The Savouries of Uttrakhand

 Oh, the savouries of Uttrakhand. As we came down from the hills of Ranikhet, the taxi driver stopped the car in front of a small  sweet shop of a Shah ji that was making fresh Bal mithai and Singodi. These two are savouries of Uttrakhand and symbolise the place. Now there are efforts by people to create an awareness among the producers of these sweets with regards to Intellectual Property rights and protect  these under the Geographical  indication of Goods Act, 1999 and to preserve these as the symbols of this region, so that no one copies them. Bal mithai is made by cooking Khoya which is the thickner arrived at once  cream is evaporated and mixing it with canned sugar till it becomes dark brown in colour.This  is called chocolate locally and is also a favourite. This chocolate when hot and liquidy and made to cool and set in to trays. This is then  cut into square pieces. It is then folded with white crystal balls in the shape of small white globules which are made with roasted poppy seeds coated with sugar. This is how the bal mithai is finally produced. Bal mithai was first introduced in early 20 th century when Jogi Ram Lal Shah of Lal Bazar in Almora made it for the first time and this was offered to the sun God. Hence, even today the best Bal mithai and Singodi are attributed to Almora though it is sold all over the Kumaon, Gadhwal region. In Singodi the sweet Khoya is wrapped into maalu leaf. The maalu  leaf is made into the shape of a cone and then it is stuffed with the sweet khoya. This little shop in Ranikhet also specialised in these traditional sweets. We tasted the sweets and found them to be of equally good quality and carried few boxes home. May be carrying back these sweets  to Hyderabad will keep us connected to the region.

Jhula Devi Temple

 Another very important temple in Ranikhet is Jhula devi temple which is a Durga devi temple and recognised as a very powerful one. Located close to Chaubatia this is a 8 th cen temple. There is a dense forest this surrounds this temple and a number of wild animals such as leopards and tigers, who used to attack the villagers, inhabited these dense woods near the temple.According to legend then the villagers prayed to the Godess to save them and she appeared in the dreams of a  shephard and asked him to excavate her idol.After the idol was discovered a temple was built on this very spot. Hence this temple is believed to fullfill wishes of the devotee. Like  any other hill temple this temple has a large number of bells that hang around the premises. These bells are tied by devotees who want to ask for a boon or whose wishes are fulfilled. There are two shops that sell the beautiful odhnis or chunaris that are offered to the devi along with other pooja samagri.

Binsar Mahadev temple

 Binsar Mahadev temple is about 12 to 13 km from where we are staying in ythe Ranikhet Club. It is an ancient Hindu rock temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, worshipped as Bindeshwar, a popular deity in this region. It is located at  8202 ft. above sea level and is situated in Bisaona village. In most of the hill temples we climb above on to the  hill to visit a temple. But here in Binsar we go down the hill amidst thick forests to visit the temple. This temple is set amidst dense forests of birch, deodar and rhododendron. The original temple structure held great archaeological significance, but it has been destroyed and a new structure has come in its place. It is a pity that we as a people have no sense of history and heritage preservation and replace old structures with new ones and make new figures of God's and Goddesses  with coloured paint and think we are beautifying the place. I am sure originally there would have just been a Shiva linga here which is still present but today dwarfed by the other statues. The sanctam sanctoram is surrounded by monolith pillars. The central chamber of the temple features the idols of Ganesha, Shiva-Parvati and Mahishasuramardini. A fair is organized there on Vaikuntha Chaturdashi every year. The beauty of the place is that you have Deodar jungles one one side and a thick pine forest on the other. There are beautiful roads with soft curves and bends that zig zag through the temple. The terrain is breathtaking and the peace in the vicinity   is unmatched. There are big boards that proclaim that ringing of the bells is not allowed. A wonderful place for peace and solitude. Thanks a lot Kamala and Naveen for introducing me to this  site.

Churches in Ranikhet

Ranikhet has two beautiful churches. We visited the highest Church in India which is located at 7700 ft. above sea level. The wood the small cross over the wall are all of an earlier period and continue to serve till today. This Church called the St. Bridget Church was established in 1884.Next we  visited another Church which is called the Kautilya dwar and the army is using this as a gym. The tower has a resemblance to the Scottish Church. There is a breath taking view of the Himalayas that can be seen from the St. Bridgit Church. 

The common wealth war Memorial heroes cemetery

 The common wealth war Memorial heroes cemetery is located in a picturesque spot surrounded by Cedar trees. There are some old war memorials. Many are in a state of decline for the marble stone tops have been taken away by the people. A beautiful path takes you down in the midst of the jungle where these soldiers rest.Though the war graves are really not well maintained for I cannot help but comparing them to the war memorials that I saw in France nd UK but the location is beautiful and nestled amidst the jungle of cedar trees.The Bible describes the cedar tree as strong and durable (Isaiah 9:10), graceful and beautiful (Psalm 80:10, Ezekiel 17:23), high and tall (Amos 2:9, Ezekiel 17:22), fragrant (Song of Songs 4:11) and spreading wide (Psalm 80:10-11) .Like its evergreen counterparts, the Eastern red cedar is known as the “graveyard tree” in this region because it can successfully grow for many years. The tree's perpetually green needles also are said to symbolize “eternal life”.