REPORT

“Buransh Mahotsav”

Himalaya Study Centre is a social venture operating at The Buransh Retreat. Its commitment is to gain knowledge and

understanding of the different cultures of the people in Uttarakhand.

Himalaya Study Centre helps and aims to make Uttarakhand reach various local goals concerning art & culture,

education, and development. Their activities span over fields covering research in art & culture, creative education,

social aspects and prime activity of agriculture in this area.

The programs aim to develop mutual learning processes through meetings, workshops, education and cultural

experiences.

Himalaya Study Centre organizes an annual Buransh Mahotsav for atleast a week in the month of March or April at

The Buransh Retreat,Kausani . The vision is to promote tourism in the region through art and culture.

The objective of the festival is –

Promotion of eco-tourism through art and culture.

Promotion of local produce like handicrafts/agri products and small scale enterprises.

Promotion of local unknown places of tourist interest.

Promotion of local flora and fauna.

Promotion of Kumaoni folk culture.

The 1st

edition of the Buransh Mahotsav was launched this year from 2nd

to 5th

April. A similar festival is

celebrated in Sikkim as Rhododendron Festival.

Significance of Buransh tree-

2nd April 2015-

Buransh Mahotsav, photography exhibition and handicraft mela was inaugurated by Pamela Chatterjee-Social

Activist, Mr. B.C.Pathak- General Manager DIC Bageshwar ,Balwant Singh Negi -President Hotel Association and Kanti

Behn-Laxhmi Ashram.

Threesh Kapoor, the organizer of the Mahotsav, shared his vision behind Himalaya Study Centre and Buransh Mahotsav.

Prasanna Kapoor- social entrepreneur shared about the importance of Buransh tree,and the need for building villages

through enterprise.

Amitabh Joshi, Range Officer Eco-Tourism, shared that the department is going to give full support in organizing bird

watching activities and alike to promote the local flora and fauna amongst the locals ,and to attract the tourists in large

numbers. He even mentioned about the training of nature guides course and appealed to the youth to make use of such

opportunities. Kalyan Singh Sajwan, wild life photographer and bird watcher, shared that bird watching is not a popular

activity in Kausani but a step towards making Kasauni a bird watching paradise, a festival of this scale is definitely a way

forward.

The teen activists from Citizens For Green Almora did a street play against the culture of polythene and appealed to the

tourists to be conscious travelers. The Students of Lakshmi Ashram recited a poem on the conservation of nature. Mamta

Thapa, a farmer and poet, recited a poem on the village life.

Tourists were mesmerized to buy the variety of local handicrafts and agri-products displayed by local entrepreneurs. In

the evening a slide show on Nanda Raj Jaat was presented by Threesh Kapoor.

3rd April 2015

The Himalaya Study Centre organized a bird watching workshop, quiz on Uttarakhand, handicraft mela and

evening slide show on Uttarkhand Darshan as a part of its second day of Buransh Mahotsav. The festival of this kind is

initiated probably for the first time in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.

Around 8 am the students from Lakshmi Ashram and Central School reached Kausani market and from there Mr.Ram

,Kalyan Sajwan and Trilok Rana, bird watcher and photographer , guided and explained the children about the hobby

,methods of bird watching and identification. Around 56 species of birds were identified by the bird watcher and they are

planning to continue the research and develop a list of birds found in Kausani . A research of such interest has never been

undertaken in the region. The students were happy to get an introduction to a new hobby and passion. The bird watching

workshop was successfully conducted due to the support of Chief Conservator Eco-Tourism Uttarakhand, Mr.Rajiv

Bhartari.He provided ten binoculars, bird identification books and CD’s, eco- map of Uttarakhand beside valuable

guidance for conducting the Buransh Mahotsav.

Around 12 noon, Quiz on Uttarakhand was organized at The Buransh Retreat, wherein 30 students participated in the

activity. Bhawana Joshi , Manisha Arya,Manisha Samante and Meenakshi Mehra were the winners of the activity

and were facilitated by Mr. Chandan Singh Bisht,SHO Kausani.

Later in the evening a slide show on Uttarkhand Darshan was presented by Threesh Kapoor.He shared with the

audience about the beauty of Uttarkhand's culture, people and mountains ,and gave confidence that the Kumaon region is

safe for traveling during monsoons.

4th April 2015

The day was dedicated to heritage walk , painting and essay activity for village students and cultural programme.

In the morning it was showering heavily yet the members of Himalaya Study Centre along with other 10 participants went

for a heritage walk of Kausani. At Anashakti Ashram the participants discussed the prospects of development in Kausani

and the role Gandhi Ashram can play in it. Later they went to visit the Sarla Behn Museum and workshop . They were

upset to witness the appalling condition of the Sunitranandan Pant gallery and were aggrieved that the government isn’t

looking after the gallery even though it’s a place of historic importance for Kausani. The walk finished at Lakshmi Ashram

where the students were asked about their bird watching experience from the day before and whether they identified any

new birds. Mr. Ram the bird watching teacher shared the new list wherein 56 birds were identified by him in two days

within the Mahotsav.

In later half of the day around 55 students from Anamay Vedic Ashram,Lakshmi Ashram,Central School , Kanya

Madhamik School and Shishu Mandir came to participate in the essay and painting activity. Nirmala Pande and Lata

Negi wrote an exceptionally well essay on “Meri Kausani”. Praveen Thapa ,Suman Kandpal,,Manisha Mehra and

Shivanshu puri depicted Kausani artistically well in their paintings. Vedic mantras were recited by the Anamay Vedic

School young disciples. Kishan Singh Danu and his cultural team from Vadn village performed some Lok Geet’s in the

evening .Mr.Dhanu shared his thoughts over preservation and conservation of the natural environment.

5th April 2015 –

A seminar on “Role of eco-tourism in development of Kausani and way forward” was organized by Himalaya Study

Centre as its fourth day programme under the Buransh Mahotsav. The programme was dedicated to celebrate the birth

anniversary of Sarla Behn,a renowned English social worker who dedicated her life for the welfare of the people of

Uttarakhand ,and lived in Kausani for most of her life in India.

Threesh Kapoor, President of The Himalaya Study Centre, moderated the discussion.

Gopal Dutt Bhatt, former chairmen of KNVN and poet shared some insight from personal experience. He talked at

length about the limitations of a small state with limited employment opportunities which call for the urgent need to

build the future on local resources. Tourism, animal husbandry, horticulture and education are the major verticals of

economic and development aspect for the State. He shared his reservation towards the major tendency of the denizen to

be service opportunity oriented rather than being entrepreneurial in approach. He even raised the need to train and

employ the local youth in hospitality and as tour guides. The tendency of the locals to cheat the tourists has to be

checked. The “Hoteliers” attitude should be more transformational then transactional in Kausani. A tourism which

attracts a tourist to come back again has to be encouraged.

There is a pressing issue of avoiding negative publicity of the destination. The 2013 natural disaster sent a wrong message

through out the world that whole Uttarakhand is unsafe for travel. This was not the reality. This had a drastic impact on

tourism in the Kumaon region. Media, bureaucrats and local have to acknowledge the sensitivity of such news and must

deliver true facts. We must promote the good work being done in the State rather than solely sharing the negative.

Dr. Ranjan Joshi, scientist at the G.B.Pant Institute shared at length about the call for protecting nature to promote

culture and develop economy. He presented a paper on Eco-tourism and sustainable development.

Apoorv Pande from California appreciated the efforts of Himalaya Study Centre. He discussed about the role of branding

in development of eco-tourism.

Kala Upadhaya, Principal, requested for large scale publicity of Kausani in press and media by the government.

N.N Mishra, retired commandant CRPF, requested for proper display of information about the historical sites and

keeping them clean .

S.S Karayat , Range Officer Kausani, promised to develop the forest near the lake as a forest of Buransh,Banj and Kafal.

He assured all help from forest department in development of eco-park ,lake and trails in Kausani. He requested the local

people to support the government projects so that they can be implemented speedily and effectively.

IMPACT OF THE BURANSH MAHOTSAV –

1. Created awareness over heritage of Kausani, art and culture of Kumaon Region.

2. Promoted local handicrafts from remote areas like Supi village, Munshiyari, Nand Prayag,Masi,Manan,Kapkot

,Kausani,Almora and more.

3. Handicraft of worth Rs. 30,000 was sold in the Mahotsav.

4. Created awareness over bird watching and identification. Around 56 birds have been identified as a part of the

research being conduct by Mr. Ram under the aegis of Himalaya Study Centre.

5. A report on the “Role of eco-tourism in development of Kausani and way forward” is prepared to be sent for

consideration to the state government.

6. A list of unknown tourist destination in Bageshwar district is prepared for further promotion of tourism.

7. Tourists were made aware of the local culture, art, medicinal plants and flora & fauna.

8. The event was widely covered by the local and national media – Times of India, Pioneer, Tribune, Garhwal

Post,Dainik Jagran and Amar Ujala.

SOME PRESS CLIPS