Almora: The Cultural essence of Kumaon

Aish

July 15, 2018

History of Almora

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Chand dynasty ruled Kumaon from Champawat. As they annexed the larger area in the west, they found it difficult to administer their kingdom from Champawat and looked for a more central place. In 1560, Bhisma Chand selected the Khagmara Hills as his new capital and gave it the name Almora, but before he could move there, he was struck down and killed. But his successor, Balo Kalyan Chand established the new capital. Almora remained the capital of the Chand rulers before the 1790s. The Chand Dynasty Invaded by Gurkhas in 1798, and it was taken over by the Britishers after the Gurkha war of 1814-15. They made Almora their headquarter and a good number of schools, hospitals, churches, and other institutions sprang up. Today it is an important commercial town and administrative center. The town is an amalgamation of the social and cultural influence of Kumaon.

Night View of Almora

The traces of the old Chand Forts, beautifully carved wooden homes, decorated with traditional paintings that reflect its rich heritage. Almora perched on a 5km long saddle-shaped ridge is called Kashaya Parvat and it is situated in the middle of the Kosi & Suyal rivers. The District is adorned with farms and numerous places of sanctity. Despite this, the panoramic view of the Himalayas from several places in the district attracts thousands of tourists throughout the year. There are many calm hill resorts such as Ranikhet, Chaukori, Sitlakhet, Binsar, Kausani, and Bageshwar are all around in Almora.

Intellectual who visit Almora

Swami Vivekanand – The doyen of Indian philosophy Swami Vivekanand (1863-1902) visited Almora three times. It is said that he meditates in a cave near Kasar Devi Temple, and get enlightenment.
Ravindra Nath Tagore – Ravindra Nath Tagore spent some time composing poems that will always rule the Indian hearts. In the summer of 1937, Tagore spent a very creative summer at Almora where he stayed at a bungalow which is now known as ‘Tagore House” or Tagore Bhavan, located in the cantonment area of Almora. It now houses the cantonment board office. In May and June 1937, Tagore stayed here and wrote his poems Akaash Pradeep, Sejuti, and Nobojaatok besides his book on science Bishwa Porichoy. A bronze inscription which has the face of the great poet and philosopher can be seen at the Tagore House.
Udai Shankar – Almora was also the headquarter of Udai Shankar, the renowned exponent of Indian dances. Udai Shankar and his troupe became very popular among youngsters.
Govind Ballabh Pant – Almora was also the hometown of the great freedom fighter Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant. Govind Ballabh Pant was born in a nearby village called Khoont and had his preliminary education in Almora. The Govind Ballabh Pant Public Museum on mall houses important historical letters from Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and others and others to Pant and is an institute of national importance which needs a little more care.

More important is that Pt. J.L.Nehru served a term in Almora jail during the independence movement and including Mahatma Gandhi many other intellectual visits Almora before the 21st Century.

How to visit Almora:

Almora can be reached from Delhi via Kathgodam and also Ramnagar.

Air: 127 km from Almora, Pantnagar, is the nearest airport which is well linked with regular flights from Delhi.
Rail: Kathgodam (90km) is the nearest railhead with a connection to Delhi, Howrah & Lucknow.
Road: Buses connect Almora with Kathgodam, Nainital (66km), Ranikhet, Pithoragarh (122km) & Delhi (380 km) directly. There is also a direct connection to the Nepal Border, Banbasa(7 hours). Busses depart at a regular interval every half an hour for Kathgodam (3hour). It takes about 2 hours to travel from Nainital & 4 hours to Pithoragarh. In fact, road transportation is the most convenient way to travel to Almora. Private Jeeps and taxies are also available from Kathgodam and other places.

You can also come here with your own private vehicles but you should have proper knowledge and experience of hill roads because the roads are so narrow and so many blind turns or bands which makes driving difficult here. Even I faced an accident while traveling from Almora to Nainital instead of having a professional and experienced person who has excellent knowledge of these hill roads. So if you don’t have hill road experience or such professional Driver then I prefer you to use public transportation or hire local taxies or drivers.

Places of Interest:

Kasar Devi Temple

Kasar Devi: Kasar Devi is on the Kalmatia Hill, 8 km outside the town is believed to be the place of enlightenment of Swami Vivekanand in a small cave. From here one can see vast ranges of Himalayas. Here you can go for a Village walk, bird watching and try Yoga & Meditation. The calm and serene atmosphere takes you more closer to the way of spirituality.

Kasar Devi Temple

Nanda Devi Temple: One of the main attractions of Almora. This temple is almost a thousand years old which was built by Chand rulers. The images and statues on the walls of this temple are of exquisite beauty. Every year, the Nanda Devi Fair is organized in a big way.

Nanda Devi Temple
Bright End Corner: 2 km on the main motor road. This place is famous for the excellent view of sunset and sunrise.

Evening view of Sunset in Almora

Public Museum: Govind Ballabh Pant Public Museum is near the Bus Stand. This Museum provides a development of the art, cultural and lifestyle of this region. It has a rich collection of items relating to archaeological, historical and cultural significance. This museum has a unique collection of ‘Aipan’, a folk style of painting. It opens from 10:30 in the morning to 4:30 in the evening.

Chitai Temple, Almora

Chitai Temple: 6 km away from the city. The temple of Chitai is dedicated to Golu Devta is surrounded by dense fir and pine forest, visited by thousands of devotees. Golu devta also known as God of Justice and also said that it is a unique seat of justice for locals. This temple has the great faith of Kumaonis. People write letters to God to fulfill their desires and in return, they hang bells in the temple. You can see thousands of bells hanging and ringing in the hill air, around the temple.

Katarmal Sun Temple

Katarmal Surya Mandir: This is the only Sun Temple situated in this part of Kumaon and is 17 km on the Almora-Ranikhet road (3km on foot) across the river Kosi. This imposing Surya Temple (Bara Aditya) is situated at an altitude of 2116m, dating back to the 12th century with typical five-period sculpture. Many subsidiary shrines cluster, about 44 in no. around the main temple. This Sun temple is of historical insignificance second only to Konark Sun Temple.

Jageshwar Dham, Almora

Jageshwar: 34 km away from Almora, this place amidst a dense Deodar forest has a group of almost 125 temples dating back from 7th to 11th century AD. The majority of the temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva and a few to different Goddesses. It is considered as one of the 12 holiest Jyotirlingas!

Lakhudiyar Wall Painting

Lakhudiyar: Literally means one lakh caves. This is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the hills. Fascinating prehistoric rock paintings are discovered within the caves. It’s at a distance of 20 km from Almora. According to renowned historian Dr. Yashwant Singh Katoch, the year 1968 marked a significant milestone in the field of prehistoric rock shelter paintings in Uttarakhand, with the discovery of the Lakhu Udayar rock shelter. Situated on the right bank of the Suyal River in the Almora district, this site gained prominence as the first documented instance of such paintings in the region. Following this momentous finding by Dr. M. P. Joshi, additional rock shelters have been uncovered in various locations including Fadkanoli, Falsima, Lwethap, Petshal, Kalamati, and Malla Paneli within the Almora district. These rock shelters are geographically concentrated within a radius of approximately 15 kilometers in the eastern direction of the Kalamati-Dinapani mountain range. To date, over a dozen rock shelters have been brought to light in the Almora district, enriching our understanding of prehistoric artistic expressions in the region.

Dunagiri, Almora

Dunagiri: Nestled in the lap of Kumaon Himalayas, Dunagiri is a small hilly town away from the hustle-bustle towns and is a perfect place for solitude seekers. It is an amalgamation of beauty, culture and spirituality, which provides solitude to the tourists & travelers. Here you can go for trekking, village walk etc

Famous Sweet, traditional dresses, and art & culture of Kumaon

Popular Kumaoni dishes, bal Mithai, kumaoni sweets

Bal Mithai & Singori

Sweet & Dishes

While in Almora, you can indulge in the delicious and authentic local cuisines of Uttarakhand. Do try these dishes, as these are some of the unique preparations that the Indian platter has and almost exclusive to the area. The must-try items here include the popular and traditional local sweets. Bal Mithai, famous milk sweet of Almora, Choklate – condensed milk sweet with fudge-like consistency and Singauri – a kind of milk sweet wrapped in a green Malu leaf used for flavouring are some popular sweets of Almora that one just cannot miss.

Kumaoni thali, Kumaoni food, Kumoani dishes, almora food, kumaoni cuisine

Kumoani Thali

Now it’s time to introduce with some of the popular Kumaoni Cuisine –

Bhang Chutney(Dipping sauce), sisunak/bichu saag (stinging nettle grass) and lingadu saag (wild asparagus), Bhatt ki Churkani, Chainsoo, Thechwani, Kafuli, Dubuk, Sana Hua Nimbu Mooli (kind of starter), Kumaoni Dal Bade, Pahadi Kheere ka Raita, Jhangore ki Kheer etc are some of the tempting Kumaoni cuisines which you should try in your Kumaon visit.

Kumaoni Bride, Rangwali Pichhora, Kumaoni Dress, shining shikari

Picture Credit: Uttarakhand_wedding

Almora/Kumoani Dresses

Some of the common traditional dresses worn by the women of Kumaon. Kumaon Uttarakhand includes Rangwali Pichaura, Ghagra-Choli, Odani, Sarong, Khorpi, while the common traditional dresses worn by the men of Kumaon includes Dhoti or Lungi is worn by many men, which is a lower-garment. The upper-garment is Kurta. Men love to wear turban or headgear which is a part of their traditional costume. There is another alternative dress i.e. Kurta-Pajamas for men that is widespread in Uttarakhand. Both men and women wear woollen jackets and sweaters in winter.

Rangwali Pichaura

Pichaura is a garment worn at ceremonial occasions in Uttarakhand. From the bride to great-grandmother, every woman in the family wears it on occasions be it namkarna or marriage, upanayana or mundane sanskar. It has a special significance and mandatory for all married women in the family or close relation. Another salient feature of Rangwali Pichhora is that it can be put on by widows also, those as per social traditions, they are not supposed to wear colourful garments.

In the centre, a ‘Swastik’ is drawn and in four quadrants of the swastika, Sun, Shankh (Crunch shell), A Bell with ‘Om’ and Goddess are drawn. The Swastik is made by drawing some geometrical drawings or leaves and flowers and then surrounded by small dots. Then dots of larger size are printed all over. This printing is surrounded by a beautiful border. After the border, lace and kinnari or jhala are stitched to make it more colourful, attractive, and lively.

Theses sketches drawn in the Pichaura have religious significance also. The Swastik represents all the gods and goddesses. It is drawn in some form or the other at all the religious rituals. It denotes the ‘karma yoga’. Its four arms pointing forward inspire to move ahead. The centre of Swastik is ‘Om’ which has great importance in meditation and spirituality.

The first quadrant of Swastik houses Sun, the god with great power. Sun is worshipped for well being of sons. The second quadrant houses Goddess for prosperity and well being of all nears and dears, the third quadrant has a ‘Shankha’ (Crunch shell) which is blown during worship and all the ill omen are understood to fear this sound and not dare to harm anyone around. The last quadrant has a Bell which is also used in worship.

In the olden days, it was made at home. A few meters of white cloth was washed and dyed first in yellow colour and then dots were printed with the help of a coin wrapped in cloth. Common colours available in the market were used for it earlier but now Rapid colours are being used. The homemade pichaura was printed with ordinary colours, which used to spread on getting moist. The process of drawing/printing by hand was very tiresome and sometimes the results were also not so good.

Picture Credit: Minakriti

Aipan

Aipan is a traditional folk art specifically made by women of Uttarakhand. This art is done on the floor over the brick red background with a white paste made out of rice flour. The typical art is done on all special occasions and household ceremonies and rituals. It is believed that these motifs evoke divine power which brings good fortune and wards off evil.

Uttarakhand Aipan painting has its unique identity which is always done on the empty walls and on the ground which is a symbol of fortune and fertility. The art form is used to decorate floors and walls at the Puja room (place of worship) and the entrance of homes and practised by many other communities of the different regions. The Uttarakhand government will now promote traditional art and Uttarakhand Chief Minister has planned to make an Art from the State Art to create an artificial make-up of rice and grew at the time of Teej festivals, marriage and worship at home. Has started the initiative.

In spite of Aipan, the town also has a prominent handicraft and copperware industry and the shops in the markets are adorned with these beautiful artefacts.

Folk Song & Dance

Almora is known as the cultural centre of Kumaon and has a rich and fascinating culture. Their music, dance is influenced by spirituality and religion, though folk songs and dance depict the daily life of the people. During the celebrations, tourists can get a glimpse of traditional folk dances and song-like Chanchari, Jhora, Ramola, Thali, Jainta, Jadda etc. These folk songs are sun on all the festivals and special occasions.

Cholliya is also a traditional Sword dance of Kumaon Region in which performed on many auspicious occasions. But now you can mostly see in the marriage occasion.

Video Credit (Jhora Dance)

Jhora

The Jhora dance of Kumaon is one of the unique folk dances of the region, which encourages people of all castes, age groups, and genders to come together and enjoy the dance equally.

In this dance, men and women hold each other, come together in a circular formation, and sway left and right to the rythmic beat of the Hurka (traditional kumaoni drum) .

As the festive atmosphere develops, more and more people from the tribal community join the circle, and the circle becomes bigger and bigger, with as many as two hundred people dancing together at times.

Some Famous Towns of Almora: Kausani, Binsar, Ranikhet, etc will be discussed briefly in the next section. Till then be happy, stay blessed, and Jay Hind.

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