Tag: uttarakhand
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A house for Vikram
We are building a new double house for Vikram on a steep slope, high above the river level. His house washed away in floods just ten months ago. Vikram, his wife Anita, and their two sons will live in one half while his parents and brother will live in the other half. It is common here for families to share a larger house, so nearly half of the homes we are building are double. Vikram is a hard worker, helping us with every phase of construction not only on his house, but helping to build for others as well. –…
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Marriage in Batwadi
A wedding is one of the top expressions of Garhwali culture, bringing together large extended families, with good food and festivities. As a cultural experience, the wedding of Harish and Pria was a fascinating day. Yes, the bride was beautiful. However, as I look through the hundreds of photos I took of this event, I also see two scared children trying to trust that this rite of passage into adulthood will lead to a good life. Batwadi is a wonderful village, full of good hearted people who have already given much support to this family. Perhaps village life can provide…
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All decked out for a wedding
I have told you in the past about Shanti Devi, the recipient of our first house, but have said little about her son Harish who will also be living there. He too shares her pain, the loss of a father, brother, and the mules that were the source of his family’s income. Today Harish was married. Although the house is far from completed, a temporary tarp roof was added, and they moved in for the occasion. As they have been living in a tent for many months, the unfinished house seemed quite spacious and took on a very festive air.…
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smoking in the landslide
07 April 2014 I am here in Batawari, Uttarakhand for the last few days to document the work of the volunteers. today land slide happened right in front of us when me and sudheer were walking with village ladies. it was just 5 meter in front of us! 2 villagers fell down, but they were o.k. there were 2 nepali workers working down there and they were buried in dirt. one was completely buried and another half the body. me and sudheer were the only men around at the time so we rushed down and started digging bare hands. after…
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Amma naama in Mandakini
“Hariyuva nadiya kalaravadalli kelutaliruvudu ammanaama!” I heard a brahmachari singing to himself the above lines as we some of us Amma children were trekking along the Mandakini River in deeper Himalayas. When Amma is available in Amritapuri, all would throng there; but Her children posted in Himalayas have to complete as much of Her work as possible of building houses before the rains start. So they hear Amma Name in the sound of the river Mandakini! With Amma’s blessings I happened to join them here last week. On 3rd April, our first day here, early in the morning there was…
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Fertile fields
The Himalayas are the youngest mountain range on earth. That is both a good and a bad thing. They are prone to dramatic earthquakes, landslides, and devastating floods like we saw last summer. But the mountains also thrust up fresh, nutrient rich soil that makes this an extremely productive place to farm. When I first arrived in late December, the fields in the Mandakini valley were ablaze with the brilliant yellow of mustard flower. Actually the mustard is a cover crop, planted along with winter wheat. In the past few weeks, the mustard has been harvested by hand from amongst…
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Things are Heating Up
Warm weather is finally here in Chandrapuri, bringing with it a flurry of activity. The government seems to have realized that monsoon season is quickly approaching. Road construction is going on everywhere, finally with heavy equipment and an influx of new Indian workers. Our construction has picked up again too with the arrival of two experienced supervisors from Kerala, Shiva Das and Ramakrishna. Nine houses have now been bricked to a level above the doors. Today was “all hands on deck” as we carried pans of sand and gravel to mix the concrete by hand. Once started, we can not…
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Fabric Painting Classes
Out of all of Amma’s relief programs in Uttarakhand, the Vocational Training Centers have been the instant success story. Standardized curriculum from Amachi Labs, delivered by laptop made it possible to implement the classes so quickly. This week I attended the final session of the Fabric Painting Class in Guptakashi. This was the second batch of 20 students to complete the course there. The ladies were obviously enthusiastic about what they had learned and lined up to show off their finished products. Some were for their own use and some were working samples to show local shopkeepers. Fabric Painting is…
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Chandrapuri Village Before and After
Chandrapuri where we have started Amma’s housing projects, is actually two villages on opposite sides of the Mandakini River that were once connected by a beautiful cable bridge. Batwadi Village, where we are building houses, is on the east side and Chandrapuri Village is on the west bank. This week, a family has shared rare photos of what Chandrapuri Village looked like before the flood. I have tried to go to the same spots to show what it is like today, but many of these spots have been washed away. This is as close as I could get. Before…