Ashok Sharma
Our state is blessed with unparalleled natural beauty. There are snow capped mountains, lushgreen pastures, bubbling springs, meandering rivers, breathtaking slopes which attract a large number of tourists to Kashmir.Likewise, Jammu division too is famous for beautiful spots such as Bhaderwah, Mansar and Saruinsar Lakes, Patnitop, Sanasar etc which have a large footfall of tourists every year.Then there are famous shrines such as Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, Sri Amar Nath ji Shrine, Shahdra Sharif Shrine, Shiv Khori Shrine etc to name a few.Millions of people from across our country and abroad visit these shrines every year to pay reverence to the deities and take sweet memories with them.Then, various fairs and melas are also held across our state, in which people from our state and outside participate in large numbers.Moreover, people of our state are known for their sweet tongue and rich hospitality.We have inherited rich Dogra culture and heritage which ought to be showcased and promoted.One way to do so and expose the visitors to Dogra culture and traditions and make their visits memorable, there is need for setting up ‘Dogra Villages’ at famous tourist spots. These villages may be spread over a few acres of land and should offer, among other things, Dogra cuisine such as Pathores, Makki ki Roti and Sarson ka Saag, Keurs, timbru ki chatni, tarad, auria, fiddleheads (kasror) etc.The beautiful spots should also display traditional things such as agricultural implements and other things such as cots, chowki, madhani,baingis, bamboo baskets,wooden ladels,earthern lamps.Statues of Dogra men ploughing with traditional ploughs by harnessing the oxen named say, Hira and Moti, winnowing using fiens,thrashing the crops and women engaged in traditional occupations such as pulling chakki to grind grains, plastering the walls of Kutcha houses with clay mud, sowing Raades, cooking dal/boiling milk in earthern pots (koonis),milking cows named say Ratna etc, making butter, ghee and kalaris etc., shearing sheep and goats, making traditional mats from palm leaves/paddy straw etc which would provide a live view of a typical Duggar village to the visitors and could be the star attraction in such sites.
Then the children playing games such as gulli danda, stappu, chor sipahi, geetian etc.should also impress the visitors.Women engaged to cook and serve food to the visitors should be wearing traditional jewellery items and traditional clothes such as dhoti, ghuttana, suthan, kurta, etc will surely entertain the visitors and can leave a deep impression on them.Images celebrating the traditional festivals such as Raade, Ahoi, Baisakhi,Minjraan, Bush Dua, Shath etc. alongwith the food items connected with them is something which gives a peep into our Dogra culture and should be liked by the visitors.The traditional dances and folksongs such as Kud, Heran, Lohri, Bhangra, Geetru, Fummanian, Bhakhan, kaarkan, etc can be promoted by engaging such artists on rotational basis.Similarly,Dogra folklores such as Jaatar, Gassaiten, can also be exhibited by the local artists.etc.Marriage rituals and equipment such as Bangla, Palaki and related gold and silver jewellery and costumes could be displayed in one corner of the village and nuptial songs such as Suhaags and Kourian etc sung to display Dogra culture at its best.To start with, one or two such villages should be established at famous tourist spots with a ticket that includes viewing all the corners, savouring food, drinks such as lassi, interacting with the people, trying hands at weaving, knitting, making various things from palm leaves/straws etc.Identical villages need to be set up in Kashmir and regions having tribal population, where Kashmiri and tribal culture be showcased in such villages to give a peep into the life of local people.It could provide employment to a large no of unemployed youth and improve the economy.As our youth are drifting away from our culture,such an initiative can also expose them to our rich culture and heritage.
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