CRISIS OF HUMANITY (Part 1)

It is claimed by reserchers that the modern humans have been living together and migrating since one hundred to two hundred thousand years ago. Over the past fifty thousand years they have spread across the entire planet. History which can be seen or touched, is read or was heard goes back six to ten thousand years from date. Inspite of such a vast experience going through millions of generations, it is rather unfortunate that we humans have miserably failed on two counts; first our inability to stop exploitation of nature and humans and second our inability to avoid human sufferings. As life forms, today we are not too far away from the life condition that existed fifty thousand years ago. We are still primitive in our instinct, we still fear for our survival, inspite of several scientific advancements, machines and instruments to aid our ease and leisure. From such a perspective our performance has been an utter disappointment.

Currently since the past sixty odd years we have not had any major world wars. Apart from potentially threatening situations converting onto lighter and localised wars everywhere, there has not been a major human orchestrated killing of other humans. Around the world we no longer indulge in genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass scale wiping out of enemy population, looting of enemy wealth, raping of their women, etc. A few severe ones probably are the Sinhalese attack on Tamil population in Sri Lanka, the continued armed battles in middle Africa, Iraq and Syria. One other major cause of death over the past several decades has been natural disasters and disease. There has been a reasonable stability on that front, to assist better human conditions. However we are squandering away this window of opportunity. During this respite we have achieved nothing tangible except merely increasing our population which has compounded the problem instead of resolving or improving anything. We haven’t attained any greater heights in our understandings and feelings for life on this planet. Rather we have degraded ourselves to further exploit the planets resources and other life forms.

We have been rather short sighted in our approach over the past few decades. All our focus has been directed towards selfish aggrandisement, under the garb of individual liberty and freedom. We have placed or one could say misplaced all our faith on democracy as a conduit for better living. In doing so we have legalised exploitation of resources, permitted manipulation of ideas and sacrificed our combined happiness. We have allowed individuals and groups to increase production of every kind in an innocent assumption that doing so would spread wealth in the hands of everyone. Obviously wealth is still reflected as the main ingredient for happiness, more the wealth more the happiness.  Well, it seems that we have been wrong all along.

What we do to exploit and manipulate: We humans have bestowed on ourselves an unbridled expression to our desires without necessitating any evaluation of the justifications regarding its universal benefit. Our ambitions have transcended honourable limits. Post the industrial revolution we have encouraged consumerism in food clothing and shelter. It started with the West and seeing how wealthy they have become, the East aped it. Consumerism is a cycle where demand pushes production which results in increased earnings and therefore caters to additional demands. But behind the screen the production has to be supported by continuous supply of raw material and energy. We have assumed that demand can rise perpetually disregarding the fact that natural resources are limited. Today we are sailing in unchartered territories where we hardly discuss or know about how to limit our consumerism while being fully aware that every mineral on this planet is available to a finite quantity.

An informed look at our politics across the globe shows it appears that in several places we have replaced monarchy and autocracy, however we have merely converted into democracy under the camouflage of upholding citizen’s rights, freedom. The wine remains the same while the bottle has changed. Physical slavery has been replaced by psychological slavery. Elections are strategies in vote bank politics and uttering lies aloud, where manipulating of public opinion and spreading misinformation is the rule of the game. Those who aren’t in power or those who have been manipulated over the years have switched over to terrorism to make themselves heard. To counter the terrorist’s, weaponry of the official armies have also become sophisticated and nuclear. Crime has taken a white-collared reputation, becoming more skill and cyber based. The damage inflicted and benefit earned is enormous.  Child pornography is another area which is raising its head.

People around the globe have learnt to live in fear accepting it as a part of their lives. Power and wealth has become cherished aspirations to overcome the fear. Those who cannot become aggressive follow some or the other religion, which also is steeped into narrow-mindedness. Those in charge of these religions have understood the value of fear in retaining their individual importance. Even an open religion like Hinduism which has survived thousands of years today shamelessly talks of being subverted with threats of being wiped out because of divergent views. Spirituality was once a celebrated tradition in the East and also in other places has witnessed reduced importance in recent decades. India itself had several hundreds of spiritual and philosophical schools at the start of the Christian era, of which hardly a handful has survived.

Another situation which is visible is that the population explosion is coupled with huge advancements in medical science. On the one hand we witness disturbing trends in intrusive medical treatment which prolongs life even in a vegetative condition. On the other hand we also see wide scale proliferation of obesity, diabetes, BP, heart ailments and cancer. The medical profession has flourished. Urban pollution has spilled out of hand and we are constantly wrestling with air, river, sea, sound and plastic waste pollutants.

Inspite of all our labours at pseudo-development, poverty continues to exist and exploitation continues to prosper. The more we imagine that we are advancing the more we are suffering as a life form.

What we endure because of our exploitative tendencies: We humans are watching a phenomenon new to our experience; global warming. While the planet has become hot and cold several times before, we have never experienced it in our combined knowledge of fifty thousand years. This time around we reckon that the increasing temperature of the planet is our undoing and mainly rooted in our exploitative burning of fossil fuel. Assessing the correctness of whether the view is right or wrong is not going to matter because we are practically witnessing shrinking ice cover, vanishing forests, water scarcity on an ongoing basis which is disturbing the climate across the planet causing unprecedented variations in rainfall, winter cold and summer heat.

We are staring at a huge ageing population, our own population. In our unmanageable numerical growth, we have taken over every conceivable nook and corner of this planet, we have destroyed several species of plant and animal life, we have cut down oxygen producing forests, we have polluted the air, we have made our surroundings filthy. We humans have become so paradoxical that while the awareness of physical fitness has increased the numbers of sick and diseased has also increased.

Migration has been a human privilege right from the time we have walked out of Africa. We migrate for livelihood, for education, for a better life, to escape from atrocities and crime, basically to survive. The rich migrate individually and silently while the poor migrate in numbers and attract undue attention. Currently the volumes of migrations have increased to such proportions that societies are barricading against the migrants. We can imagine the extent of outrage causing the migrants to escape. While the voice against these new migrants have also become shrill and the number of countries which refuse to accept them are increasing.

The economic policies that we implement, the importance that we attach to earning money and wealth creation and the ruthlessness and with which we pursue freedom for selfish interests, have all resulted in vast disparities in wealth distribution in society. The poor continue to exist even in highly developed countries. There are people without basic quantities of food, clothing and shelter living in every country on this planet. We once thought that Socialism would help alleviate poverty and then realised that capitalism is probably the right way forward to eliminate human sufferings. Let us accept that this hasn’t happened. While Socialism is dead, Capitalism hasn’t delivered. We as a species have failed to protect even our own from exploitation.

We still have certain more wants that are exploitative too: It is claimed, by us humans of course, that we are the most intelligent creature living on this planet. However looking at our demands and expectations for the future, the claim stands open to argument. It is as if we haven’t learnt our lessons yet that we continue on the same treacherous path of self-destruction through exploitation of whatever the planet has to offer.

Protectionism has walked into our thoughts in every area of life. We have started feeling extreme insecurities about our lives, religion, country, local territory, local economy, caste, group life-style and culture, and the list is endless. A couple of decades ago in the international scene, cross border trade was demanded, all previous trade barriers were asked to be broken, benefits of globalization was promised and it did spread out. Just when it had taken roots, a U-turn is being demanded by those who pushed globalization in the first place. The reason is simply that the benefits were really flowing into the once upon a time developing and poor countries. Today the big powerful countries fear that globalization is taking the wind out of their sail. They aren’t interested in making every poor country a better place as theirs, atleast that wasn’t the supposed intention behind the theory of globalization.

Even in education we have ventured deep into subject specialisation where every specialist feels that his is the right way or rather the only way. We have become less tolerant about the views of others and consider them to be inferior to our own. A balanced view considering the opinions of all is slowly becoming an outdated concept. It is being viewed as primitive and a waste of time.

At a time when global warming is making life difficult for us humans, it is but common sense that we should pool our energies together to create a safe and practical environment so that we can survive in the long run. However it is right at this moment that across the world we chose to bicker about our rights of privacy and infringement of personal space. Yes, the Gay rights and freedom is a step in the right direction but beyond that everybody need to share information about their life, choices, consumptions, and vocations so that unwanted impact on the environment can be avoided. However we are moving in the opposite direction.

Our agricultural sector across the world is so constipated that our farmers can think of survival only with subsidies and grants. Food production in all countries still is dependent on a benign weather. Food prices are deliberately kept low to starve off inflationary tendencies in the economy. Food preservation and storage is never in the hands of the food producers who therefore lose out on prices. We also fear to introduce Genetically Modified food, which can help the food producers. These are age old problems which we don’t want to resolve. Every economist, every central bank, every politician, every learned intellect anywhere on this planet, merely pays lip service to agriculture. We are least concerned about how to feed the ever growing population in harsh climatic conditions of the future.

As if our exploitation of this planet is not enough, we now want to exploit the moon and Mars. Space tourism and space travel, is expected to become the fad of the future. It is anticipated by some enterprising money-bags that the rich of the future will prefer to spend their wealth on a short spin around the planet while the poor continue to struggle.

Artificial Intelligence and robotics is a growing technology and every new development should be welcome, evaluated and pursued. One should be cautious when a new development is expected to for the detriment of life forms on this planet, for instance the atomic bomb and nuclear war arsenal.  AI is expected to replace humans in the job market and none of us are too sure how this one will play out. With a huge population to feed, with few employment opportunities for them, under a harsh climatic condition, without a practical food strategy in place, how are we expecting us to survive?

                                                                                                                   (To be continued)

RANIGANJ - O - RANIGANJ

Raniganj basically a coal miner’s town in Bardhaman district of West Bengal holds a special place in my mind. It is situated on the banks of the Damodar River and because of its close proximity to the city of Asansol (my birthplace) it now comes under the Asansol Municipal Corporation. Couple of centuries back, Raniganj was merely a thick forest area rather infamous for its tribal dacoits and robbers. Infact incidents of armed looters and plunderers attacking homes continued as recently as about 1960’s. Raniganj became famous for its coal during the British era and therefore way back in 1855 they commissioned the rail track from Howrah to Raniganj under East India Railway. Today all the coal under the town has been extracted and it is said that the town rests on stowed sand. Of late the town has also become a medical hub of the region with several doctors and hospitals opening shop.     

The coal mining business attracted various people into the area. The buccaneers from the Rajasthani, Punjabi, Bihari and Gujrati communities got into various aspects of the business from mine ownership, coal production, manpower supply, coal handling and transportation. The entire region was rich in coal deposits and it wasn’t long before these buccaneers became rich too. The labour force consisted of the tribal population from Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand who ended up being exploited. Today the town with a population of above 1.2 lakhs (2011 census) has become a weird synthesis of the poor tribal who are the native sons of the soil, the white collared job oriented typical Bengalis and the rich businessmen Hindi speaking non-Bengalis.

Raniganj does hold a special place in my mind. My Ma belonged to the town, and my mama’s still continue to live there. As a kid, the only holiday vacation that I knew of were the annual trips to Raniganj. We always went to Raniganj like it was a pilgrimage. The intimacies with the family, the place and the journeys have created such embossed impressions on my mind that it continues to remain a major point of reference. My thoughts return to the place repeatedly. If I am travelling to West Bengal, I cannot keep myself away from Raniganj. My mind is rooted in Raniganj. While life knows no roots absolutely, the mind on the other hand is hell bent upon creating roots for itself. The mind is a strange creation. Its existence is hypothetical and its content is mostly based on experiences in life. Nostalgia is a creation of the mind. There is a feeling of comfort and security in nostalgia and therefore we chose to remember it fondly. In the rigmarole and strains of living, nostalgia materializes like a whiff of some favorite aroma mixed up in the dense fog. It appears suddenly with some memory, some face, some phone call and you wonder where it concealed itself all the while.

Whether we travelled from Margao or from Chennai, the journey always meant more than 24 hours in the train. One of my mama’s would travel with us both sides because my Babuji could never get the required leave from his office, or maybe he chose not to. From Margao it meant spending 2 or 3 nights journeying because the distance was longer and we had to change trains twice. Later on from Chennai we had to change train only once. We always travelled by second class which initially had hard metal seats. We usually went for a month’s duration and the luggage those days were huge iron trunks which were heavy and the equally big bedrolls. The luggage required several porters to handle them. Since we were four of us and later on after Biki was born five, the bedrolls were unrolled on the seat where all of us could sit, play or sleep. Food was home packed and a water jar accompanied us. During summer, the water was often rationed and if the train was delayed then my mama used to run to the water taps at the station to fill up the jar. Eating food from the stations was prohibited for us kids. So was accepting food offered by strangers. We were also never allowed to talk to fellow passengers fearing that we would step out of the train with them. Walking towards the door wasn’t permitted and either my Ma or mama accompanied us to the toilet. We carried story books with us to read and time passed by easily watching the scene through the window. Unfortunately the trains those days were steam engines which used to smoke a lot and all of us had our face blackened because of the coal dust. The first bath after the train journey was always rigorous. Tickets those days were thick rectangular 2 inches by 1 inch pieces of cardboard with punched in details like name, places, date and train and they had to be preserved very carefully. Exchanging seats with fellow passengers to bring all of us together was a famous activity of cajoling either the other passengers or the ticket checker. After reaching the destination, haggling with the taxi drivers who would take us home was yet another source of entertainment. I learnt a great deal about travelling and being alert right from those days. For instance, in the night somebody has to remain awake to watch over the luggage, footwear and also the items which passengers who are getting down carry with them at various stations.

Raniganj was the kingdom of my Didama, my lovely grandmother. Being her eldest grandchild, I ruled her heart and all my desires were treated like commands. I was pampered silly by her to the extent that my Mashi (Ma’s sister) used to make it a point to even it out with her own style of teasing and scolding. But if I started howling which I often did them my Didama used to come to my rescue. When I used to be taken to the market place, toys and street food only had to be pointed out by me and my Didama used to see to it that it was bought. My demands were unreasonable which I realise now, but when my Dadu (grandfather) as well as my mamas used to argue with her to restrict me, they never won. I remember vividly demanding and wailing for a toy train with rails, which after purchase didn’t even last to be taken back to Margao. Once later, it was about a movie to which my Ma and Mashi were going and I created such a big ruckus to be taken along. They had to give in. Didama used to tell me wonderful stories of demons and kings and princes and princesses. There was also a book of folk stories called ‘Thakumar Jhuli’ from where she used to read out loud. Very often when I used to fall sick, and it was always my Didama who used to nurse me and look after my needs. Watching her in the kitchen was also a favorite past time. She lit the coal Oonan (stove which used coal as fuel) right in the morning, cut vegetables, fish, cooked and entertained me. Those few days were the height of my mischievousness and I always ignored my Ma while at Raniganj. She used to threaten me saying that once we get back to Margao she would straighten me, but who cared! Those 3 weeks durations were like a dream where I lived the life of a prince in an otherwise depressing childhood. 

My Dadu was employed in the coal industry with ECL. He used to travel to and fro to work on his bicycle. Infact each of my four mamas rode a bicycle. While my Dadu had an extremely dark complexion, my Didama was absolutely fair. My Didama’s language was Bangal and not the typical Bengali which I learnt to speak. Her expressions used to intrigue me but somehow I never picked up the Bangal language. 

My Didama’s kingdom was a rented house, whose owner was Banarasi Lal Modi. It was a huge ground plus one floor bungalow and the owner himself used to occupy the upper floor. The entire space on the lower floor was rented out. A number of families occupied it amongst whom were my Dadu and Didama. The property was called Banarasi Oil Mill because it included a mustard oil producing mill. Shri Banarasi Lal Modi was a Marwari buccaneer who made his wealth from the coal trade. He was in the business of coal handling using labour. For whatever reasons his oil mill business couldn’t click but the name of the property stuck. My earliest memories also were of the huge factory shed and dead machineries catching rust. The area is called Girjapara and very near to the railway station. Girja is a church, and the Raniganj church still stand as a testimony to the times of the British. My Didama occupied a portion of the bungalow which had three huge rooms placed in a line facing a very big veranda, a big kitchen and a bathroom. Two of those big rooms were utilised as bedrooms. The toilet was separate, initially it was a manual scavengering one and a bit scary. A flight of stairs ran from the ground to a lower veranda to the next veranda from where one could access all the rooms simultaneously. The entire area was approved for us kids to play as long as we didn’t venture out into the road where the coal laden trucks frequented.  I also got to know a few of the other tenants.

The only easily accessible mode of public transport in Raniganj was the cycle rickshaw. We rode it to go shopping into the Badabazar area. The Netaji Bose bust has been there at the main junction of the market since I can remember. The market place was always full of traders of every kind with all material arriving from the outside. Sweetmeat shops and tea shops were the best adda places and all my mama’s could be located with their friends at their respective adda’s. My physician Doctor Somen had his clinic near the Netaji statue and if his imported black car was seen, then that meant the doctor was available. There were 3 cinema of which probably Anjana still continues. Of late the number of shopping complexes in Raniganj has increased.

The sights and sounds of Raniganj that I have experienced since my childhood continue to glow in my mind. I can still hear the noise of everyone. I can still smell the fragrance of charcoal lit cooking. Today Raniganj doesn’t look very different from what it used to 40 years ago. Whenever I go there time stands motionless.

BETWEEN THE GREAT DIVIDE by ANAM ZAKARIA A journey into Pakistan – administered Kashmir.

After having read the book I am thoroughly impressed with Anam Zakaria. It is quite evident that a great deal of perilous risk taking as well as physical effort has gone into her endeavor, travelling several times to the Pakistan administered Kashmir region and meeting various sections of people, experiencing their pain in trying to gather the different viewpoints. All this must have taken a pretty long period of time during which she held on to her idea of the book religiously. That is probably her only direct relationship with religion that she has maintained while writing this book. I wish to stress on the religion angle because it isn’t easy to avoid being partisan when dealing with human sufferings. 

Hats off to Anam Zakaria for her courage and to her simple yet extremely engaging presentation. Being a Pakistani citizen she could have easily towed the official line of argument, yet she chose to embrace facts.  Her subject matter were fellow Muslims and yet she saw them as human being first.  She wears a humanistic hat while detailing her information and analyzing her understanding of the ground reality. Neither does she indulge in sermonizing her readers nor does she pretend to be the intellect and play prophesy games about the future, thereby keeping a balanced and equanimous mind on the subject and leaving the readers to draw their conclusions. That is also probably the reason as to why the book has not been banned in either India or Pakistan which to my mind is rather fortunate. Shocking facts have been laid bare and false official narratives of both countries have been exposed. The media on both sides of the divide can now take some courage from the pages of the book and henceforth write without fear.

Independence is in a sense taking responsibility of own self. Individuals become independent when they become capable to deal with the uncertainties of the world, differentiate between good and bad, necessary and extravagant, to take correct decisions, take charge of their lives and its future course. Those that cannot be independent stay with others. Sometimes a bunch of individuals stay together to improve their strength and power to deal with the environment. Likewise communities are formed and on a larger scale countries are formed. All individuals, communities and a group of communities should have the right to decide whether they want to be independent or exist as a homogeneous or cohesive group. None else should decide for them. When the British hegemony in the subcontinent came to a close, the debate on independence of Kashmir took some rather unfortunate turns wherein the people were not aligned with their ruler and outsiders came into the scene to take the decision. 

The Kashmir region has been changing hands since time immemorial. The Hindu kings of Magadh and Rajasthan, the Chinese Huns, the Mongols, the Greeks, the invaders from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan region, the Turks, the Arabs and the Sikhs, several dynasties have come, settled and then given way to the next conqueror. The same is the story across the Punjab region and the Sindh region as well. However during the British orchestrated partition the other regions were taken and decided for rather fast. Kashmir held out, undecided for a while. That it had the strength to do so speaks about its own independent national pride or self-esteem of being an independent kingdom. It also meant that like all previous invaders, this strong, beautiful and strategic land was coveted by the both Pakistan and India. What followed every annexation happened once again, its ordinary innocent people suffered.

Because of its past, the Kashmir region was rather secular and had a population catering to multi-religion. Pakistan wanted Kashmir because its people to people contact between Kashmir and rest of Pakistan was better, and it sounds logical too. India wanted Kashmir for reason of its strategic position. It is rather easy to come to the simple conclusion that since nation is defined by its people, the choice and decision of the people would be paramount.

Subsequent to partition both India and Pakistan have blundered in their handling of Kashmir and thereby hurt the Kashmiri cause. Religious conversions, migrations for survival, ethnic killing, persecution and forceful evictions happened on a large scale. The local leadership starting from the last Dogra king was not strong and charismatic enough to carry their people along. Kashmiri culture stood abused.  Kashmir lost its secularity and thereby it’s societal strength. Had the demographic changes not taken place at such a scale, Kashmir could have easily held itself to be another Nepal, an independent country. Its peoples could have taken a unified stand for peace, and the strength of its diverse culture would have got them that independent status, sooner or later. It must have hurt the nationalists in Kashmir when Bangladesh which sided with Pakistan during partition could gain independence. That was because the Bangladeshi people stood firm by their Bengali pride as a stronger national character in comparison to their common Islamic religion shared with Pakistan. The Kashmiris could not emulate that because their strong Kashmiri culture was shattered and replaced by ordinary religious ethos.

Today we find both India and Pakistan playing games at various international forums blaming each other for the mess in Kashmir. Today the real Kashmiri people’s voice has been muzzled and manipulated. Today we no more hear the independent Kashmiri voice, it is lost. The sounds for independent Kashmiri voices are being cleverly squashed on both sides of the border. All that we hear at the ground level today is a voice that favours the Pakistani state simply because since pre-partition days, the people had closer ties with the rest of Pakistan. After the Hindus and Sikhs were expunged from the scene, India is more or less a foreign country for Kashmir.

Neither India nor Pakistan want to give up its self-assumed rights over the land of Kashmir. Today it has become a prestige or ego battle between the two countries. Kashmir will remain in this condition for a few more generations. This is a political game with international hands and stakes involved. The UN isn’t going to give Kashmir its due, rather it cannot. In the present circumstances the sufferings of the Kashmiri people is bound to continue.  

Education and prosperity is the only way ahead for the Kashmiri people. Accepting the present realities, they should focus on bettering their lot. They need to invite back the Pundits and the Sikhs, people who were driven out and try to become a secular place once again. Kashmiri culture should be encouraged and peace policies have to be applied with a vision for the distant future. Prosperity will follow. With better education, spread of knowledge and wealth, and people to people communication, the lost pride of the Kashmiri people would rise once again. Maybe both India and Pakistan would dread to see that day and therefore would be interested in keeping the conflict alive as long as possible.

RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY – CHOSE YOUR SIDE

Discussing my thoughts on spirituality in a short format of a blog I considered a superfluous ego trip. Initially, that is. But the cynical voice inside wondered whether I could. So, not certain whether it would make sense to the readers, I decided to gamble recklessly into this trap.

Let’s begin from the beginning: Human beings are stated to be the highest form of evolution on this planet and yet we understand nothing about this life energy that is pulsating in every life form. What we know is that all elements on earth are made up of atoms with its electrons and nucleus made up of protons and neutrons; identical or different atoms combine together chemically to form molecules; a bunch of molecules form the cell, and multiple cells come together to become a life form. We have no idea why atoms combine together into molecules which is the basic building block of every life form. We have no idea whether it is the atom or its combination, the molecule, which has life energy because apparently that which we call non-living such as rocks and minerals also contain atoms. Somewhere a will is generated; they gain intelligence and start growing. Suddenly there is vibrant life energy in them and they wish to survive. That phenomenon which we define as desire is born. A remarkable creation unfolds all around. The cells grow but it is not permanent. It can collapse at any time because different kind of molecules feed on each other or one type of cells become food for others. This desire to grow includes to multiply and to reproduce itself which implies that sex is a basic requirement just after food and before shelter and clothing in all life forms. The growth of molecules in cells is uncertain and futile but this desire is always stronger than its futility. Thus even in the face of death which is certain, the desire for survival and growth seems to be the driving force of the life energy. No doubt we humans appreciate survival stories and the fighting spirit; all great stories which touch us are built around growth and the victory of the underdog over difficult conditions. Anyway, the truth is that we have no idea what this life energy is, why does creation happen, why desire is impermanent or why molecules collapse. It’s like we see flares rise from the surface of the sun and suddenly collapse as if it was a desire which collapsed. Human intelligence at present merely witnesses this as an event. 

Those atoms which do not grow or multiply seem to be unchanging, but they do change when temperatures increase or decrease. At extremely high temperatures even rocks melts into molten lava when they expand and at very low temperatures they do shrink. Thus non-moving things also come alive when the environment is right for them, when it suits them.   

Is there a design behind this creation: Evolution of life is one time immemorial work-in-progress; it has seen repeated back and forth movements, several new situations and their new solutions. Unraveling the purpose behind this amazing creation that we witness has been a favorite quest for the human mind since the time our species evolved. However apart from speculating about it, we have been unable to throw up any credible explanation. Life as we know it today has no real purpose. Therefore a lot of emphasis is placed on retaining a pleasant state of mind and being happy in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. Circumstances will always remain beyond our control and bound to change, the trick is in accepting this and becoming unaffected by prevailing conditions.

Given that to be so, it would seem that we wrestle too much with the idea of good and bad, sacred and evil, rebirth and karma. However these are not mere statements or mumbo-jumbo. Every molecule has a will to survive and they are emotional as well. While seeking help in their endeavor, they understand threats and risks, positive and negative thoughts. For example, simultaneously as our intelligent mind senses danger the whole body starts shivering in fear and every strand of hair stands out. Apart from the molecules, the life energy in the body is also connected to every other life energy and this energy is always aware, receiving and sending signals. The energies on this planet are organized in such a manner that good thoughts, actions and words begets good in return and bad is responded with bad. That which will help others survive, help their desire to create and brings out a smile is good. Bad deeds will only hurt the perpetrator in the long run. This however is a general statement because a lot many times the innocents are hurt, but that is what uncertainty and futility of life is all about. Therefore live with softness and hardness of the spirit, be gentle and be rough, using them both as the situation demands, knowing that both are for the situation and not for you. Know fully well that at any moment you too can collapse because nothing is permanent.

Molecules and the life energy are also connected. Molecules have desires and emotions, which the life energy helps execute. Their game is limited by two factors, one being the composition of the body, its properties, strengths and weaknesses and the other is the capability of the life energy itself. While the former is pretty simple to comprehend, nothing much is understood about the latter. I prefer to believe that regrets and unfulfilled desires that remain at the time of the final breath, is retained with the life energy and it carries forth the negativity into the next molecule. Likewise a satisfactory life results in positive energy being carried forth into the next. This impacts the strengths and limitations of the life energy in the next molecule. Such or similar concepts are widely accepted but not established beyond doubt. Many such concepts erstwhile accepted have also changed over time, so it is advisable to never treat them as sacrosanct. Challenge them always. Push their limits until change becomes acceptable and a new level is reached.

It is rightly said that you only live once provided that you means your ego. The molecules when they combine, needs the ego to protect itself so that it can grow. Ego provides a sense of identity to the huge combination of molecules. The ego manipulates other elements so that its own body can survive. Merely this much is the usefulness of the ego. Several regrets in life happen when we give the ego much more importance than it deserves. 

How to deal with the unknown - Religion versus Spirituality: My referring to the unknown here is referring to the life energy, to the ways in which atoms combine to finally shape into life forms, to the rules which govern nature and the universe.  Man has adopted two ways to deal with this unknown. One is when he doesn’t know, or doesn’t understand certain phenomenon, he has wisely decided to declare it so, rather than speculate on it. The other is to crystalize the unknown into a concept, give it a definition, properties, shape, and a benevolent character. While the former is being comfortable with the unknown, the latter is rooted in fear of the unknown.

Over time such mental perceptions become personal properties, and nobody is willing to let go of his, fearing a vague idea of self-destruction. The perception when agreed upon and accepted by others then becomes such a powerful force that it takes the form of a religion. In due course different religions tend to be evaluated. Disagreement with and ridicule of others religion arise, and a tendency erupts to portray one’s own as superior, starting a religious war. Religion is probably required, for human beings to subdue the fear of the unknown and to channelize efforts and energies into a constructive socially protective mechanism such as to encourage good deeds, care for parents and elders, develop kindness in behavior towards one and all, etc. All such human traits which are positive. Essentially religion was for those who couldn’t make sense of life in the midst of so much unknown, that they thought it necessary to consolidate the entire unknown into a theory of an all-knowing omnipresent and omnipotent God, and who yet remains his look alike. Such people pray to their personal God for his protection and for the fulfilment of their desires. This can be seen as reasonable since they are communicating with the life energy inside them, which infact is protecting them all the time.

On the other hand when the unknowns are permitted to remain unknowns and emphasis is laid either on deciphering it or trying to identify with it, then it is spirituality.  For example, Buddha’s and Mahavir’s teachings were purely spiritual. Unfortunately it is another matter that today we have downgraded both of these to religion. The goal of spirituality is to become one with the unknown, the universal life energy or to experience it firsthand. Call it nirvana or moksh whatever one may choose. It is a direct journey into the unknown. The intriguing part is that those who have travelled the road, have explained how others may travel but have been unable to explain the feeling of the journey and that of the destination in human vocabulary. It is such a fluid, ever changing, impermanent state that it defies description. People who have undertaken the journey have simply cautioned mankind to be weary of this impermanence and not to give undue importance to the physical visible world. They call it futile exercise.   

MOLECULES OF LIFE (Wondering At Dwali)

Water rains towards the ground, on the mountains below,

Doesn’t fuse into the soil and rocks, but dislodges them,

Hurtling them further below, changing into new colours,

They slide together further and further below,

Noisy, it could be a friendly banter or a bitter fight,

All follow the rule of gravity, the magnetism,

It isn’t easy to resist its embrace,

Wonder how this possessive love arose,

The origin of this emotion, and its depth,

Does it follow a superior rule Bo?

Life is the energy where,

Employing the molecules of water and the molecules of air,

The tiny molecules of cells activates the seeds of growth,

Similar molecules of cells bind and extend into shapes and sizes,

From the humble grass and tiny insects,

Offering themselves to be devoured by a more radical species,

Big insects prey on the tiny, and in turn become food for the birds,

Who pollinate the flowers, making way for varied plants,

Which are consumed by the herbivores, who attract the carnivores, 

This evolution of molecules and the predator victim drama,

Has been continuous since the beginning of time,

Who arrived first, the molecule of water or air or cells,

How did they learn to thrive together,

Are these interdependent pieces of a single life energy,

What is this evolving energy that changes every nanosecond,

Why does it not rest or do something unexpected,

Does it also follow a superior rule Bo?

The current leader amongst the species,

The modern Human, is also a play of the molecules,

An insignificant spec in this enormous changing energy field,

Some alteration in some vague molecules could also spell its doom,

Whereas the life energy would still persist after it,

Yet human ego permits it to believe,

To be different, superior, independent and irrespective of everything,

To be able to survive outside of this environment,

Is it foolish fantasy or a deliberate part of the evolution of molecules,

Has any part of life energy escaped its fierce love,

Do such life energies exist elsewhere in the universe,

Is all of it a single entity of energy,

What is the source of this energy and how long has it been there,

Does it follow a superior rule Bo?

KHATI THE BEAUTIFUL PAINTED VILLAGE

19^th Oct 2018, the day one of my trek to Pindari, I woke up at the KMVN guesthouse Bageshwar to a bright morning and clear skies. The previous evening, Dharam Singh my guide had said that we would leave by 7 am by shared transport to a place called Kharknya from where the walk to the village of Khati was about 6 kms which would be our resting place for the day. Dharam Singh had promised that he would bring the vehicle to the doors of the guesthouse instead of us walking in the market place trying to find one. I guess he was probably trying to make my life easy. But it was 8 am by the time a vehicle arrived. Dharam Singh explained that he contacted another vehicle but it didn’t turn up, so it took him a while to locate another. I could see that neither Kharknya nor Khati is a frequently travelled to destination. The road passes through several small towns like Bharadi, Kapkot, etc., and there were more passengers for these destinations. We two and a vet doctor were the final ones alighting at Kharknya.

At Kapkot we requested the driver to stop at the Forest Department office so that we could register that we were on our way to Pindari. The recent decision of the Uttarakhand High Court banning all treks in the Himalayas wherein people pitch tents in the mountains has led to a lot of confusion. The Forest Department wasn’t permitting anyone to carry tents up the mountains, and one had to stay in some hotel or guesthouse. I paid a fee of Rs. 100 for registering myself and took a receipt.  

The vet doctor Himanshu Pathak shared some very interesting bits of information. He was going to Khati to check out a poultry farm which was funded by state government grants. The state government was trying to encourage more streams of livelihood for the population living in the mountains. He explained that wild animal attacks were a cause of concern lately. There was a leopard which was stealing goats and killing children. A villager near Bageshwar was the hunt of one such animal wherein local villagers had set a trap for it, however the animal wasn’t ready to be fooled and it went around the trap knowing that there was a goat inside but wouldn’t enter. The villagers had phone him and told him to bring along his tranquilizer gun but since he had already started his journey to Khati, he passed on the responsibility to his colleague at Bageshwar.  

For going to Khati there were two routes. One road went to Loharkhet and from there one had to trek up the mountain to Dhakuri which is at 2700 meters before descending to Khati, about 16 kms. Another road which is still under construction at several places goes till Kharknya and one has to walk through the forest. The road from Bageshwar to a spot called Mujwa Binayak, which boasts of a scenic spot overlooking a valley, a Ganesh temple and a fairly decent hotel, is pretty tolerable though there were disturbances. From there to Kharknya the road isn’t asphalted and is severely affected by erosion and landslides; it has been constantly under maintenance making it dangerous.

From Kharknya the actual walking to Pindari really starts. The road to Khati runs through a dense forest, with beautiful small waterfalls. It is more or less even, broad and doesn’t pose much of a challenge. Khati at a height of about 2200 meters above the sea level is a picturesque hamlet surrounded by tall mountains and dense forests on all sides with the looming ice-clad Himalayas to its north. It’s a very small valley of sorts and is just above the junction where the Pindar River and the Sunderdung River streams flowing from their respective glaciers merge together. Khati is on the left bank of the river, the land sloping towards the south in the direction of the river. The gently sloping land which is about 562 hectares has been claimed by population of 314 villagers for their 66 houses and agricultural fields (all figures as per the 2011 Census). Khati village is about 60 kilometers towards the north of Bageshwar the district headquarters, and is the first stop on route to Pindari glacier. 

As one turns the final bend on the path towards Khati, one is struck by the cluster of colourful houses at a distance. They are all clustered close to each other as if tucked away together in the midst of green trees. As one enters the village, there are a couple of boarding and eating facilities on its outskirts. KMVN also has a tourist rest house at Khati which is at the other end of the village towards Dwali. Apart from these, there is also a PWD guesthouse.  Tourists can easily find accommodation and food without any prior booking, or else they can pitch their own tents. However the phone connectivity is extremely poor, inspite of there being a Post and Telegram Office in the middle of the village. 

When in the village, one is awestruck by the multicolour painted houses. With a base of a bright colour, each house has a different theme painted on it, depicting persons of repute belonging to the owner family, local village scenes, and various kinds of patterns and designs. The walls and doors are painted with different colours. Most of these houses have two floors and a few of them are three storied. A few new one are made of clay bricks with cement concrete while most are made of wood and stone. Most of the houses are fitted with solar lighting since there is no electricity at Khati. Most of them have piped water and also in-house toilet blocks. For a small village, having these modern facilities came as a surprise, but this is all because of Hans Foundation whose members and volunteers,  a couple of years ago had set up camp at Khati for a couple of months and transformed the village. There are a couple of schools in the village primary and secondary and kids from all nearby places study there. Khati had a primary health center in the past and the village boasts of a small hospital building. But this is no more in use.

Khati used to have snowfall in the past and was inaccessible during the winter months. Of late however there has not been any snowfall for the past few years. Trekkers and mountaineers have always been using Khati as a pit-stop on their way to the Himalayas. The main occupation of the villagers is agriculture and they grow various crops along the mountain slopes. Several of them also cater to the tourists.

Another striking thing that one notices at Khati is the rampant cultivation of Charas. Charas or Ganja is the name given to a hashish form of cannabis which is handmade. It is made from the resin of the cannabis plant. After the main cropping season, before the onset of winter, the farmers allow cannabis to grow wildly on their lands. They then crush and roll the leaves of the plant with their bare hands into a thick pulp form and sell it to the brokers. Charas is a cash crop which fetches the farmer around Rs. 30,000 a kilo and all family members are involved in this trade. Over the centuries Charas has been consumed by the Sadhus as a ritual and therefore also has a cultural connotation. Even though declared illegal by the government the Charas cultivation continues openly. 

One also finds the younger generation of schooled boys and girls changing their occupation. Previously agriculture, goat and sheep rearing, joining the army and tourist guides to the Himalayas were the only source of income. Nowadays a lot of youngsters are moving down from the mountains to the plains to pursue higher education or jobs in the cities and towns. Life in the mountains is physically tough and devoid of all modern growth and also entertainment facilities which are provided by the internet.    

Khati gave me the impression of an idyllic very well knit village. The village plays host to foreigners trekking to the Himalayas and therefore is exposed to modern thoughts. And yet, since it wasn’t reachable by motor vehicle directly, it manages to remain on the fringe of modernity, in a buffer zone, which also isn’t an uninhabitable place. It has an exotic aura to it, being just within striking distance of the snow clad mountains, and yet just out of reach of crowded habitats. Its weather threatens to be severe in the winters and yet people survive to make a reasonable living all through the year. To normal imagination it is a raw place to live, and yet, to those who are easily satisfied it offers a sublime lifestyle.  It is my sort of dream place to retire to.    

DARING ESCAPE FROM DWALI (PINDARI) SEPTEMBER 2018

Date: 22^nd September 2018. It rained strongly all through the previous night and the sound of rain drops striking the tin roof of the KMVN tourist rest house at Dwali would not allow me to sleep soundly. It woke me up several times during the night whenever the crescendo rose beyond the sleep permitting decibels. I could sense a worry in my heart, and the question arose whether I would be able to walk down to Khati in the morning.  Rain is the most ominous event in the Himalayas for trekkers because all movement along the path comes to a halt due to dangers associated with mud, rock and land slides. Heavy rains are a dread. When I got up in the morning, the first thought was to look up in the sky and assess the threat potential of the clouds. Well, it was a sinking feeling in my heart at first glance. Possibilities for walking were slim and depended entirely on the sky clearing during the early part of the day.  

Date: 21^st September 2018. The previous morning the 21^st Sept, was normal, me accompanied by Dharam Singh (my guide) had ventured out very early at the strike of dawn at 5.30 am from Dwali to reach Pindari Glacier which is at 3600 meters and the plan was to get back in the evening. It was a 24 kms stretch to and fro and promised to be tiring. From a Pune group which returned the previous evening from Pindari, I learnt that it had rained at Phurkia the day before, but I took it lightly because there was no trace of rains at Dwali. Fortunately at about 12 noon, after reaching I could get a clear view of the snow clad peaks of Baljodi, Panwali Dwar, Nanda Kot and Shanku in very bright sunlight and spent some wonderful peaceful time near the Pindari glacier mouth. The path was extremely treacherous and to top the danger levels the rains started when we reached Phurkia on our way back. We walked back in the rains till Dwali. The exuberance and sense of achievement that I felt after completing 24 kms in 12 hours and having pocketed some beautiful sceneries made me feel invincible though extremely tired, thus my mind refused to recognise the serious threat that the rain posed. At Phurkia over lunch we met Debda (Deb Mukhopadhya) and Basuda (Basudeb Majumdar) both trekkers from Kolkata along with their guides Anand Prasad and Bhupendra Prasad, brothers from Khati. We were together again at Dwali in the evening. Having made our independent plans for the next day, we retired to bed after dinner. The rains had stopped in the evening only to start again in the night.      

Date: Back to 22^nd September 2018. Dwali at 2600 meters is a mere rest stop with a KMVN tourist rest house and a PWD rest house, both perched on a hill and overlooks the confluence of two rivers flowing down from the Kafni and Pindari glaciers which then flows as the single Pindari River. There are no other inhabitants. The immediate nearby village is Khati below at 2200 meters with about population of around 1000 persons. The path to Khati is on the right side of the river and to reach there one has to cross two temporary wooden bridges, first over the Kafni river and the second over the Pindari river. The overnight rains in the mountains above had bloated the rivers and I could clearly see in the morning that it had become atleast five times its size as well as intensity from the day before. My earlier plan to start out at 6 am in the morning and that of Debda and Basuda to start out after breakfast around 9 am were immediately shelved. The guides trio heralded a gloomy prediction that the bridge over the rivers probably got blown away in the overnight heavy showers. Moving to the edge of the plot we could see the bridge over the Kafni existed but the next bridge isn’t visible unless one walks half a kilometer ahead and turns a curve on the path. We were however discouraged from exploring for 3 major reasons. One was since the Kafni river was flowing beyond the edge of the bridge by 5 feet on both sides. The second was immediately after the Kafni bridge the stretch of 200 meters was prone to rock and mud slides and we could see huge rocks constantly coming down every few minutes along with mud up to the edge of the river since the morning. The third was that it was raining non-stop.

That day there were around two dozen more men at Dwali, of which 12 were ‘Anwals’, goat and sheep owners taking their livestock down to the plains, and around 6 were mule owners who were also going home after delivering their load. After discussion we six thought it best to allow them to make the first move in the given situation since they belonged to the place and had more experience with the elements. At about 9 am we observed a few Anwals going to the Kafni bridge with their umbrellas to assess whether their livestock would be able to cross it. They tried to move a few rocks but very soon gave up. Meanwhile we had our breakfast. The guides said that immediately after the Kafni bridge there was previous path on the left bank of the Pindari river as well, but now destroyed after the 2013 deluge and not in use. Afterwards the path on the right bank was newly constructed. The left bank path was now overrun by the forest. We decided that if it stopped raining we would think of making a move. However we still wanted the animal owners to move first.

At about 10 am, we observed two persons moving, one Anwal had crossed the Kafni bridge and was running down towards the Pindari bridge to save himself from the rock slides and the other man was coming from below and also trying to reach the Pindari bridge. We waited with baited breath, expecting good news about the bridge. After a while the Anwal returned alone running, and soon we learnt that the Pindari bridge didn’t exist anymore. The other man coming from Khati had turned back. We were now resigned to our fate. What could we do if the rained wouldn’t stop? We just had to wait it out. The rest house caretaker asked whether he could prepare lunch for everyone. We all affirmed since there was no other plan in our thoughts. We ate our lunch quietly with worry in our minds as to how long would be last in this place. The food available at Dwali would soon be over and with the Pindari bridge destroyed, there would be no supplies coming up. The reconstruction of the bridge itself would consume 2 to 3 weeks since it is a PWD task and would be done through the tendering process. But that would begin only after the rains stopped which is an unpredictable unknown factor.

And then the madness took over. The insane rush of blood!

Soon after 12 noon, Anand Prasad the elder brother, God bless him, advocated that if the rains continued unabated, very soon the Kafni bridge too would be washed away. After that even the left bank path would not be reachable. He wanted all 6 of us to decide immediately and make a move. It was about 12 kms to Khati and walking on the left bank of the river we would be able to make it before nightfall, even with the rains. If we didn’t reach before it got dark, then there were torchlights and mobile phone lights to guide us. Debda and Basuda concurred with him immediately but I wasn’t sure. I wanted Dharam Singh’s opinion but he wasn’t anywhere around. I couldn’t imagine all the dangers of this destroyed path and thought Dharam Singh might know. Bhupendra Prasad summoned him and Dharam Singh surprisingly agreed to the proposal. Now we all were committed to the task, come what may! The rains wouldn’t stop and neither would we. We hurriedly settled the rest house bill and got ready. We left Dwali just before 1 pm with all our bags.

Anand Prasad was always at the lead and Bhupendra Prasad covered the rear. Our first challenge was the Kafni bridge. We weren’t certain about its durability now. We walked through the extended river and slowly crossed the bridge one by one. That over, immediately Anand told us to run so that we could move beyond the rock fall region. We all did as told. Without taking our eyes off the ground below we scampered and crossed the 200 meters stretch without an accident. This was our first victory over the challenges on the path. Naively assuming the worst to be behind us, we posed and clicked a few photos with our mobile phones in celebration.  

 The difficulties on the uncharted track unfolded themselves one by one. Each one, far more severe in degree of difficulty, to the one before! I call it uncharted on afterthought because we walked besides the swollen river most of the way while the actual erstwhile path must have been several meters above the river bed. The inflated Pindari river was on our right side making a deafening noise as it fell over the huge rocks, and the added rain water pushed up the decibels several notches and also made its current stronger. The 12 kms stretch contained more than a dozen streams dropping from the mountain slope on our left. Some of these streams were wide while some were very steep and had tremendous force. At several places the slope on our left side was a rock and mud slide area and everytime we came across one, Anand shouted at us to run. At one such place, Debda was just a few steps behind and had slowed to take a little breath.  Anand saw that his life was in danger as a lot of mud and stone was rolling down from a few meters above. He ran behind to pull Debda out of its path and they missed getting caught in the middle of the mud slide by a few seconds. At another place the stream was flowing down strongly with mud and stones. At a few spots it was stagnant but that could be a deep sinkhole of wet mud. Anand was at his wits end, unable to decide from where to tackle it. He was jumping from rock to rock trying to fathom which one was a rock and which one was merely wet mud. Meanwhile Bhupendra ventured to its base near the river where it was at its widest. Anand lost his cool. He was shouting at his brother at the top of his voice to return back and it seems that some terrible accident was about to happen. But fortunately Bhupendra managed to climb back again to be with us. Anand then found out a least dangerous passage which obviously had wet mud and I fell into it and sank up to my thighs. Pulling my legs out of the mud was an effort. Some of these slopes where we had to run across trying to save ourselves from falling rocks and mud, were at steep angle of around 60 degrees and without any foothold or marked path. We simply had to run when we were told to run. At a few places the river bank had no space to walk because the flowing water was touching the steep slope. At each of those spots we had to climb up the slope, into the forest, with nothing to hold at except lose soil and wet shrubs. The vegetation was thick, some bushes were thorny, and some were downright harmful causing rashes when they touched our skin, while a few like the bamboo were helpful. Touching the vegetation also made our hands and legs vulnerable to attacks by Leaches where they simply stick on to the exposed skin. I caught a couple of them on my legs. Negotiating these steep slopes going up and coming down is unimaginably tough and we three outsiders slipped and had to be saved innumerable number of times. On a couple of occasions we had to walk through the forest. Anand and Bhupendra were making a lot of loud noises during those stretches, both going “U-lu-u-lu-u-lu-u-lu” and “Harrrrrrrrrrrh”. When I asked them what they were doing, Anand replied that he was trying to turn the wild Bears and Leopards away from us, avoiding an encounter. I was too shocked to be taken aback but all hair on my body stood on its ends. At another place which was a fast flowing stream, Anand told us not to lift our feet while walking across the water, but just to slide push it across, because the flow was extremely strong. We three outsiders had a terrible time that evening, we fell several times negotiating the rocks on the river banks, we had to be saved several from, being directly pulled by Anand and Bhupendra with their bare hands from the jaws of certain death.

During our talks on the way, soon our target became the metal suspension bridge on the Pindari river about 2 kms from Khati. We wanted to reach the bridge before darkness took over the valley. Several times we asked the Prasad brothers, how far was to bridge, and each time they replied “15 minutes away”. We had been walking without much rest, running as well on several occasions. We were extremely tired. The three guides were carrying our backpacks, but we three were exhausted beyond our belief. At about 5.30 pm we got our first glance of the metal bridge at about a kilometer away. Anand said that there was one last stretch which has to be run across and we better hurry because the light wasn’t too good. Before that we had to climb up once more into the forest above and then come down, but this time we ran through the forest once again making a lot of noise. The last rock slide stretch came up, which we ran across in extremely poor visibility. After that we once again had to climb into the forest above, but this time we had reached the final path, the rock paved road just 2 kms before Khati, our destination. The time was 6 pm. We had covered 10 kms in 5 hours. We were extremely happy, relieved and grateful that we managed to survive the nightmare. We walked up the final 2 kms to Khati slowly, to safety of the Krishna Hotel, to welcome food and rest, and away from the unknown perils of Dwali. We thanked the Prasad brothers and Anand specifically for singlehandedly saving our lives on several occasions. His leadership capabilities and courage of the spirit was powerfully evident during those hours. He knew the track, had judged the risks, had assessed our capabilities and finally stitched in our commitment to the task before embarking. Hats off to him.

Date: 30^th September 2018. We had experienced a miracle that evening, infact we were the miraculous survivors. To this day I am unable to comprehend how we managed this, how we covered those 12 kms in 7hours, without any accident, walking and running through rock and mud slides, in the rain, through wild forests and so much danger. A hundred different kinds of mishaps could have happened to any of us and yet we got through with a few cuts and bruises. Surely, it wasn’t merely of our doing. The supreme powers walked besides us that evening.     

Later I learnt from Dharam Singh that the Kafni bridge too had washed away the same evening after we left and all the men and animals had to wait for a few weeks to get out from Dwali.

From the news channels I came to know that it had rained heavily across several parts of the country and more severely in Himachal, Haryana and Punjab during those 3 days from 21^st to 23^rd September 2018 causing extensive damage.

I express my gratitude to everyone who shared this experience with me and because of whom I am still alive;   

Mr. Deb Mukhopadhya, Baidayabati, Hoogly, West Bengal.

Mr. Basudeb Majumdar, Shyamnagar, North 24 Paraganas, West Bengal.

Mr. Anand Prasad (Guide) Khati, Uttarakhand, 9410312519 (Post him a message if the number is not reachable, he will call you back).

Mr. Bhupendra Prasad, Almora, Uttarakhand, 9410107816.

Mr. Dharam Singh (Guide), Supi, Uttarakhand, 9536009972.