking rest on His Sesha on the Krishsagar whilst Laxmi caressed His feet. Narad Muni on viewing this luxurious way of life expressed his displeasure.  Lord Vishnu was hurt and disappeared into Himalayas and sent Laxmi to Nagkanyas (sea maids).   The Lord Vishnu fed himself with wild berries (badri). He assumed the meditating form of yogdhyani for several years. After a long period when Laxmi returned to find Lord Vishnu meditating in the Badrivan , Laxmi addressed the lord Vishnu as Badrinath. Laxmi requested to give up the yogdhyani posture and return back to His original sringaric form. Lord Visnu accepted the requested left that sacred place to be named as Badrinath.

Lord Vishnu put three conditions to mankind to follow:

The Badrinath valley shall remain for meditation & worshipping and prohibition of worldly pleasure.

 The lord Vishnu shall be worshipped in both of the forms of yogdhyani and sringaric. The Gods shall worship Him in yogdhyanic form whereas the mortals shall worship him in sringaric form.

 The sitting position of Laxmi shall be left hand side for yogdhyani form and right for sringaric form.

In hindu tradition, the wife usually sits on the left. When Laxmi is placed on the right, the depiction of sitting posture has a meaning. Here, the lord Vishnu and Laxmi are worshipped as separate God and Goddess respectively and not as divine couple. This is the very reason why the Rawal (Main Badrinat priest) must not be married.

The three conditions laid down by the lord Vishnu have been strictly adhered to down the ages from Satyug till today. The lord Vishnu is worshipped by pilgrims during summers whereas during winters the lord Vishnu is worshipped by devas and sages.

Winter tourism in Uttarakhand

Auli during winters

Uttarakhand tourism department is planning to take up promotional activities to attract tourists and pilgrims for the winter Chardham pilgrimage. The tourism department will take up at least four big festivals and fairs.

Tehri fair in November and Mussoorie carnival in December will be held under the aegis of the state tourism department . Officials said department will try to sell the events via its publicity measures across the country and also invite stake holders like tours and travel agencies and other experts to take part in the events.

Mussoorie

According to the plan, Mussoorie festival will have some exclusive cuisines with clothing items and other attractions and Tehri festival will have larger dimensions to sell the scenic beauty of lake and the new Tehri Township. The tourists will also be exposed to geographical beauty of the hills in order to promote it as international tourist destination.

Tourism department has planned a winter carnival at snow capped Auli, know for skiing and other adventure sports. There will be second episode of mountain before the onset of next summer, however it is not confirmed.

Tehri dam

“We have finalized the plan for Tehri festival to be held in November. Mussoorie in December and and Auli carnival for February 2016. These events will be held mainly to promote the winter tourism in the state” said a tourism official.    

Officials said festivals and carnivals are being organized to curtail the diversion of tourists who often prefer to visit destinations like Shimla and Jammu & Kashmir during winters.