I belong to a family whose forefathers migrated from the Konkan Region of Maharashtra to Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh in early fourteenth century . From Kannauj, due to ever changing political scenario, they once again had to migrate and take shelter in Kumaon Hills in the early part of the sixteenth century. In the late 1930's my Grandfather took up a government job and left for Sikkim. With passage of time, my family gradually lost contact with Kumaon. As time went by, initially Nepali became the lingua franca at home when in Sikkim and later when my family moved to Delhi /Dehra Dun, Hindi was the spoken language. Most of our neighbors were either Punjabi or Garhwali. The nearest Kumaoni family being some 10 kilometers away. Hence I grew up under the shadow of Punjabi and Garhwhali cultures.

           I joined the Army in 1970 and never  got a chance to visit Kumaon. Once or twice, I could just manage a fleeting visit to an Army cantonment for a very short stay, and this never gave me time to interact with the locals.

          It was only once I got married to a girl from Almora, did I realise as to how little I knew of Kumaon. I remember during a visit to one KUMAON REGIMENT Unit I tried to get familiar with the troops by speaking in Kumaoni. I found the men looking at me and asking me sahib where did you learn Kumaoni, I told them that I am a Kumaoni. They replied No Sir you are a Punjabi who knows little bit of Kumaoni. It was embarrassing. That day I resolved to learn my mother tongue and asked my wife to teach me Kumaoni language and culture. My learning process about Kumaon started in real earnest during my frequent visits to my inlaws place in Almora.

         I vividly remember that summer day of 1991 in Almora. I was  on leave, and we all were watching the TV serial BUNIYAD. I casually remarked to my daughter that we were related to the author of BUNIYAD, Manohar Shyam Joshi. A few days later, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, then a cabinet minister, was in news and I once again told my daughter that Dr Joshi too is our ‘BIRADER’ ( a distant relative who belongs to the same GOTRA (or clan) in Kumaoni). My daughter remarked "Papa you are very smart, you claim all prominent Joshi's as relatives, where as I have never seen you interacting with these people”.

 

          This conversation set me thinking, as how to make my daughter believe, that even though I did not have much interaction with these people, they WERE  our distant relatives. I however had no solution to this problem. A few months later, I was visiting Late Mr Ram Joshi, a Prominent Lawyer of Almora, and a relative of mine. I narrated my predicament to him. He remarked that he has a book, titled "Angrish Joshi's of Almora", It had been complied by one Mr PC Joshi from New Delhi. Mr Ram Joshi very graciously presented his personal copy to me. This book contains the history of Joshi's of Galli, and also has the family tree of the entire Joshi's of Galli. With the help of this book, I was able to prove my point to my daughter. This one incidence prodded me to learn more about my community and hence this site.

         Later during my visits to Almora I came across the Book ( in two volumes) HISTORY OF KUMAON written by Mr Badri Datt Pande and translated into English by Mr CM Agrawal. This book has taught me a lot about the history of Kumaon. I will recommend this book to all thkose who want to learn about KUMAON.

       It had always been my desire, to work on a site which enables me clear misconceptions that people from plains have about Kumaon. Most of them are oblivious to the rich cultural heritage of the region. I am happy Wetpaint has provided me a platform wherein I can make an effort to write about Kumaon Hills, it's people , cultural heritage and some note on the Brahmin Community.

 

      I also wish to acknowledge my gratitude to Late Mr Ram Joshi and Mr PC Joshi, without whose direct and indirect help, this site would never have been possible.
 

     This site is dedicated to my wife Rashmi and kids Shipra and Aashish. My wife has been instrumental in motivating me to learn the kumaoni language,  which  in turn opened my eyes to the rich heritage and culture of the Kumaon Region. I also dedicate this site to my AAMA ( grandmother in Kumaoni) who used to regale us with many stories about Kumaon, its people, language, songs, music and above all the rich cultural heritage.

      During his visit to Almora, Kumaon, Swami Vivekananda said "These mountains are associated with the best memories of our race: Here, therefore, must be one of Centers, not merely of activity, but more of calmness of meditation, and of peace and I hope some one to realize it".

 

     Mahatama Gandhi wrote in Young India "Having been in the serene hills of Almora for almost a fortnight I wonder why people of India wish to visit Europe in search of health and peace".
 

Wishing you all the best,

Deepak