'Beru Pakyo Barah Massa…KUMAON Paltan Teri Topi and The Baal Mithai’…
My first mesmerisation with the KUMAON Region was over half a century back in 1955 as a young student in the A N Jha Govt High School in Rudrapur then an obscure small Tarai farmers’ town where they came regularly to sell their crops and purchase their daily needs. But it was in 1957 that I was first mesmerised with the KUMAON Hills when I went to Nainital as part of our school’s sports team to participate in Nainital District Schools’ Athletics Meet. Having traveled in the lower class seat on the rear wheel of the over crowded rickety UP Roadways bus, I landed in Nainital with a spinning head and awful nausea that put an end to my yet to start athletics career. But the love blooming for the KUMAON Hills had been by then kindled with in me. It was Major Prem Bhatia - my elder brother who was commissioned in 6 KUMAON on 4 Dec 1954 and was then serving in The KUMAON Regimental Centre, Ranikhet who had ignited The KUMAON passion with in me. Our great Regiment has produced many brave soldiers and generals but it’s my late brother Major Prem Bhatia, Vir Chakra, Hero of the Battle of Walong who has ever remained my sole role model for me. He was severely wounded in the Battle of Walong and survived but the tragic scooter accident on the last day of his staff College Course in Wellington on 28 Feb 1965 cut short his promising career putting our family in the shocking gloom for ever.I was shattered, devastated and cannot not believe the tragic truth even now.Yes, I always miss him and salute him for ever... It is a matter of GREAT pride that his son Col Arvind Bhatia after successfully commanding 6 KUMAON did prestegious Long Defence Management Course and is now posted as Col Q in Headquarters Delhi Area.
The ‘KUMAON Dev Bhoomi’ or 'The Abode of Gods' is the land of the Mahakali and it's major right bank tributaries, the Gori Ganga, the Dhauli Ganga and the Ram Ganga. Like the other major source rivers of the Ganga, the Mahakali too, originates North of the Great Himalayan crest zone and forces a passage through the main range, to merge with the Ganga in the distant plains. Thus, KUMAON is one of the five geographical zones of the Himalayas - Nepal, Kurmanchal, Kedarkhand, Jalandharkhand and Kashmir as mentioned in our ancient textbooks.
The word ‘KUMAON’ means different things for different people in our nucleus family. For my late brother and me perhaps it always meant our great Regiment – the KUMAON Paltan and teri topi, the bulas singing “Beru Pakyo Barah Massa…” and other haunting KUMAONI folk songs, community dancing in rhythmic but vigorous steps, fascinating snow capped Nanda Devi and Trishul peaks, the Jim Corbett Park, the Swiss Hotel and Naini Lake in Nanital, The Jhula Devi and Kalika Mandir, The West View Hotel,pine & oak trees, the ever blooming blood red rhododendrons whose syrupy juice rejuenates tired mind, body and soul, The KUMAON Regimental Centre and Col Ram Singh, affectionately called ‘Datta’ by my age group, some of the amazing fauna and flora and animals in Dikhala, Jhrina and Bijrani ranges. Then the Officer's Mess waiter late Sarju who had joined as a small orphan boy when the Regimental Centre was in Agra, was a store house of the Regimental information and anecdotes about the crockery, cutlery, drinks, cocktails and both British and Indian Sahibs. According to him, Srinagesh, Timmyy, Bahadur, Bhagwati (IC-1) and NK Sinha (IC-420) were always professionally better than the British Sahibs. He would get his daily quota of a large peg of rum courtsey the young dinning members of the Officers' Mess and if he ever got two large ones, he would demonstrate how to pot all the three billiards balls in one shot ! He served, retired and died only for 'The KUMAON Regimental Centre Officers' Mess' ! 'The Bravest of the Brave 13 KUMAON in which I was commissioned in 1963 is the only unit decorated with Param Vir Chakra and The Ashok Chakra(highest gallantry awards in war & peace times respectively), 2 KUMAON (Berar) ,the oldest Paltan of the Regiment that I had privilage to command and late Majs Som Nath Sharma and Shaitan Singh both decorated with posthumous Param Vir Chakras.The list can perhaps carry on and on endlessly…!!For my late old parents, it was taking a stroll on the Mall at Ranikhet and hear with pride deeds of their late son Major Prem Bhatia, Vir Chakra with moist eyes with chance acqittances of their brave son. For my wife, it is the fascination of JhulaDeviTemple, Kainchi Mandir or idyllic surroundings of the Kausani rightly called as the ‘Switzerland of the East’. For my daughter and son, it is synonymous with their alma maters in St Mary’s School Nainital, Conossa Convent Ranikhet or the town’s Baal Mithai that has blend of roasted khoya, jaggery and childhood memories. Though I retired from the Army in 1995, our daughter Neerja as Director & Head of the Confederation Of Indian Industry in Singapore and son Gaurav as skipper of The Japanese 'K' Line Merchant Navy Ship, ever since I can recall, look for the Baal Mithai from any one coming from the KUMAON Hills. Nothing thrills them more than a big bite of ubiquitous Baal Mithai. It is indeed a major logistic nightmare for me now to keep regular supply of the Baal Mithai to both of them especially when professionally they are on globe trotting spree and I no more reside in The KUMAON Hills..!!
Incidentally, for many known and unknown reasons the Joga Shah in Almora was the only one who made the best Baal Mithai with the famous creamy milk brought from the village Phalsima near Almora. He was a genius who invented sausage shaped dark brown mithai wrapped in sugar dipped khas khas seeds. Later, commercialasation and competition led to cutting the cost and sweet shops started covering it with sugary homeopathic pills. After Joga, Routela brothers - khem Singh and Mohan Singh made fortune selling Baal Mithai. The story goes that Joga Shah was actually a Christian called Joga Isai who became Hindu after invention and popularity of the Baal Mithai.
Incidentally, though we all know that our great Regiment is successor to the erstwhile The Hyderabad Regiment, mostly very little is known about the origin and mythological significance of the word KUMAON. The word KUMAON is derived from the word "Kurmanchal" meaning Land of the "Kurm" avatar (the tortoise incarnation of Lord Vishnu, preserver of the Hindu Trinity). According to the Hindu mythology, Adi Kailash (also known as Chotta Kailash) in the KUMAON Region is one of the three residences of Lord Kailash (Shiva) and Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesh and Lord Kartikey.
The original inhabitants of the KUMAON Region are said to have been the Kols related to the Mund, ethnic group. One of their groups migrated to The KUMAON Region after the Dravidians defeated them. The Shilpkars of The KUMAON area are said to be the descendants of the Kols. The Kirats are believed to have been the ancestors of the tribes, which are today known as Shaukas, Banrajis. Tharus and Boksas. While the Shaukas were active from the Tarai to Tibet region, the Tharus and Boksas confined themselves to the Tarai while the Banrajis always lived in 'splendid' isolation.
Historically, evidence of Mesolithic period (middle Stone Age) settlements has been found in the KUMAON Region, as indicated by the paintings at rock shelter at LakeUdyar. The first known ruling dynasty of the KUMAON Region was The Kunindas who reigned from 500 B.C. to 600 A.D followed by The Katyuri kings who ruled the region from 7th to the 11th century with their capital at Baijnath near Kausani. The 900-year-old sun temple of Katarmal was built by the Katyuri dynasty on a hilltop-facing East opposite Almora. It is said that in the 16th century, Chatrapati Shivaji had acquired shilas from the sacred river of Kali Gandki for making idol of Bhavani Devi in Pratapgad. But the creation of the modern KUMAON Region in the 17th century AD is credited to the Chand Dynasty of Pithoragarh, with their centrally located Capital at Almora while Binsar was the summer capital. The Chand rulers over a period of two centuries built magnificent JageshwarTemple dedicated to Lord Shiva. After formation of Uttranchal and now Uttrakhand, all credit goes to Sh ND Tiwari for bringing The KUMAON Region to world tourism map along with its all round development.
The region of Nainital was once called the ‘City of Lakes’ or 'Chakta' as there were 60 lakes in the area. Beside the NainiLake, which is the major attraction of the region, the other lakes are at Bhimtal, Naukhuchiatal, Khurpatal, Sattal and Shymaltal. Incidentally, the British discovered the lake paradise of Nainital in 1841 that was subsequently used as the summer capital of the United Provinces. As a matter of historical fact, it was also considered to shift India’s capital to Nainital but geophysical survey ruled out construction of railway line due to fragile nature of the hills and thus finally Shimla got that honour. Beside the scenic beauty, Nainital is famous for its lake, excellent schools, space observatory and hotels that can suit from a pauper to a prince. Legend has it that three ancient sages reached here on a pilgrimage, and, finding no water to drink, dug a hole here rerouting the waters of the MansarovarLake in Tibet. Yet another story has deeper routes in Hinduism. It says that when Lord Shiva carried the charred body of his wife Sati (after she jumped into the sacrificial fire on being insulted by her father), one of her eyes fell in Nainital giving rise to the eye-shaped NainiLake.
Though KUMAONIS are worshippers of Ma Kalika or Shakti and Lord Shiva, they have rich traditions of folk deity worship. The heroes of some long - forgotten age have later on become folk gods and they give expression to the popular beliefs of the people in the large number of the temples that abound the region.
Atop a small ridge, known as Devithan, in the village of Umagarh at Ramgrh, the famous Hindi poetess Mahadevi Verma had bought some land in 1937 and constructed a small bungalow. Every year during summer months she would visit this place along with her family of numerous birds and animals and immerse her self in the twin tasks of literary creation and social work. While visiting Almora in 1899,Swami Vivekananda referred to the KUMAON Himalayas as the land of their forefather's dream…He said --- ‘I have attempted again and again to live here forever, and although the time was not ripe, and I had work to do and was whirled away outside of this holy place yet I sincerely pray and hope, and almost believe, my last days will be here of all places on earth.... these mountains are associated with the best memories of our race.’ The great sage meditated at kakrighat on the Kosi River and found the oneness between the macrocosm and microcosm; the spot where he fainted and was revived by a local Muslim gentleman in the house of Sri Badri Sah, where he first lived, the Thompson House from where he preached his disciples and the cave at Kasar Devi where he experienced ‘The Divine’ have all become attractive tourist spots. In 1903 Gurudev Rabindra Nath Tagore had visited Ramgarh in order to give his ailing daughter a chance to recuperate. He walked on foot from Kathgodam to Bhimtal where his Swiss admirer Mr. Daniel who took Gurudev to Ramgarh received him. For a while Gurudev stayed at Ramgarh as Mr. Daniel's guest. However, soon Mr. Daniel had a house constructed for Gurudev on a high ridge, now renamed as ‘Tagore Top’, situated at a height of 8500 feet above sea level. Gurudev had christened the house "Gitanjali" and it was here that he had started writing his immortal masterpiece ‘Gitanjali’. No wonder, while Mahatma Gandhi called Kausani in its natural beauty and tranquility as the Switzerland of the East, Nobel laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore was inspired to compose his Geetanjali in Ramgarh.
Mukteshwar, Ranikhet, Kausani, Bageshwar, Baijnath, Jogeshwar, Binsar, Almora, Ramgarh, Bhimtal and JimCorbettPark attract any one for their scenic beauty. KUMAON is, or rather was, classic tiger country. Now-a-days most of region’s remaining tigers are rehabilitated in the JimCorbettNationalPark-India's first National Park situated in the lower KUMAON Hills near Ramnagar. Due to excessive tourism, lack of job opportunities and commercialisation has led to vendalisation of these sacred places by the Forests and the Bureaucratic Mafias that sinks hearts of all those who love these majestic hills.
Pant Nagar, Rudrapur, Haldwani and Kathgodam, the railhead in foothills are the other upcoming commercial centers. This region is a paradise for adventure sports of sheer variety ranging from mountaineering, trekking, skiing, skating, biking, rafting, angling, yachting, canoeing, kayaking, ballooning, and wild life safaris while golf has become another big attraction.
So this is how the story of the 'Beru Pakyo Barah Massa…KUMAON Paltan Teri Topi and The Baal Mithai’ as a part of our lives so dear to all of us unfolds… |
