Lata Village - Visit 3, Part 1

Lata Village - Visit 3, Part 1 (of blog)

I made my third visit to Lata Village in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand. I stayed for roughly a month and enjoyed my time immensely. The road on both ways was not in the best condition, but traveling in India during the monsoon and pilgrimage season always presents some adventures. Here is a picture of some of the damage which had taken place to houses on the way to Lata.

I got lucky in Lata because the monsoon only decided to show itself at night. I enjoyed beautiful weather during the days and slept through the rainy nights. Here is a picture from where I was staying. Every house has beautiful terraces. People love to sit outside and enjoy the scenery. I saw so many beautiful birds including magpies, golden eagles, and rosefinches. The butterflies were also incredible!

In addition to staying in Lata, I visited Jalum, a village about an hour from Lata towards the Tibetan border. Jalum is not as green or open as Lata although it is a gorgeous village. People living here were formerly trading partners with Tibet. They have had to give that up due to political reasons. The main occupation is farming and animal husbandry. More people used to travel with their sheep and goats, but that has also been reduced. People in Jalum actually only live there for half of the year. They go down to lower altitudes for the winter which is a practice that has been going on for as long as anyone can remember. Everyone packs up their necessary belongings, cows, and goats and head to their winter house which can be over 100 km away.

This is Jamuna, my hostess in Jalum, and her son, Happy. He was born on January 1, hence the name Happy.

 Here in Jalum, they have some roof-top gardening going on. They are growing ladum, a onion-like plant which is dried and used as a delicious spice both in Jalum and Lata. It is used both at home and sold in the market.

 I just liked this picture.

Here I am helping Jamuna in the papar field. We are losing up the soil. Papar is grown in Jalum and Lata as a local millet. It is mostly ground as a flour and used for special religious occasions. The treat that is made is offered to the goddess Nanda Devi.

This is an old house in Jalum. Check out the wood-carving. This building is now used mostly for animals.

A gorgeous sky in Jalum

This is Harsit, Jalum's older son. He really likes to throw tantrums, especially when he is putting on his shoes. I had a lot of fun with him though. I took him around the village on a piggy back ride. Afterwards, he kept asking to go again and again. He would say, "Hum gumnay jayangay." (We will go for a walk.) What was really funny is that he would address adults by the most informal Garwhali as they all address him. "Tu kuk jana?" Where are you going?

The woman on the right is Jamuna's mother-in-law. I had to take this beautiful photo.

Jamuna's mother-in-law, Nanda, is spinning the sheep's wool into yarn for making carpets.

 I went on a half-day hike to the meadow atop Jalum. Unfortunately, the weather was not clear to see the mountains well. However, the walk was very nice. We had a beautiful view of the village below, and the flowers were spectacular.

 Horses on the way.

 Jalum village from above.

 This is the beautiful store down from Jalum. I stayed there three nights before heading back to Lata.

 Other people were waiting on the road to catch the next jeep. We have a mix of Indians and Nepalis in this picture.

The jeep finally came but was very full. I got a seat upfront because I am female. The rest was packed, and Bijju had to ride on top with some other people and all these jugs.