Prof Neeraj Dubey
Udhampur is an important district which was one of the largest district of the state before bifurcation of its territory which led to a separate district of Doda. Udhampur district is important not only because of the location of the Headquarter of Army Northern Command, but also because of no. of Tourist and Pilgrim centre. Udhampur town is the headquarters of this district. Patnitop and Sudh Mahadev are also tourist places. Major attractions in Udhampur city include Gole Market, Devika Ghats, Jakahni Park, Ramnagar chowk (Pandav mandir), Salain Talab, and the Main Bazar.
HISTORY: – Udhampur had been named after Raja Udham Singh, the eldest son of Maharaja Gulab Singh, the founder of Dogra rule in J&K. The town is said to have been built in place of dense forests to which Udham Singh occasionally went on hunting trips. He developed great love for the spot and chose it as site for a township. Udhampur – the fifth largest district of the state is situated in the southern part of J&K State. The district lies between 32 degrees – 34 minutes to 39 degrees – 30 minutes north latitude and 74 degrees – 16 minutes to 75 degrees – 38 minutes east longitude. The district having an area of around 3000 sq. kms. Due to altitudinal variation ranging from 600 meters to 2000 meters, there is wide variation in temperature in different parts of the district. The temp. rises sometimes as high as 42- degrees celsius a very seldom goes below 1.5 degrees Celsius in low altitude areas. May, June, July are the hottest months, while December, January, February are the coldest months.
CULTURE:- The culture of this area is PAHARI which resembles the culture of other areas of Duggardesh. The other part of the district has Dogra culture. Dogri is the main language spoken by the people of the district. The Dogri spoken here is known for its sweetness in tone. Their main language is DOGRI/PAHARI. The language is the rural and hilly areas has maintained its native purity, accent and sweetness. Gojri is also spoken by the Gujjar Community settled here and there. However, Dogri is main language spoken in the district. The district is culturally an integrated part of Jammu region and all important religious fairs like Lohri, Maha Shivratri, Id-ul-Fitr, Holi,Ramnavmi, Baisakhi, Basant-panchami, Martyr’s day of Guru Arjun Dev, Raksha Bandhan, Janam Ashtami, Mahanavami, Dussehra, Diwali, id-ul-zuha, Guru Ravi Dass’s b’day, Mahatama Gandhi’s b’day Guru Govind Singh’s b’day, Chacha Nehru’s birthday. Above all, the Independence Day & Republic Day are celebrated with great enthusiasm. Holy Navratras also provide special occasion for worship and pilgrimage to holy places culminating into small to big fairs. The Dogras of Udhampur are stout people with a tradition of culture and chivalry going back to the hoary past. Their contribution to the cultural heritage of India is Priceless. The dialects of the area are Dogri, Pahari and Gojri. The folk dances are Kud , Yatars and Bhangara. Kud dance is based on traditional dogri folk and performed mainly in Panchari and Dudu-Basantgarh. The folk songs of the district are Lok Geet, Bhakha etc. Bhakha are certain songs sung independent of musical instruments. The Sudh-Mahadev , Krimchi , Panchari , Mantalai , Kud , Patnitop are the important attractions of the district. Sudh-Mahadev :- It is situated at distance of 42kms from Udhampur. During the time when Lord Shiva married Parvati , the daughter of Raja of Himachal at this place, there lived a cruel person named Sudeva who was a extortionist and used to put the people of this area to great miseries. Mahadeva put him to his doom. In this way after the name of Sudeva and Mahadeva, the place became famous as Sud-Mahadev. Every year , pilgrims in thousands from in and around Jammu province pay their obeisance to Mahadeva at this place on the occasion of Jeshta-Purnima. Holy Devak originates from here. It is called Gupt-Ganga. In the south west of Sudhmahadev there is Gouri-Kund spring named after real name “Gouri” or Parvati Devi.
Krimchi :- A small village situated at a distance of 10 kms from Udhampur. It is famous for old ancient temple called Pandavas temple.
Ramnagar :- It is a hilly area and a largest Tehsil of district Udhampur , which is famous for its ancient temples , Forts and Palaces, namely called Sheesh Mahal.
Panchari :- A small village situated at a distance of 37 kms in the North West side of Udhampur. It is Famous for natural charm , hilly spots , lush green and good climatic conditions. It is also called Mini-Patnitop.
Importance of River Devak :-
The holy Devika River flows through the Udhampur town which is famous for its spiritual and sacred values. This river has got a great importance & spiritual significance like Ganga especially for the people of Hindu’s and Sikhs community, which after performing the last rites of human body on the bank of river Devika immersed their ashes in the devika river. It is seen that the ashes gets disappeared very soon after immersing.
In the end , it is worthwhile to mentioned here the five natural characteristics by which Udhampur town is famous for :- Hawa(Air) , Badh(Pipal) , Bakhay(Gossips) , Bhodi(tree) & Bhayian( Natural Spring ). The author like to conclude this article by these sweet lines, “Udhampuray Dey Sharay Di – Tuseygi Gal Suna – Jeethey Char Pasey Rounsali Tarah – Jeethey Far Far Chuldi Hawa.”
(The author is Sr Faculty – GCET Jammu )
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