Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - Three Hundred Twelve
Palash Biswas
Genuine Environment Activist, My Teacher and Friend Fredrick Smetchac Died in Bhimtal!He was my Guru in English Literature as he taught us Prose in M.A Previous in DSB College during 1970-78 session! I Visisted Kumaun and Garwal amidst the Floods of 1978 due to landslide in Gangotri. It was all the way Hitch Hiking and I visited the Hills mostly on Foot. Returning from Uttarkashi and Tehri, I started for Kumaun leg of My Himalayan Travel. I stayed with Fredrick Smetchac in his June Estate as my First Stop as I walked down the Hills from Nainital and landed in his estate.We were friends already. he used to Visit Nainital samachar time to time.Our Main Adda during seventies.
I stayed in his VVIP Guest House for a week and Fredrich guided me in my survey Geological as well as Environmental. he knew everything. He was the Activist of S.A.V.E... He was alone with hsi wife and only baby as His Father Senior Fedrick already Expired and his brother Victor, whom I never saw, was established Scientist in their Homeland in Germany. But the Anglo German originally Check loved the Himalayas more than anything else. he informed me his decision to leave the College job and I could not convince him to reconsider. He wanted me to pursue a career of Eco Environmental Journalist as Anil Agrawal and Bharat Dogra were only the interantionally lot around in India. He recognised me as one of them.But I was rather not Convinced and doubted my potential as a Journalist. Eventually though I had to opt for Professional journalism and Disconnectivity with the Hiamalays once for all as I could not seek Job elsewhere and refused to join Govt. Job in colleges so reluctantly.
I never did know anything about the Butterflies and was Amazed to see the best museum for Butterflies in Asia. I was pasionate enough to feel his Live Contact with Nature and Nature associated communities. His father senior FRedrich was the Leader of Anti Nazi Anti Fascist resistance group in United Germany of Hitler. Hitler himself signed Death Warrant against the Man who fled to India and settled in Naukuchiatal and later in Bhimtal via Kolkata.
It would be very hard for me to visit my Home, the Himalayas, specially Nainital and Bhimtal.
We lost our friend Nirmal Joshi , the bollywood Actor and Thetre personality from Nainital very recently.We lost Nirmal Joshi years past. Our Friend Pawan rakesh lost his Dad as well as only Lad.We lost Bipin Tripathi and Shashti Dutt Bhatt.I could not be present in any Mourning in the Hiamalays but my heart continues to Bleed!
He was the Savour of the Locality and resisted the Land and Resort Mafia in their Monopolistic Aggression. He was Indisposed for last ten years but he sustained the Environment around him without being involved in Politics or NGO.Mountains, forests and pastures are the mothers of rivers that sustain life. Their catchment areas are the water basins for hydel projects and dams. Destroy the forests and one will find dams silting and going dry; hydel projects will remain a dream and drought a common occurrence.
Scarcity of water will affect food production and there will be no answer to the frantic cries of the cities and villages for water between individuals, states and nations, and progress adversely affected due to lack of power.
Deforestation is a primary driver of biotic extinctions in the tropics. The impacts of deforestation in tropical biodiversity hotspots are of particular concern because these regions contain high concentrations of globally endemic species. However, the effects of large-scale deforestation on native biotas within the biodiversity hotspot of Himalaya remain poorly documented. Here we report on an alarming trend of deforestation in the Indian Himalaya and project the likely consequential extinctions of endemic taxa (species and subspecies) by 2100 across a broad range of taxonomic groups, including gymnosperms, angiosperms, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. With the current level of deforestation, by 2100 only about 10% of the land area of the Indian Himalaya will be covered by dense forest (>40% canopy cover)—a scenario in which almost a quarter of the endemic species could be wiped out, including 366 endemic vascular plant taxa and 35 endemic vertebrate taxa. We also show that inaccurate reporting of forest cover data by governmental institutions can result in underestimations of the biological impacts of deforestation, as well as potential miscalculations in land-use decisions (e.g., the construction of hydroelectric dams). Large-scale conservation efforts, including forest protection and reforestation, are urgently needed to avoid the impending deforestation-driven biodiversity losses in the Himalaya.
HIMALAYA ENVIRONMENT
Economic changes and population increases are threatening the ecology of the Himalayas. In recent years, deforestation in the foothills and the Middle Himalayas and overgrazing on the high pastures has led to soil erosion and other environmental problems. Deforestation is a particular concern in the western Himalayas, where increased demand for firewood, extensive tree trimming in order to feed livestock, and construction of roads in the border regions have increased the destruction rate of forests and the number of landslides.
Rapid population growth has accelerated pollution, and Himalayan streams that were once clear are now polluted with refuse and sewage. Hill people who use the water for drinking suffer from dysentery; cholera and typhoid epidemics are also common. Large lakes like Dal in Kashmir and Naini Lake (Nainital) have also become polluted.
Regional variations in environmental degradation exist in the Himalayas. Conditions range from a critical situation in the Himalayas of Nepal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Kashmir to a moderately serious situation in Bhutan and the eastern Himalayas. If rapid development continues in Bhutan and the eastern Himalayas without due regard for conservation, the problems there may assume critical proportions in the near future. The governments of India, Nepal, and Bhutan are aware of the dangers of environmental degradation in the Himalayas, and environmental management concerns are being integrated in development projects in this region.
Hard as it may sound to those overcome by the sheer magnificence of this mountain chain, the majestic Himalayas are surprisingly vulnerable to both natural processes and man-made ones. The mountain chain is young and, as has been proved in recent years, it is still geologically active. The Indian landmass continues to move towards the Eurasian landmass as a result of which the Himalayas rise by a few millimeters every year. Due to this, the Himalayas are still structurally unstable.
The Himalayas also feature a fragile ecosystem. For centuries, this ecosystem has remained delicately balanced, and has been responsible for the tremendous biodiversity of the Himalayas. Only in recent years has the ecosystem been disturbed in various parts due to processes both man-made and natural.
Man has also been responsible to a large extent for some of the environmental problems faced by the mountains. As he strives for industrialization, modernization and the so-called higher standard of living, man has disturbed the natural ecosystems of many parts of the world. The Himalayas have been no exception. Over the centuries, pilgrims and explorers have visited the mountains. However, in the past their numbers were few and the Himalayan ecosystem, fragile as it is, was able to cope with the effects of human exploration in the areas.
But today, the story is different. In the last few decades, an intricate network of roads has been built into the mountains, which have made some of the most remote areas more easily accessible. This has translated into a tremendous increase in the numbers of people who visit the mountains every year. The Himalayas are now being exploited, to the hilt in many areas, to provide materials for the growing number of forest-based industries. Thus, it is not a surprise that environmental problems have emerged in the Himalayan region.
Things Effecting Nature
With over-exploitation for agricultural purposes and to meet the ever-increasing demands of the cities, the sub-soil water is receding at an alarming rate. If the rivers too go dry, the holocaust can well be imagined. Deforestation will lead to desertification as is happening in parts of China where the desert sand dunes are spreading at the rate of 200-sq-kms per month.
Deforestation
Most vulnerable to this kind of nature's fury are the run-of-the-river schemes Hydel projects and big gravity dams especially when their catchment areas have been deforested. "Among mountains, I am the Himalaya" (Bhagvat Gita) - this was the pride with which our ancestors and sages looked up to the most beautiful, majestic and mighty snow-capped mountains. Today, however, the same Himalayas are the most degraded mountains in the world - a eco-disaster in the making.
Wisdom is required not to plunder but to preserve. It is time to wake up to this "last awakening call", otherwise we are heading for the Himalayan eco-disaster and with it the "Last Bugle Call".
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The Mortal being: Trade unions A.K.A land mafia A.K.A land grabbers
8 Nov 2009 ... Trade unions A.K.A land mafia A.K.A land grabbers ... laws not by the laws admonished by the sages of Himalayas nor by the ingredients which ...
themortalbeing.blogspot.com/.../trade-unions-aka-land-mafia-aka-land_4508.html - CachedExhibition - Malana : Shangrila in the Himalayas
The Republic of Malana; a little Greece in Malana; the Drug Mafia in Malana; ..... To deposit land and other revenues in the shrine treasury. ...
www.ignca.nic.in › Home › Kaladarsana › Exhibitions - CachedThe Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Dehradun Edition
26 Jan 2010 ... Land mafia becoming active: Social activists .... over a paper entitled "Save the Himalayas: A concept paper for reducing pollution for ... With the elements of the land mafia allegedly becoming active, the people of the ...
www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100126/dun.htm - CachedHigh Times In The Himalayas | Cannabis Culture Magazine
9 Jul 2009 ... Malana (High times in Himalayas). I was living in Malana for many years. There is NO mafia at all. Everybody is free to do as he likes. ...
www.cannabisculture.com › Home › Grow Features - CachedHimachal Needs A Regional Party | My Himachal
7 Nov 2008 ... Take the case of land mafia: ... The degradation of Himalayas has always been a concern and as per this article, the problem seems to be ...
himachal.us/2008/11/07/himachal-needs-a-regional.../ravinder - CachedThe world's best pot is grown in Malana
High in the Himalayas the Malana grow some of the best cannabis in the world ... Decades of mafia domination and a desire for quick cash has reduced a village ... forest land in the mountains were being used for cannabis cultivation. ...
www.globalpost.com › Asia › India - Cached - Similar[Reader-list] What Mughal Road didn't that shrine land-transfer ...
30 Jun 2008 ... So the separatists and the PDP in the Amarnath land case, ... destruction of environment in Pir Panjal mountain ranges of the > Himalayas. ... is as a result > of illegal felling of trees by land mafia in connivance with ...
mail.sarai.net/pipermail/test1/2008-June/013167.html - CachedMunnar | Kerala | India Travel
The entire area of Munnar , nearly about 556.44 square kilometer of land really ... (2695 m) south of the Himalayas, towers over the sanctuary in majestic pride. .... land mafia, manal mafia, kayal mafia, forest mafia, and the likes. ...
indiaouting.com/kerala/munnar/ - Cached - SimilarTo the Himalayas!
To the Himalayas! Jessica Otte takes her medical prowess and awful sense of ..... their warm smiles and hearty laughs, have come from that land at some point. ... Earlier, we'd played a little group game called Assassin/Mafia but in the ...
jaotte.wordpress.com/ - Cached - SimilarUttarakhand Solidarity Network
... and political action centre for the Uttarakhand Himalayas in India. .... that a big chunk of land has fallen into the hands of land mafia in the state. ...
andolan.prayaga.org/page/2/ - Cached
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Impact of Deforestation on the Hydrological Process of India Central Himalaya
Ahmad, Afroz
Humans are an important factor for creating changes in most of the world's mountain ecosystems. For centuries highlanders have lived in partnership and equilibrium with nature, creating some of the planet's most harmonious landscapes. Today, however, from the Alps to the Andes, the pressure of population growth and movement, coupled with new demands for development are placing the equilibrium in jeopardy. The India Himalayas with widths varying from 250 to 300 km extend for about 2500 km from west to east, representing 16 percent of the total area of India. The Himalayas have been subdivided into three main regions; viz., Western, Central (the Kumaon and Garhwal regions) and Northeastern Himalaya, respectively. About 300 million people live in the Himalayas and its foothills. The major northern Indian rivers originate in the Himalayas. The Himalayas are geologically young uplifted about 60 to 70 million years ago. The environment is fragile and sensitive to small disturbances. The extremes of climate, topography, relief, aspect and slope are some of the natural factors beyond human control. Deforestation in the Himalayas has been a topic of global debate and is considered as the main cause of environmental degradation in the region. The clear cutting of forest in the Himalayas resulted in poor recycling of the nutrients, desertification in the northeastern Himalayas and in several parts of central Himalayas. Excessive deforestation and over-use of mountain slopes have resulted in severe physical problems such as eutrophication of lakes, drying up of natural springs, diminishing the extent of glaciers and changes in the surface and ground water hydrology, massive sheet-wash and channel erosion, landslides, decreasing agricultural yields and increasing poverty linked to deteriorating biological, physical and socio-economic environment. The global climate changes, coupled with regional climatic changes, have drastically affected the Himalayan glaciers. In western Himalaya, the Bari Shigri glacier has retreated 8
00 m in 150 years and Pindari glacier in central Himalaya has retreated 1600 m since 1845. These changes in glaciers impact upon the glacial-fed rivers such that there is a gradual decrease in the volume of melt water released during the summer. The run off of rivers in the lesser Himalayas dropped about 35 percent over the past 15 years due to poorly-managed catchment and deforestation. Perennial springs have become seasonal and are drying up. Almora, the oldest town and habitation situated at an elevation of 1610 m in central India, which had about 360 springs in last century, now has only 36 perennial springs with decreasing capacity. The changes brought about by human activities in the Himalayan Hydrological process and guidelines for managing watersheds and forests to ensure environmentally sustainable development are discussed.
Key words: Himalayas, deforestation, hydrologic process.
Correspondence: Afroz Ahmad, Narmada Control Authority, 5 Ahmad Manzil, 12/3 Old Palasia, Jobat Campus, Indore-452001, India
The Himalayan mountain system developed in a series of stages 30 to 50 million years ago. The Himalayan range was created from powerful earth movements that occurred as the Indian plate pressed against the Eurasian continental plate. The earth movements raised the deposits laid down in the ancient, shallow Tethys Sea (on the present site of the mountains) to form the Himalayan ranges from Pakistan eastward across northern India, and from Nepal and Bhutan to the Myanmar (Burmese) border. Even today the mountains continue to develop and change, and earthquakes and tremors are frequent in the areaPhysically, the Himalayas forms three parallel zones: the Great Himalayas, the Middle Himalayas (also known as the Inner or Lesser Himalayas), and the Sub-Himalayas, which includes the Siwalik Range and foothills and the Tarai and Duars piedmont (an area of land formed or lying at the foot of a mountain or mountain range). Each of these lateral divisions exhibit certain similar topographic features. The Great Himalayas, the highest zone, consists of a huge line of snowy peaks with an average height exceeding 6100 m (20,000 ft). The width of this zone, composed largely but not entirely of gneiss and granite, is about 24 km (about 15 mi). Spurs from the Great Himalayas project southwards into the Middle Himalayas in an irregular fashion. The Nepal and Sikkim (a state of northern India) portion of the Great Himalayas contains the greatest number of high peaks. The snow line on the southern slopes of the Great Himalayas varies from 4480 m (14,700 ft) in the eastern and central Himalayas of Nepal and Sikkim to 5180 m (17,000 ft) in the western Himalayas. To the north of the Great Himalayas are several ranges such as the Zaskar, Ladakh, and the Kailas. The Karakoram Range lies on the Tibetan side of the Great Himalayas.The Great Himalayan region is one of the few remaining isolated and inaccessible areas in the world today. Some high valleys in the Great Himalayas are occupied by small clustered settlements. Extremely cold winters and a short growing season limit the farmers to one crop per year, most commonly potatoes or barley. The formidable mountains have limited the development of large-scale trade and commerce despite the construction of highways across the mountains linking Nepal and Pakistan to China. Older trails, which cross the mountains at high passes, also have limited trade and are open only during the summer months.The Middle Himalayas range, which has a width of about 80 km (about 50 mi), borders the Great Himalayan range on the south. It consists principally of high ranges both within and outside of the Great Himalayan range. Some of the ranges of the Middle Himalayas are the Nag Tibba, the Dhaola Dhar, the Pir Panjal, and the Mahabharat. The Middle Himalayas possess a remarkable uniformity of height; most are between 1830 and 3050 m (between 6000 and 10,000 ft).The Middle Himalayas region is a complex mosaic of forest-covered ranges and fertile valleys. While not as forbidding as the Great Himalayas to the north, this range has nonetheless served to isolate the valleys of the Himalayas from the plains of the Indus and Ganges rivers in Pakistan and northern India. Except for the major valley centers such as Srinagar, Kangra, and Kathmandu, and hill towns such as Simla, Mussoorie, and Darjiling (Darjeeling), the region is moderately populated. Within the Middle Himalayas the intervening mountain ranges tend to separate the densely populated valleys. The numerous gorges and rugged mountains make surface travel difficult in any direction. Few roads or transport routes exist between towns, partly because it is expensive to build them over the high, rough terrain. Only major population centers are linked by air and roads with principal cities in India and Pakistan.The Sub-Himalayas, which is the southernmost and the lowest zone, borders the plains of North India and Pakistan. It comprises the Siwalik Range and foothills as well as the narrow piedmont plain at the base of the mountains. The width of the Sub-Himalayas gradually narrows from about 48 km (about 30 mi) in the west until it nearly disappears in Bhutan and eastern India. A characteristic feature of the Sub-Himalayas is the large number of long, flat-bottomed valleys known as duns, which are usually spindle-shaped and filled with gravelly alluvium. South of the foothills lies the Tarai and Duars plains. The southern part of the Tarai and Duars plains is heavily farmed. The northern part was forest inhabited by wild animals until about the 1950s. Most of the forests of this region have been destroyed, and much of the land has been reclaimed for agriculture.The Himalayas influences the climate of the Indian subcontinent by sheltering it from the cold air mass of Central Asia. The range also exerts a major influence on monsoon and rainfall patterns. Within the Himalayas climate varies depending on elevation and location. Climate ranges from subtropical in the southern foothills, with average summer temperatures of about 30° C (about 86° F) and average winter temperatures of about 18° C (about 64° F); warm temperate conditions in the Middle Himalayan valleys, with average summer temperatures of about 25° C (about 77° F) and cooler winters; cool temperate conditions in the higher parts of the Middle Himalayas, where average summer temperatures are 15 to 18° C (59 to 64° F) and winters are below freezing; to a cold alpine climate at higher elevations, where summers are cool and winters are severe. At elevations above 4880 m (16,000 ft) the climate is very cold with below freezing temperatures and the area is permanently covered with snow and ice. The eastern part of the Himalayas receives heavy rainfall; the western part is drier.The natural vegetation is influenced by climate and elevation. Tropical, moist deciduous forest at one time covered all of the Sub-Himalayan area. With few exceptions most of this forest has been cut for commercial lumber or agricultural land. In the Middle Himalayas at elevations between 1520 and 3660 m (between 5000 and 12,000 ft) natural vegetation consists of many species of pine, oak, rhododendron, poplar, walnut, and larch. Most of this area has been deforested; forest cover remains only in inaccessible areas and on steep slopes. Below the timber line the Great Himalayas contains valuable forests of spruce, fir, cypress, juniper, and birch. Alpine vegetation occupies higher parts of the Great Himalayas just below the snow line and includes shrubs, rhododendrons, mosses, lichens, and wildflowers such as blue poppies and edelweiss. These areas are used for grazing in summer by the highland people of the Great Himalayas.Animals such as tigers, leopards, rhinoceroses, and many varieties of deer once inhabited the forested areas of the Sub-Himalayan foothills and the Tarai plain. As a result of deforestation the habitat of most of the wildlife has been destroyed. They are now restricted to special protected areas such as the Jaldapara and Kaziranga sanctuaries in India and the Chitawan preserve in Nepal. There are few animals in the Middle Himalayas because of extensive deforestation. In the Great Himalayas musk deer, wild goats, sheep, wolves, and snow leopards are found. The existence of the Yeti has been reported by highland Sherpas in Nepal but has eluded discovery by several expeditions.The population, settlement, and economic patterns within the Himalayas have been greatly influenced by the variations in topography and climate, which impose harsh living conditions and tend to restrict movement and communication. People living in remote, isolated valleys have generally preserved their cultural identities. However, improvements in transportation and communication, particularly satellite television programs from Europe and the United States, are bringing access from the outside world to remote valleys. These outside influences are affecting traditional social and cultural structure.Nearly 40 million people inhabit the Himalayas. Generally, Hindus of Indian heritage are dominant in the Sub-Himalayas and the Middle Himalayan valleys from eastern Kashmir to Nepal. To the north Tibetan Buddhists inhabit the Great Himalayas from Ladakh to northeast India. In central Nepal, in an area between about 1830 and 2440 m (between about 6000 and 8000 ft), the Indian and Tibetan cultures have intermingled, producing a combination of Indian and Tibetan traits. The eastern Himalayas in India and nearby areas of eastern Bhutan are inhabited by animistic people whose culture is similar to those living in northern Myanmar and Yunnan province in China. People of western Kashmir are Muslims and have a culture similar to the inhabitants of Afghanistan and Iran.The economy of the Himalayas as a whole is poor with low per capita income. Much of the Himalayas area is characterized by a very low economic growth rate combined with a high rate of population growth, which contributes to stagnation in the already low level of per capita gross national product. Most of the population is dependent on agriculture, primarily subsistence agriculture; modern industries are lacking. Mineral resources are limited. The Himalayas has major hydroelectric potential, but the development of hydroelectric resources requires outside capital investment. The skilled labor needed to organize and manage development of natural resources is also limited due to low literacy rates. Most of the Himalayan communities face malnutrition, a shortage of safe drinking water, and poor health services and education systems.Agricultural land is concentrated in the Tarai plain and in the valleys of the Middle Himalayas. Patches of agricultural land have also been carved out in the mountainous forested areas. Rice is the principal crop in eastern Tarai and the well-watered valleys. Corn is also an important rain-fed crop on the hillsides. Other cereal crops are wheat, millet, barley, and buckwheat. Sugarcane, tea, oilseeds, and potatoes are other major crops. Food production in the Himalayas has not kept up with the population growth.The major industries include processing food grains, making vegetable oil, refining sugar, and brewing beer. Fruit processing is also important. A wide variety of fruits are grown in each of the major zones of the Himalayas, and making fruit juices is a major industry in Nepal, Bhutan, and in the Indian Himalayas.Since 1950 tourism has emerged as a major growth industry in the Himalayas. Nearly 1 million visitors come to the Himalayas each year for mountain trekking, wildlife viewing, and pilgrimages to major Hindu and Buddhist sacred places. The number of foreign visitors has increased in recent years, as organized treks to the icy summits of the Great Himalayas have become popular. While tourism is important to the local economy, it has had an adverse impact on regions where tourist numbers exceed the capacity of recreational areas.Historically, all transport in the Himalayas has been by porters and pack animals. Porters and pack animals are still important, but the construction of major roads and the development of air routes have changed the traditional transportation pattern. Major urban centers such as Kathmandu, Simla, and Srinagar, as well as important tourist destinations, are served by airlines. Railways link Simla and Darjiling, but in most of the Himalayas there are no railroads. The bulk of goods from the Himalayas, as well as goods destined for places within the Himalayas, generally come to Indian railheads, located in the Tarai, by road. The pack animals and porters transport goods from road heads to the interior and back.Economic changes and population increases are threatening the ecology of the Himalayas. In recent years deforestation in the foothills and the Middle Himalayas and overgrazing on the high pastures have led to soil erosion and other environmental problems. Deforestation is a particular concern in the western Himalayas, where increased demand for firewood, extensive tree trimming in order to feed livestock, and construction of roads in the border regions have increased the destruction rate of forests and the number of landslides. Rapid population growth has accelerated pollution, and Himalayan streams that were once clear are now polluted with refuse and sewage. Hill people who use the water for drinking suffer from dysentery; cholera and typhoid epidemics are also common. Large lakes like Dal in Kashmir and Naini Lake (Nainital) have also become polluted.Regional variations in environmental degradation exist in the Himalayas. Conditions range from a critical situation in the Himalayas of Nepal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Kashmir to a moderately serious situation in Bhutan and the eastern Himalayas. If rapid development continues in Bhutan and the eastern Himalayas without due regard for conservation, the problems there may assume critical proportions in the near future. The governments of India, Nepal, and Bhutan are aware of the dangers of environmental degradation in the Himalayas, and environmental management concerns are being integrated in development projects in this region.दुःखद है ऐसे प्रकृतिप्रेमियों का जाना
भीमताल से आये उस फोन ने मुझे हिला कर रख दिया। मेरा दोस्त फ्रैडरिक स्मेटाचैक नहीं रहा था। पिछले दस सालों से खराब स्वास्थ्य से जूझ रहा, शय्याग्रस्त फ्रैडी हमें छोड़ कर चला गया था। कुछ समय पहले मैंने उस पर एक लेख अपने ब्लॉग 'कबाड़खाना' पर लगाया था, जिसे बतौर श्रद्धांजलि मैं पुनः प्रस्तुत कर रहा हूँ। 
वन स्ट्रॉ रेवोल्यूशन वाले जापानी मासानोबू फुकुओका और वर्मीकल्चर के प्रतिनिधि ऑस्ट्रियाई किसान सैप होल्जर फिलहाल विश्वविख्यात नाम हैं और दुनिया भर के पर्यावरणविद उन्हें हाथोंहाथ लेते हैं। उनकी लिखी किताबों की लाखों प्रतियाँ बिका करती हैं। सुन्दरलाल बहुगुणा और मेधा पाटकर के कामों को मीडिया द्वारा पर्याप्त ख्याति दिलाई जा चुकी है। लेकिन उत्तराखंड के कोटमल्ला गाँव के बंजर में बीस हजार पेड़ों का जंगल उगाने वाले जगत सिंह चौधरी 'जंगली' जैसे प्रकृतिपुत्रों को उनके हिस्से का श्रेय और नाम मिलना बाकी है। ठीक ऐसा ही 15 फरवरी की सुबह हमें छोड़ गये मेरे प्यारे दोस्त फ्रेडरिक स्मेटाचेक (जूनियर) के बारे में भी कहा जा सकता है।
भीमताल की जून एस्टेट में दिवंगत फ्रेडरिक स्मेटाचेक (जूनियर) के घर में एशिया का सबसे बड़ा व्यक्तिगत तितली संग्रह है। हल्द्वानी से भीमताल की तरफ जाएँ तो पहाड़ी रास्ता शुरू होने पर चीड़ के पेड़ों की बहुतायत मिलती है। हमारे वन विभाग की मेहरबानी से पहाड़ों में कल्पवृक्ष के नाम से जाने जाने वाले बाँज के पेड़ों का करीब करीब खात्मा हो चुका है। जून एस्टेट में चीड़ के पेड़ खोजने पड़ते
हैं। यहाँ केवल बाँज है, दशकों से सहेजा हुआ।
फ्रेडरिक के पिता फ्रेडरिक स्मेटाचेक (सीनियर) 1940 के दशक के प्रारंभिक वर्षों में यहाँ आकर बस गए थे। चेकोस्लोवाकिया के मूल निवासी लेकिन जर्मन भाषी फ्रेडरिक स्मेटाचेक हिटलर विरोधी एक संस्था के महत्वपूर्ण सदस्य थे। उनकी मौत का फतवा बाकायदा हिटलर के दस्तखतों से जारी हुआ। जान बचाने की फेर में फ्रेडरिक अपने कुछ साथियों के साथ एक पुर्तगाली जहाज पर चढ़ गए। यह जहाज कुछ दिनों बाद गोआ पहुँचा। गोआ में हुए एक खूनी संघर्ष में जहाज के कप्तान का कत्ल हो गया। सो बिना कप्तान का यह जहाज चल दिया कलकत्ता की तरफ।
कलकत्ता में फ्रेडरिक स्मेटाचेक ने बाटा कम्पनी में नौकरी कर ली। इत्तफाक से इन्हीं दिनों अखबार में छपे एक विज्ञापन ने उनका ध्यान खींचा। कुमाऊँ की नौकुचियाताल एस्टेट बिकाऊ थी। उसका ब्रिटिश स्वामी वापस जा रहा था। मूलतः पहाड़ों को प्यार करने वाले फ्रेडरिक (सीनियर) को फिर से पहाड़ जाने का विचार जँच गया। वे कलकत्ता से नौकुचियाताल आ गए और फिर जल्दी ही उन्होंने नौकुचियाताल की संपत्ति बेचकर भीमताल की जून एस्टेट खरीद ली जो फिलहाल उनके बेटों के पास है।
नौकुचियाताल और भीमताल के इलाके में फ्रेडरिक स्मेटाचेक (सीनियर) ने प्रकृति और पर्यावरण का गहन अध्ययन किया। खासतौर पर इस इलाके में पाए जाने वाले कीट पतंगों का और तितलियों का। पर्यावरण के प्रति सजग फ्रेडरिक ने अपने बच्चों को प्राकृतिक संतुलन का मतलब समझाया और पेड़-पौधों, जानवरों, कीट-पतंगों के संसार के रहस्यों से अवगत कराया। 1945 के साल से फ्रेडरिक स्मेटाचेक (सीनियर) ने तितलियों का वैज्ञानिक संग्रह करना शुरू किया, जो अब एक विशद संग्रहालय बन चुका है। संग्रहालय के विनम्र दरवाजे पर हाफ पैंट पहने हैटधारी स्मेटाचेक (सीनियर) का फोटो लगा है।
स्मेटाचेक सीनियर के मित्रों का दायरा भी बहुत बड़ा था। विख्यात जर्मन शोधार्थी लोठार लुट्जे अक्सर अपने दोस्तों के साथ जून एस्टेट में रहने आते थे। इन दोस्तों में अज्ञेय और निर्मल वर्मा भी थे और विष्णु खरे भी। अभी कुछ दिन पहले स्मेटाचेक (जूनियर) ने मुझे सम्हाल कर रखा हुआ एक टाइप किया हुआ कागज थमाया। यह स्वयं विष्णु जी द्वारा टाइप की हुई उनकी कविता थी, 'दिल्ली में अपना घर बना लेने के बाद एक आदमी सोचता है'। शायद यह कविता वहीं फाइनल की गई थी।
अपने पिता की परम्परा को आगे बढ़ाने का काम उनके बेटों विक्टर और फ्रेडरिक स्मेटाचेक (जूनियर) ने संभाला। बड़े विक्टर अब जर्मनी में रहते हैं और अन्तर्राष्ट्रीय स्तर के भूवैज्ञानिक माने जाते हैं, अंटार्कटिका की पारिस्थितिकी के विशेषज्ञ। भारत में स्मेटाचेक परिवार के इकलौते ध्वजवाहक फ्रेडरिक स्मेटाचेक (जूनियर) थे, जो मृत्यु से पूर्व लगभग एक दशक तक पूरी तरह पूरी तरह शैयाग्रस्त रहे। लेकिन बिस्तर पर लेटे इस बेचैन शख्स के कुछ देर बैठते ही पिछले चालीसेक सालों की आश्चर्यजनक और अविश्वसनीय कथाओं का पुलिन्दा खुलने लगता था।
फ्रेडरिक स्मेटाचेक (जूनियर) के घर की बेहतरीन वास्तुकला ध्यान खींचती है। बहुत सादगी से बने दिखते इस घर के भीतर लकड़ी का बेहतरीन काम है। इसे नींव से शुरू करके मुकम्मल करने का काम खुद फ्रेडरिक ने स्थानीय मजदूर मिस्त्रियों की मदद से किया। घर की तमाम आल्मारियाँ, दरवाजे, पलंग, कुर्सियाँ सब कुछ उसने अपने हाथों से बनाए। वह गर्व से कहता था कि पूरे इलाके में उस जैसा बढ़ई कोई नहीं है। न सिर्फ बढ़ईगीरी, बल्कि बाकी तमाम क्षेत्रों में अपने पिता को वह अपना उस्ताद मानता था। अपने पिता से फ्रेडरिक ने प्रकृति को समझना और उसका आदर करना सीखा था। किस तरह कीट, पतंगों और तितलियों-चिड़ियों के आने-जाने के क्रम के भीतर प्रकृति अपने रहस्यों को प्रकट करती है और किस तरह वह अपने संतुलन को बिगाड़ने वाले मानव के खिलाफ अपना क्रोध व्यक्त करती है, यह सब फ्रेडरिक को बचपन से सिखाया गया था। उसकी पुरानी लाल जिप्सी का जिक्र आने पर वह बताता था कि गाड़ी बीस साल पुरानी है। अपने जर्मन आत्मगर्व के साथ वह यह भी बताता था कि वह न सिर्फ इलाके का सबसे बढ़िया बढ़ई है, बल्कि सबसे बड़ा उस्ताद कार मैकेनिक भी।
सत्तर के दशक में अंग्रेजी साहित्य में एम.ए. करने के बाद फ्रेडरिक ने थोड़े समय तक नैनीताल के डी. एस.बी. कॉलेज में पढ़ाया, लेकिन नौकरी उसे रास नहीं आई। उसने बंजारों का जीवन अपनाया और कुमाऊँ- गढ़वाल भर के पहाड़ों और हिमालयी क्षेत्रों की खाक छानी। सन् 1980 के आसपास से कुमाऊँ में फैलते भूमाफिया के कदमों की आहट पहचानने और सुनने वाले पहले लोगों में फ्रेडरिक था। फ्रेडरिक ही था, जिसने अपने इलाके के निवासियों के लिए राशनकार्ड जैसा मूल अधिकार सुनिश्चित कराया।
अस्सी के दशक में फ्रेडरिक अपनी ग्रामसभा का प्रधान चुना गया और पाँच सालों के कार्यकाल के बाद उसकी ग्रामसभा को जिले की आदर्श ग्रामसभा का पुरस्कार प्राप्त हुआ। इस दौरान उसने अपने क्षेत्र के हर ग्रामीण की जमीन-जायदाद को बाकायदा सरकारी दफ्तरों के दस्तावेजों में दर्ज कराया। जंगलों में लगने वाली आग से लड़ने को स्थानीय नौजवानों की टुकड़ियाँ बनाईं। दबे-कुचले लोगों को बताया कि शिक्षा को वे बतौर हथियार इस्तेमाल करें तो उनका जीवन बेहतर बन सकता है। यह समय आसन्न लुटेरों के खिलाफ लामबन्दी की तैयारी का भी था, जो तरह-तरह के मुखौटे लगाए पहाड़ों की हरियाली को तबाह करने के गुप्त रास्तों की खोज में कुत्तों की तरह सूँघते घूम रहे थे।
पूरा पहाड़ न सही, वह अपनी जून एस्टेट और आसपास के जंगलों को तो बचा ही सकता था। इसके लिए उसने कई दफा अपनी जान की परवाह भी नहीं की। जून एस्टेट में पड़ने वाली एक सरकारी जमीन को उत्तर प्रदेश की तत्कालीन भगवा सरकार ने रिसॉर्ट बनाने के वास्ते अपने एक वरिष्ठ नेता को स्थानान्तरित कर दिया। इस रिसॉर्ट के निर्माणकार्य में सैकड़ों बाँज वृक्षों को काटा जाना था। इन पेड़ों की पहरेदारी में स्मेटाचेक परिवार ने करीब आधी शताब्दी लगाई थी। भगवा राजनेता ने धन और शराब के बल पर स्थानीय बेरोजगारों का समर्थन खरीद कर निर्माण चालू कराया, लेकिन फ्रेडरिक के विरोध और लम्बी कानूनी लड़ाई के बाद न्यायालय के रास्ते निर्माण को बन्द करवाया जा सका। इस पूरे प्रकरण में कुछ साल लगे और कानून की पेचीदगियों से जूझते फ्रेडरिक को पटवारियों, क्लर्कों, पेशकारों से लेकर कमिश्नरों तक से बात करने और लड़ने का मौका मिला। उसे मालूम पड़ा कि असल लड़ाई तो प्रकृति को सरकारी फाइलों और तुगलकी नीतियों से बचाने की है। कम से कम लोगों को इस बाबत आगाह तो किया जा सकता है।
इधर 1990 के बाद से दिल्ली और बाकी महानगरों से आये बिल्डरों ने औने पौने दाम दे कर स्थानीय लोगों की जमीनें खरीदना शुरू किया। इन जमीनों पर रईसों के लिए बंगले और कॉटेजें बनाई गईं। भीमताल की पूरी पहाड़ियाँ इन भूमाफियाओं के कब्जे में हैं और एक भरपूर हरी पहाड़ी आज सीमेन्ट-कंक्रीट की बदसूरत ज्यामितीय आकृतियों से अँट चुकी है। अकेला फ्रेडरिक इन सब से निबटने को काफी नहीं था। फिर भी सन 2000 में उसने नैनीताल के उच्च न्यायालय में एक जनहित याचिका दायर की। यह याचिका पिछले दशकों में शासन की लापरवाही, प्रकृति के प्रति क्रूरता और आसन्न संकट से निबटने के लिए वांछनीय कार्यों का एक असाधारण दस्तावेज है। पाँच सालों बाद आखिरकार 2005 के शुरू में इस याचिका पर शासन ने कार्य करना शुरू कर किया। वर्ष 2000 में फ्रेडरिक ने बाकायदा भविष्यवाणी करते हुए जल निगम को चेताया था कि उचित कदमों के अभाव में जल्द ही समूचे हल्द्वानी की तीन-चार लाख की आबादी को भीमताल की झील के पानी पर निर्भर रहना पड़ेगा, क्योंकि लगातार खनन और पेड़ों के कटान ने एक समय की सदानीरा गौला नदी को एक बीमार धारा में बदल दिया था। 2005 की गर्मियों में यह बात अक्षरशः सच साबित हुई।
बहुत कम लोग जानते हैं कि फ्रेडरिक एक बढ़िया लेखक और कवि भी था। वह अंग्रेजी में लिखता था और उसका ज्यादातर लेखन व्यंग्यात्मक है। उसे शब्दों और उनसे निकलने वाली ध्वनियों से खेलने और शरारत में आनन्द आता था। 'द बैलेस्टिक बैले ऑफ ब्वाना बोन्साई बमचीक' उसका सबसे बड़ा काम है। अलबत्ता उसे अभी छपना बाकी है । इसके एक खण्ड में पेप्सी और कोकाकोला के 'युद्ध' को समाप्त करने के लिए कुछ अद्भुत सलाहें दी गई हैं। दुनिया भर के साहित्य पढ़ चुके फ्रेडरिक के प्रिय लेखकों की लिस्ट बहुत लम्बी है। वह हिमालयी पर्यावरण के विरले विशेषज्ञों में एक था। एक दशक से अधिक समय तक जून एस्टेट के पेड़ों के हक के लिए लड़ते भारतीय दफ्तरों की लालफीताशाही और खसरा-खतौनी जटिलताओं से रूबरू होते हुए वह भारतीय भू अधिनियम कानूनों का ज्ञाता भी बन गया। अपने बिस्तर पर लेटा हुआ वह एक आवाज सुनकर बता सकता था कि कौन सी चिड़िया किस पेड़ पर बैठकर वह आवाज निकाल रही है और कि वह ठीक कितने सेकेंड बाद दुबारा वही आवाज निकालेगी, जब तक कि उसका साथी नहीं आ जाता। जंगली मुर्गियों, तेंदुओं, हिरनों के पत्तों पर चलने भर की आवाज से वह उन्हें पहचान सकता था।
गाँव के बच्चों को हर मेले में जाने के लिए जेबखर्च देने वाला फ्रेडरिक, गैरी लार्सन जैसे भीषण मुश्किल कार्टूनिस्ट का प्रशंसक फ्रेडरिक, देश-विदेश के लेखक-बुद्धिजीवियों का दोस्त फ्रेडरिक, 'बटरफ्लाइ मैन' के नाम से विख्यात फ्रेडरिक, कभी कभार शराब के नशे में भीषण धुत्त सरकारी अफसरों को गालियाँ बकता फ्रेडरिक, बैसाखियों के सहारे धीमे-धीमे चलने की कोशिश करता ईमानदार ठहाके लगाता फ्रेडरिक ……… पता नहीं क्या-क्या था वह ! अफसोस कि अब वह नहीं होगा!
फोटो : साभार कबाड़खाना
संबंधित लेख....
पहाड़ के बाबत
Submitted by admin on Thu, 11/15/2007 - 18:47.पहाड़ का विचार १९७७ में आया था और इसकी विधिवत स्थापना १९८२ में हुई थी / यह हिमालय तथा पहाडों सम्बन्धी अध्ययन में लगी गैर सरकारी ,अव्यावसायिक तथा सदस्यों के सहयोग से चलने वाली संस्था है / एक प्रकार से यह हिमालय ,इसके हिस्सों या बिरा
Pahar Rajat Samaroh 4 & 5
Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 08:55.We will be organizing 4th and 5th convention in Almora and Champawat respectively to celebrate our 25 years of existence.
Please click here to download the detailed agenda of both the conventions. The information is also available on our website under "Events".
Please RSVP by contacting us via phone on any of the following numbers
Pahar Rajat Samaroh 4 - Session I: Lectures
Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 08:53.1. Kumaon University SSJ Campus, Coordinator: Prof. J.S. Rawat, Chair: Dr. Lalit Pande
Speakers:
a. Dr. LMS Palni, Director GBPIHED on CLIMATE CHANGE
b. Dr. R.S. Tolia, C.I.C. Uttarakhand on FOUR YEARS OF RTI
2. Adam's College,Coordinator:Mr.Prabhat Shah, Chair:Ms. Manorama Joshi
Speaker:Smt. Naima Khan Upreti, Director Parvatiya Kala Kendra, Delhi on CULTURAL MEMORIES OF ALMORA AND ADAMS SCHOOL
3. G.I.C., Coordinator: Dr. Shusheel Joshi, Chair: Mr. K.K. Pant
Rajat Samaroh 4 - Session II - Awards & Cultural Program
Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 08:51.Presided over by Ms. Radha Behn and Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant
1. Shri Charu Chandra Pande, Shri Sher Singh Bisht 'Anpad', Shri Shekhar Joshi, Sri Harda Surdas, Professor Dharm Pal Agrawal, Smt. Naima Khan Upreti, Dr. J.S. Mehta and Ms. Basanti Behn will be honoured for their contribution. Brief speeches by each one honoured and by Radha Didi and Justice Pant
2. Special "Selected 40" slide show by Mr. Threesh Kapoor
Pahar Rajat Samaroh 4 - Session III: Almora, Kosi Nadi Aur Aas Paas
Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 08:50.Sangosthi: Chair Mr. Indu Kumar Pande, Chief Secretary Uttarakhand
Pahar Rajat Samaroh 4 - Session IV: Vimochan of Books
Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 08:48.Chair: Justice Ravi S. Dhavan (Retd. Chief Justice Patna High Court)
1. Kuchh Meethi Yadain Kuchh Teeti (Memoirs) by Mohan Upreti
2. Lok Ka Chitera (Biography of BL Shah) by Kapilesh Bhoj
3. Ud Awega Megh Akela (Poems) by Brijendra Lal Shah
4. Shikharon Ke Swar (Selected Kumaoni Poems) by Durgesh Pant and Girish Tewari
5. Shakti Kay Teen Dashak: A Study of Nationalist Journalism by Jyoti Sah
6. Founders of Modern Administration in Uttarakhand by R.S. Tolia
7. 1791 Map of Almora Town
Pahar Rajat Samaroh 5 - Session I: Lectures
Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 08:35.1. Govt Degree College, Champawat, Co: Dr. Brijesh Oli / Dr. D.D. Joshi, Chair: Dr.
Speakers:
a. Dr. R.B.S. Rawat, PCCF Uttarakhand on CLIMATE CHANGE AND HIMALAYA
b. Dr. M.M. Kimothi , Director Space Application Centre, Uttarakhand on USE OF SPACE TECHNOLGY IN MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT
2. Govt PG College, Lohaghat, Coordinator : Mr Satish Joshi / Sachin Joshi, Chair:
Speakers: Dr. Govind Singh, Editor Amar Ujala, Delhi on JOURNALISM TODAY
Pahar Rajat Samaroh 5 - Session II: Vimochan of Books
Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 08:31.Chair: Justice Ravi S. Dhavan (Retd. Chief Justice Patna High Court)
Chief Guest: Padm Bhusan Prof. S.K Joshi
PAHAR 16-17 devoted to Pithoragarh and Champawat Districts will be released
Speakers: Dr. H.D. Bisht, Mr. B.D. Kharkawal, Prof C.S. Mathela, Mr. Prakash Pant, Mr. Pradeep Tamta, Mr. N.S. Napalchyal, Dr. Ram Singh,
Dr. Shamsher Bisht, Mr. Deven Mewari, Dr. Govind Singh
Experiences of Askot Arakot Abhiyan by Girija Pande and Neeraj Pant
Pahar Rajat Samaroh 5 - Session III: Kali Kumaon: Vision 2020
Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 08:26.Sangosthi: Chair Mr. Prakash Pant, Minister, Uttarakhand Government
Participants:
Scientists, Teachers, Social Workers, Administrators, Elected Representatives, and People. Discussion on different aspects of problems and possibilities of Champawat District and to develop a plan for action covering health, education, sports, forestry, horticulture, tourism, hydro power, programmes related with women and dalits.
Participants:
A NOTE ON GANGOTRI-KALINDIKHAL-BADRINATH STUDY TOUR
Submitted by admin on Mon, 12/01/2008 - 10:13.Anup Sah, Nainital Mountaineering Club, Nainital
Shekhar Pathak, PAHAR, Nainital
25 September 2008
Books in Hindi
Title | Author(s) | Year |
|---|---|---|
| अपने मुलुक का भूगोल | डॉ किरण त्रिपाठी | 1997 |
| उत्तराखण्ड का एतिहासिक भूगोल (६ से ११ शताब्दी) | तारा चंद्र त्रिपाठी | 1999 |
| उत्तराखण्ड काव्य | गिरीश तिवाडी 'गिर्दा' | 2002 |
Books in English
| Title | Author(s) | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Brokpas - The hidden highlanders of Bhutan | Raghubir Chand | 2004 |
| Echoes From The Hills - Poems of Gaurda | Charu Chandra Pandey | 1997 |
| Forest History of the Mountain Regions of the World | Ajay S Rawat | 2002 |
Bhimtal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bhimtal | |
| Coordinates | 29°21′00″N 79°34′00″E / 29.35°N 79.5667°E / 29.35; 79.5667 |
| Country |  India |
| State | Uttarakhand |
| District(s) | Nainital |
| Population | 5875 (2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
Bhimtal is a town and a nagar panchayat in Nainital district in the state of Uttarakhand, India situated at an altitude of 1370 meters above sea level and is about 22 kilometers from Nainital. The major attraction in Bhimtal is the Bhimtal Lake which has an island at its centre. Besides tourism, Bhimtal has also now become a mini district headquarters since most of the district administration offices have been shifted to the newly constructed Vikas Bhawan, the building complex for district administrative offices.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] History
Bhimtal is an ancient place named after Bhima of Mahabharata. Bhimeshwara Mahadev Temple, an old Shiva temple in the bank of Bhimtal lake, is believed to have been built when Bhima visited the place during the banishment (vanvas) period of Pandavas. The present temple was built in 17th century, by Baz Bahadur (1638-78 AD), a King of the Chand dynasty, and the Raja of Kumaon [1]
Bhimtal came under British rule after the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-16), when Naintal became the summer capital of the province [1].
Bhimtal is older than nearby Nainital as the city of Nainital is just 150-160 years old. But Bhimtal has been a stoppage for the travellers of the region from hills to plains or vise versa for a long time. The old pedesterial road is still in use here and this road connects nearby Kathgodam to all Kumaun region and even to Nepal and Tibet. It might have been the part of the famous ancient silk route.
[edit] Places of interest
Near the Bhimeshwar temple is a small hill known as Garg Parvat, which is the source of river Gargi, also known as Gola Nadi in the region.
About 2 km from Bhimtal is Nal Damyanti Tal, a small natural lake. It is believed that the palace of famous king Nala drowned into this lake. It is a very sacred place for the dwellers of the region.
About 5 km from Bhimtal is a hill known as Hidimba Parvat. It gets its name from demon Hidimba of Mahabharata. Vankhandi Maharaj, a monk and environmentalist lives on the hill now, and has created a sanctuary for the wild animals around the hill. The area is known as Vankhandi Ashram.
The hill of Karkotaka is supposed to be named after Karkotaka, a mythical cobra. The hill is famous for its Nag temple in the region and on every Rishi Panchami thousands of people visit the temple and worship the Nag Karkotaka Maharaj. This is one of the famous nag temples situated in Uttarakhand region.
[edit] Institutitions
There are many government and private institutions in Bhimtal which include Tassar Regional Research Center (Ministry of Textile, Govt. of India), National Cold Water Fisheries Institute, Jan Sikshan Sansthan, Birla Institute of Applied Sciences (an Institute of Higher Technical Education), Kumoun University Campus (Faculty of Management and Pharmacy) and District Institute of Teachers |Education (DITE).
Bhimtal has quite a few English medium schools. Sainik School in Ghorakhal near Bhimtal is a school where students prepare themselves to join the Indian Military. The Head of the school is a working officer from the Indian Air Force. Hermann Gmeiner School[1], Mount Alvern Convent School, Lakes International School and Central School are some other well known schools in the area.
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census,[2] Bhimtal had a population of 5875. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Bhimtal has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 81% and female literacy of 75%. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Bhimtal Temple British Library.
- ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
[edit] External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bhimtal |
- Bhimtal atNainital district Official website Bheemtal.com
- The Fisherman's Lodge atBhimtal is a high quality homely lodge
- Offical Website for Nainital - NAINITAL TOURISM: WELCOME TO THE PARADISE CITY
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Shekhar Pathak
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nationality | Indian |
|---|---|
| Occupation | historian, academic, editor |
| Website PAHAR | |
Dr. Shekhar Pathak is a Indian historian, writer and academician from Uttarakhand. He is a founder of People's Association for Himalaya Area Research (PAHAR), established in 1983, former professor of History at Kumaun University, Nainital and a Nehru Fellow at the Centre for Contemporary Studies at Teen Murti in New Delhi.[1].
He was awarded the Padma Shri by Govt. of India, in 2007.[2]
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Career
He remained professor of History at Kumaun University in Nainital for two decades [1] Once every decade, in 1974, 1984, 1994 and 2004, he has undertaken a padayatra, a trek. from Askot-Arakot [1][3].
In 2007, he took upon a three-year project to study the Himalayan people along with Magsaysay Award winner, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, traversing the Himalayas, from Leh to Arunachal Pradesh [4]. He also co-wrote with Dr Uma Bhatt, Asia ki Peeth Per (Beyond Asia's Back), a biography of Himalayan explorer, Pundit Nain Singh Rawat [5].
He has remained, the founder editor of the Annual published by People's Association for Himalaya Area Research (PAHAR), a Nainital-based a non-profit organization for research on Himalayan people, established in 1983.
At the first Asia level meeting of the WMPA (World Mountain People Association), held at Yuksom, Sikkim, from 9–11 April 2002, he was chosen as the National Coordinator of the Indian chapter of World Mountain Peoples Association, (WMPA) [6] Presently he is a research scholar at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, after he received the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship.
[edit] Works
- Kumaon Himalaya : Temptations. Gyanodaya Prakashan. 1993. ISBN 8185097267.
[edit] Awards
- 2006: Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Award (Kendriya Hindi Sansthan)
- 2007: Padma Shri (Govt. of India)
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c A man to match his mountains: Shekhar Pathak has aptly been named `Encyclopaedia of the Himalaya', so staggering is his knowledge of his region. The Hindu, August 15, 2004, retrieved May 10, 2008
- ^ Official list of Padma Shri Awardees
- ^ Askot-Arakot presentation
- ^ Padma Shri teams up with Magsaysay winner for hill recce The Telegraph, March 12, 2007.
- ^ Participants The 2008 Writers' Festival.
- ^ World Mountain Peoples Association, India chapter www.mountainpeople.org.
[edit] External links
 | This Indian academic-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
List of butterflies of India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
India has an extremely diverse terrain, climate and vegetation, which comprises extremes of heat and cold, of desert and jungle, of low lying plains and the highest mountains, of dryness and dampness, islands and continental areas, widely varying flora, and sharply marked seasons.[1] India forms a large part of the Indomalayan biogeographical zone; many of the floral and faunal forms show Malayan affinities with some taxa being unique to the Indian region. In addition, India hosts three of the world's biodiversity hotspots : the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas, and the hilly ranges bordering India and Myanmar, each having numerous endemic species.[2] Accordingly India's diverse and varied fauna include a rich heritage in butterflies and moths. Brig W. H. Evans recorded approximately 1439 species of butterfly from British India, including Ceylon and Burma.[3] After 1947, the rise of several new nations led to a reduction of the area forming part of India proper, and the number of species dropped to an estimated 1200 species.
The following is a list of the butterflies of India. The families and the numbers of species in them, 1163 of which are listed below, are likely to change due to advances in taxonomy and collection of data regarding occurrence and distribution.
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Superfamily Papilionoidea
- Papilionidae - Swallowtail Butterflies (84 species)
- Pieridae - Yellow-White Butterflies (81 species)
- Nymphalidae- Brush-Footed Butterflies (439 species)
- Danainae (26 species)
- Morphinae (20 species)
- Satyrinae (176 species)
- Limenitidinae (99 species)
- Libytheinae (3 species)
- Charaxinae (16 species)
- Calinaginae (3 species)
- Heliconiinae (27 species)
- Cyrestinae (10 species)
- Pseudergolinae (1 species)
- Biblidinae (4 species)
- Apaturinae (17 species)
- Nymphalinae(37 species)
- Lycaenidae- Blues, hairstreaks and Gossamer-Winged Butterflies (318 species)
- Riodinidae - Punches & Judies (16 species)
[edit] Superfamily Hesperioidea
- Hesperiidae - Skipper Butterflies (225 species)
- Coeliadinae (22 species)
- Pyrginae (69 species)
- Hesperiinae (133 species)
- Heteropterinae (1 species)
[edit] State-wise lists
India has 28 states and 7 union territories. The checklist of butterflies for each state can be found using the index below:
States
- Andhra Pradesh
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Assam
- Bihar
- Chhattisgarh
- Goa
- Gujarat
- Haryana
- Himachal Pradesh
- Jammu and Kashmir
- Jharkhand
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Manipur
- Meghalaya
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Orissa
- Punjab
- Rajasthan
- Sikkim
- Tamil Nadu
- Tripura
- Uttar Pradesh
- Uttarakhand
- West Bengal
Union Territories:
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Chandigarh
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli
- Daman and Diu
- Lakshadweep
- Delhi
- Puducherry
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Evans,W.H.(1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies, pp 1
- ^ http://www.teriin.org/biodiv/hotspot.htm
- ^ Evans,W.H.(1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies, pp 23
[edit] Other sources
- Beccaloni, G. W., Scoble, M. J., Robinson, G. S. & Pitkin, B. (Editors). 2003. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex). World Wide Web electronic publication. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/lepindex [accessed 6 January 2007]
- Collins, N. M. & M. G. Morris (1985) Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. IUCN. ISBN 2-88032-603-6
- Evans, W. H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India
- Gay, T., Kehimkar, I. & J. C. Punetha (1992) Common Butterflies of India. WWF-India and Oxford University Press, Mumbai, India.
- Haribal, M. (1992) Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and their Natural History. Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation, Gangtok, Sikkim, India.
- Kunte, K. (2005) Butterflies of Peninsular India. Universities Press.
- Kehimkar, I. (2008) The Book of Indian Butterflies. Bombay Natural History Society and Oxford University Press, Mumbai, India.
- Wynter-Blyth, M. A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.
- Basu Roy Arjan, Das Rudra Prasad & Mukherjee P (2007) A pictorial guide : Butterflies of Bengal Plains, Yapanchitra Books and Nature Mates, Kolkata, India.
- Viswanathan Geetha., Poornima Ramanujam & Harpreet Singh. (2000) Comparative study of biodiversity of butterflies between Bangalore and Jammu region. Indian J. of Environ. & Ecoplan. 3:599-602.
[edit] External links
- Butterflies of Meghalaya
- Oriental Nymphalidae
- Butterfly taxonomy
- Western Ghats list
- Markku Savela's pages
- Heiner Ziegler's pages
- Indian Wildlife Act and scheduled species lists
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निर्मल पांडे: कहाँ से आया कहाँ गया वो
निर्मल अब इस दुनिया में नहीं है। 18 फरवरी को वह हमें छोड़ कर चला गया। जब-जब इस बात का अहसास हो रहा है, एक कसैली सी अनुभूति के साथ एक गहरी उदासी मन में छा जाती है।
खुद वह कमबख्त एक भरपूर जिन्दगी जिया। एक मस्तमौला स्टूडैन्ट जो पढ़ाई में कम नाटक व संगीत में ज्यादा व्यस्त रहा। कॉलेज से निकलते ही दो-तीन साल सरकारी नौकरी की (बेरोजगारी नहीं झेलनी पड़ी)। फिर राष्ट्रीय नाट्य विद्यालय में चला गया। बाहर निकला तो विदेश चला गया। वापस आया तो शुरूआती फिल्म से ही ग्लैमर की बुलंदियों पर पहुँच गया। पत्र-पत्रिकाओं, रेडियो-टी.वी. पर इंटरव्यू व राह चलते लोगों को ऑटोग्राफ-फोटोग्राफ देने की दुनियां में आ गया। खुद वो 47 की उम्र में यह सोच कर दुनिया से चल दिया कि मैने सब कुछ देख लिया…..पा लिया………। मगर निर्मल की हमें, हमारे पूरे समाज को और खास तौर पर उत्तराखण्ड को बहुत जरूरत थी। उसकी विलक्षण प्रतिभा न जाने कितनों को राह दिखा सकती थी। उत्तराखण्ड में एक नाटक रैपर्टरी की स्थापना का उसका सपना था। अगर वह सपना सच हो जाता तो उसकी अपार क्षमता से उत्तराखण्ड लाभ उठाता। मगर वह चल दिया। एकदम अचानक! ……….वैसे उसने कई काम अचानक ही किये।
श्रीमती रेबा व श्री हरीश चन्द्र पांडे के मध्यवर्गीय परिवार मे जन्मा निर्मल 1983 में डी.आर.डी.ए. में बाबू बन गया। नौकरी के ऐसे तंत्र में वह आया, जहाँ घुस कर न जाने कितनी प्रतिभाएँ समाप्त हो जाती हैं। मगर उसे आगे जाना था। सो 1986 में एक दिन अचानक वह नौकरी से इस्तीफा देकर एन.एस.डी. में अभिनय सीखने चला गया।
उसका नेशनल स्कूल ऑफ ड्रामा में जाना एक पंछी को खुला आकाश मिलने जैसा था। निर्मल वहाँ से एक तराशे गये हीरे की तरह बाहर आया। यहाँ देश के रंगकर्म की नामचीन हस्तियों, बी.एम शाह, ब.व. कारंत, भानु भारती, प्रसन्ना, सुधा शिवपुरी, रोबिन दास, के.एम पनिक्कर, रतन थियम व विश्व के जाने माने निर्देशकों, जैसे जॉन क्लार्क, फ्रिट्ज बैनेविट्ज व मैगसुई जैसों के साथ काम कर उसे वह शिक्षा मिली जिसने उसके अन्दर मौजूद असीम ऊर्जा को रास्ता दिखा किया।
राष्ट्रीय नाट्य विद्यालय में अध्ययन के दौरान वह छुट्टियों में नैनीताल में अपनी मातृ संस्था 'युगमंच' के साथ लगभग एक नाटक जरूर करता। सराय की मालकिन, अनारो, अजुवा बफौल उसके कुछ अविस्मरणीय नाटक हैं। पढ़ाई पूरी करने के बाद उसने उत्तराखण्ड के लोक संगीत पर एन.एस.डी. से मिले एक प्रोजेक्ट के तहत काम किया। इसी बीच उसे टीवी सीरियल व फिल्मों में छोटे बड़े रोल मिलने लगे। मणि कौल की फिल्म 'ईडियट' में इसी दौरान काम किया। मगर तभी पता चला कि वह इंग्लैड जा रहा है। वहाँ के नामी गिरामी थियेटर ग्रुप 'तारा आर्ट्स' में उसका चयन हो गया। इसके निर्देशक जयंत वर्मा ने करीब सौ आवेदकों से सिर्फ दो को चुना था। लंदन में उसने हीर रांझा, मिट्टी की गाड़ी (लिटिल क्ले कार्ट) व शेक्सपियर के एक नाटक में काम किया।
निर्मल में थियेटर का एक गजब का टेलेंट था। वह एक अच्छा एक्टर, अच्छा डाइरेक्टर, अच्छा गायक व अच्छा संगीत निर्देशक था। जिन लोगों ने उसके नाटकों को देखा है, वे जानते हैं कि संगीत उसके नाटकों का एक महत्वपूर्ण हिस्सा होता था या कहें इसकी जान होता था। लेकिन जिन लोगों ने उसके नाटकों मे काम किया है, वे जानते हैं कि वो संगीत कैसे मजे-मजे में तैयार करता था। किस कलाकार से क्या निकलवाना है, इसकी बड़ी तीक्ष्ण समझ उसमें थी। मुझे याद है, उसके नाटक अजुवा बफौल के दिल्ली प्रदर्शन को प्रख्यात नाट्य समीक्षकों, कविता नागपाल व दीवान सिंह बजेली ने आड़े हाथों लिया, मगर वे भी इसके संगीत के मुरीद हुए बगैर नहीं रह सके। उसकी यही अदभुत नाट्य प्रतिभा थी कि उसके द्वारा निर्देशित युगमंच के नाटक 'जिन लाहौर नहिं देख्या' की लोकप्रियता आज 16 वर्ष बाद भी बनी हुई है। कुछ वर्ष पहले जब उसने अपनी मुम्बई की नाट्य संस्था से नाटक 'अंधायुग' का मंचन किया तो फिल्मी दुनिया के महानायक अमिताभ बच्चन ने भी इसकी बहुत तारीफ की और जब यह नाटक राष्ट्रीय नाट्य विद्यालय के 'भारत रंग महोत्सव' में किया गया तो 'इंडिया टुडे' ने इसे समारोह का दूसरा सर्वश्रेष्ठ नाटक बताया।
संभवतः थियेटर की दुनिया ही उसे बुलंदियों तक ले जाने के लिए पर्याप्त थी, मगर उसे फिल्मी दुनिया की सृजनात्मकता व ग्लैमर भी इसी उम्र में देखना था। शेखर कपूर की फिल्म 'बैडिंट क्वीन' के हिट होते ही वह स्टार बन गया और बकौल मनोज वाजपेयी वह एक हवा के झोंके की तरह आया और मुम्बई ने उसे सिर आँखों पर बैठा लिया। वह एक ऐसा दौर था कि जब भी हम टी.वी. खोलते तो किसी न किसी चैनल में उसके बारे में कुछ न कुछ आ रहा होता या वह हमसे खुद टी.वी. के माध्यम से रू ब रू होता। पत्र-पत्रिकाओं में उसके बारे में छपता रहता। इसी दौरान उसने 'औजार', 'शिकारी', 'हम तुम पै मरते हैं', 'वन टू का फोर', 'इस रात की सुबह नही', 'जहाँ तुम ले चलो', 'हद कर दी आपने' जैसी अनेक फिल्मों में फिल्म जगत की ऊँची हस्तियों के साथ काम कर बॉलीवुड की दाँवपेंच भरी दुनिया में बगैर किसीगॉड फादर के छा जाने की कोशिश की। 'औजार' में उसके सशक्त अभिनय के बारे में कहा जाता है कि सलमान खान के भाई व फिल्म के निर्देशक सुहेल खान को उसके कई शॉट काटने पर मजबूर कर दिया, क्योंकि डर था कि कहीं उसका अभिनय सलमान खान के किरदार को फीका न कर दे। वहीं दूसरी तरफ उसने लीक से हट कर बनने वाली फिल्मों, जैसे 'ट्रेन टु पाकिस्तान', 'दायरा' व 'गॉडमदर' जैसी फिल्मों के माध्यम से उसने चुनौतीपूर्ण रोल किये व अपनी एक अलग पहचान बनानी चाही। उसके स्टार बनने के पहले तीन सालों तक हर साल उसकी कोई न कोई फिल्म फिल्म महोत्सवों में जाती रहीं। 'दायरा' के रोल के लिये फ्रांस में सर्वश्रेष्ठ अभिनेत्री का पुरस्कार मिलना उसकी अनोखी उपलब्धि थी। ऊँर्चाइंयों के इस सफर के दौरान 'टाइम्स म्यूजिक' ने उसकी अपनी आवाज में एक एलबम 'जज्बा' रिलीज किया।
उसे संगीत नाटक व अभिनय की दुनिया में रस मिलता था। बाँकी सभी चीजें उसके लिए दोयम दर्जे की थीं। उसके रंगकर्म के लगाव को याद करते हुए युगमंच के वरिष्ठ साथी जितेन्द्र बिष्ट कहते हैं कि रिहर्सल के दौरान उसकी सख्ती व अनुशासन बेहद कड़क होता था। किसी की क्या मजाल कि वह फूहड़पन दिखाये या रिहर्सल के लिये आने में
दस मिनट भी लेट हो जाये। मगर जैसे ही रिहर्सल खत्म होती, वह उसी पुराने रूप में आ जाता। सीधा-सादा बच्चों सी सरलता वाला निर्मल। बतौर निर्देशक जब वह कास्ट सैलेक्सन करता तो हमें लगता कि फलाँ पात्र के चुनाव करने में इसने गलती कर दी। मगर निर्मल के साथ आकर वह व्यक्ति भी अपने किरदार को बखूबी निभाने लगता। ऐसा लगता था कि मानो लोहे को पारस से छुआ दिया गया।
उसे अपनी टीम से बेहद प्यार होता था। किसी को अपमानित वह कभी नहीं करता था। अगर किसी को रिहर्सल के दौरान कड़क डाँट पिलाता तो बाहर आते ही उसके गले मे हाथ डालकर कहता भाई तुझे डाँटा, बुरा तो नहीं लगा तुझे। अपनी लोकप्रियता के शिखर पर जब वह था और बच्चों को ऑटोग्राफ दे रहा था तो एक बच्चा, जिसके हाथ मे चोट
लगी थी, को सहलाते हुए बोला बेटा चोट कैसे लगी। वह पूरी तरह मानवीय था। कोई बच्वा जब अपने फलाँ के बेटे/भतीजे होने का संदर्भ देता तो वह उसके पिता/चाचा के हालचाल पूछने लगता। उसकी सादगी एक भ्रम पैदा करती, क्या यह वाकई यह एक इतनी ऊँचाई पर बैठा कलाकार है।
मनोज वाजपेयी, जो फिल्मी दुनिया का जाना माना कलाकार है, निर्मल के साथ ही एन.एस.डी. में था। उसने निर्मल के बारे में अपने ब्लॉग मे लिखा है, ''वह नैनीताल के पहाड़ से आया था और मुंबई में भी पहाड़ ढूँढता रहा। ये शहर की मारधाड़, काटाकाटी उसे पसंद नहीं आती थी।'' संभवतः इसी कारण से वह फिल्मी दुनिया की कृत्रिमता, झूठ, कुछ होने और कुछ दिखाने की जद्दोजहद से दूर रहा और इसकी कीमत भी उसे चुकानी पड़ी।
1994 की बात है। एक दिन वह और मैं घूमते हुए नैनीताल के लैंड्स एण्ड की तरफ चले गये। थोड़ी देर में बड़ी तेज बारिश शुरू हो गयी। हम पास के एक टिन शैड, जो एक दुकान भी थी, की तरफ भागे। दुकानदार ने हमें अंदर नहीं आने दिया। हम बस सिर छुपाने लायक जगह में खड़े रहे। बारिश तेज होती गयी। हमने दुकानदार से चाय बनवायी, कुछ खाया भी मगर उसने हमें कोई तरजीह नहीं दी। हमें भीतर नहीं बुलाया। जब निर्मल का ध्यान कहीं और लगा था, तो मैंने दुकानदार से कहा, जानते हो यह कौन है ? अभी-अभी यह मशहूर निर्देशक शेखर कपूर की फिल्म में हीरो का रोल करके आया है (बैंडिट क्वीन तब तक रिलीज नहीं हुई थी)। उस खूसट दुकानदार पर इसका कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ा। उल्टा उसने मुझे ऐसे भाव से देखा, मानो कह रहा हो हुँह, मुझे बेवकूफ समझा है ? ऐसे होते हैं हीरो, ? अरे उनका तो एक रौब होता है…….. खास अंदाज होता है……..नक्शेबाजी होती है।
जो लोग निर्मल को उसके फिल्मी जीवन के उतार-चढ़ाव, सफलता या असफलता को मापना चाहते हैं, वे लोग मुझे उस खूसट दुकानदार की तरह नजर आते हैं जो हमें लैण्डस एण्ड में मिला था। अगर मुम्बई की दुनिया निर्मल को एक धूर्त, तिकड़मी, रौबदाब और नक्शेबाजी वाला हीरो बना देती तो तमाम सफलता के बावजूद वह उसके जानने वालों के लिए कब का मर चुका होता। वह अपने चाहने वालों, जानने वालों के बीच जिन्दा है और जिन्दा रहेगा तो सिर्फ इसलिए, क्योंकि अपार प्रतिभा के बावजूद वह एक भला आदमी था। एक जिन्दादिल इंसान। भले ही वह अपने समय की सर्वोच्च हस्तियों के बीच जा पहुँचा था, पर जब हम उससे मिलते तो वह हमें एक सीधा सरल पहाड़ी भाई लगता। अपनी आत्मा को मार कर बनावटी जिन्दगी जीने वाला हीरो नहीं।
47 साल की उम्र में ही वह इतनी यादें छोड़ गया है कि उसे भुलाना नामुमकिन है। वैसे तो बिना वजह कोई 100 साल जी कर भी क्या कर लेता है। मगर हम जानते हैं कि अगर उसे दीर्घ जीवन मिलता तो वह समाज को बहुत कुछ दे सकता था। उसके जीवन वृत्त पर नजर डालें, तो किसी फिल्म का एक संवाद कानों में गूँजता है- दोस्त कि जिन्दगी बड़ी होनी चाहिये लंबी नहीं। उसकी सादगी पर यही कह सकते हैं-
मंजर इक बुलंदी पर,
और हम बना सकते,
अर्श से इधर होता
काश के मकाँ अपना।
संबंधित लेख....
मेरा पहाड़
- गौरा देवी : चिपको आन्दोलन की जननी
- कबूतरी देवी : उत्तराखण्ड की पहली लोक गायिका
- भिटौली – उत्तराखण्ड में महिलाओं को समर्पित एक विशिष्ट परम्परा
- फूलदेई : उत्तराखण्ड का एक लोक त्यौहार
- सल्ट क्रांति- स्वाधीनता आन्दोलन का एक अविस्मरणीय अध्याय (भाग-२)
- सल्ट क्रांति- स्वाधीनता आन्दोलन का एक अविस्मरणीय अध्याय
- बिश्नी देवी शाह- उत्तराखण्ड की स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानी महिला
- राग और रंग का अनूठा संगम : कुमाऊं की बैठकी होली
- निर्मल पाण्डे का असमायिक निधन
- तुलसी देवी : उत्तराखण्ड की उद्यमशील और समाजसेवी महिला
Apna Uttarakhand
- रोग पुराणु कटे ज़िन्दगी नई ह्वैगे, तेरु मुल – मुल हैंसुणु दवाई ह्वैगे
- द्वी दिन की हौरि छ अब खैरि- मुट्ट बोटीकि रख
- आवा दिदा भुलौं आवा, नांग धारति की ढकावा , डाळि बनबनी लगावा
- रंग-रंगिलि बहार ऐगे होरी की
- मैं नि करदु त्वैं से ते बात, बोल चिट्ठी किले नि भैजि
- ठण्डो रे ठण्डो, मेरा पहाड़ै की हव्वा ठण्डी – पाणि ठण्डो
- कैसे बचें तनाव से ?
- मन क्यों परेशान है इस शहर में
- भलु लगुदु भनुलि तेरु माठु-माठु हिटणु हेss भलु लगुदु
- नैनीताल और हिन्दी फिलमवाले
Geology of the Himalaya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The geology of the Himalaya is a record of the most dramatic and visible creations of modern plate tectonic forces. The Himalayas, which stretch over 2400 km between the Namche Barwa syntaxis in Tibet and the Nanga Parbat syntaxis in Pakistan, are the result of an ongoing orogeny — the result of a collision between two continental tectonic plates. This immense mountain range was formed by huge tectonic forces and sculpted by unceasing denudation processes of weathering and erosion. The Himalaya-Tibet region is virtually the water tower of Asia: it supplies freshwater for more than one-fifth of the world population, and it accounts for a quarter of the global sedimentary budget. Topographically, the belt has many superlatives: the highest rate of uplift (nearly 10 mm/year at Nanga Parbat), the highest relief (8848 m at Mt. Everest Chomolangma), among the highest erosion rates at 2–12 mm/yr[1], the source of some of the greatest rivers and the highest concentration of glaciers outside of the polar regions. This last feature earned the Himalaya its name, originating from the Sanskrit for "the abode of the snow".
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[edit] The making of the Himalaya
During Late Precambrian and the Palaeozoic, the Indian sub-continent, bounded to the north by the Cimmerian Superterranes, was part of Gondwana and was separated from Eurasia by the Paleo-Tethys Ocean (Fig. 1). During that period, the northern part of India was affected by a late phase of the so-called "Cambro-Ordovician Pan-African event", which is marked by an unconformity between Ordovician continental conglomerates and the underlying Cambrian marine sediments. Numerous granitic intrusions dated at around 500 Ma are also attributed to this event.
In the Early Carboniferous, an early stage of rifting developed between the Indian continent and the Cimmerian Superterranes. During the Early Permian, this rift developed into the Neotethys ocean (Fig. 2). From that time on, the Cimmerian Superterranes drifted away from Gondwana towards the north. Nowadays, Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet are partly made up of these terranes.
In the Norian (210 Ma), a major rifting episode split Gondwana in two parts. The Indian continent became part of East Gondwana, together with Australia and Antarctica. However, the separation of East and West Gondwana, together with the formation of oceanic crust, occurred later, in the Callovian (160-155 Ma). The Indian plate then broke off from Australia and Antarctica in the Early Cretaceous (130 - 125 Ma) with the opening of the "South Indian Ocean" (Fig. 3).
In the Upper Cretaceous (84 Ma), the Indian plate began its very rapid northward drift covering a distance of about 6000 km[citation needed], with the oceanic-oceanic subduction continuing until the final closure of the oceanic basin and the obduction of oceanic ophiolite onto India and the beginning of continent-continent tectonic interaction starting at about 65 Ma in the Central Himalaya[2]. The change of the relative speed between the Indian and Asian plates from very fast 18-19.5 cm/yr to fast 4.5 cm/yr at about 55 Ma[3] is circumstantial support for collision then. Since then there has been about 2500 km[4] [5] [6] [7] of crustal shortening and rotating of India by 45° counterclockwise in Northwestern Himalaya [8] to 10°-15° counterclockwise in North Central Nepal[9] relative to Asia (Fig. 4).
While most of the oceanic crust was "simply" subducted below the Tibetan block during the northward motion of India, at least three major mechanisms have been put forward, either separately or jointly, to explain what happened, since collision, to the 2500 km of "missing continental crust". The first mechanism also calls upon the subduction of the Indian continental crust below Tibet. Second is the extrusion or escape tectonics mechanism (Molnar and Tapponier, 1975) which sees the Indian plate as an indenter that squeezed the Indochina block out of its way. The third proposed mechanism is that a large part (~1000 km (Dewey et al. 1989) or ~800 to ~1200 km[10]) of the 2500 km of crustal shortening was accommodated by thrusting and folding of the sediments of the passive Indian margin together with the deformation of the Tibetan crust.
Even though it is more than reasonable to argue that this huge amount of crustal shortening most probably results from a combination of these three mechanisms, it is nevertheless the last mechanism which created the high topographic relief of the Himalaya.
[edit] Major tectonic subdivisions of the Himalaya
One of the most striking aspects of the Himalayan orogen is the lateral continuity of its major tectonic elements. The Himalaya is classically divided into four tectonic units that can be followed for more than 2400 km along the belt (Fig. 5 and Fig. 7)[note 1].
- The Subhimalaya forms the foothills of the Himalayan Range and is essentially composed of Miocene to Pleistocene molassic sediments derived from the erosion of the Himalaya. These molasse deposits, known as the Muree and Siwaliks Formations, are internally folded and imbricated. The Subhimalaya is thrust along the Main Frontal Thrust over the Quaternary alluvium deposited by the rivers coming from the Himalaya (Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra and others), which demonstrates that the Himalaya is still a very active orogen.
- The Lesser Himalaya (LH) is mainly formed by Upper Proterozoic to lower Cambrian detrital sediments from the passive Indian margin intercalated with some granites and acid volcanics (1840± 70 Ma[11]). These sediments are thrust over the Subhimalaya along the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT). The Lesser Himalaya often appears in tectonic windows (Kishtwar or Larji-Kulu-Rampur windows) within the High Himalaya Crystalline Sequence.
- The Central Himalayan Domain, (CHD) or High Himalaya, forms the backbone of the Himalayan orogen and encompasses the areas with the highest topographic relief. It is commonly separated into four zones.
- The High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence, HHCS (approximately 30 different names exist in the literature to describe this unit; the most frequently found equivalents are Greater Himalayan Sequence, Tibetan Slab and High Himalayan Crystalline) is a 30-km-thick, medium- to high-grade metamorphic sequence of metasedimentary rocks which are intruded in many places by granites of Ordovician (~ 500 Ma) and early Miocene (~ 22 Ma) age. Although most of the metasediments forming the HHCS are of late Proterozoic to early Cambrian age, much younger metasediments can also be found in several areas (Mesozoic in the Tandi syncline and Warwan region, Permian in the Tschuldo slice, Ordovician to Carboniferous in the Sarchu Area). It is now generally accepted that the metasediments of the HHCS represent the metamorphic equivalents of the sedimentary series forming the base of the overlying Tethys Himalaya. The HHCS forms a major nappe which is thrust over the Lesser Himalaya along the Main Central Thrust (MCT).
- The Tethys Himalaya (TH) is an approximately 100-km-wide synclinorium formed by strongly folded and imbricated, weakly metamorphosed sedimentary series. Several nappes, termed North Himalayan Nappes[12] have also been described within this unit. An almost complete stratigraphic record ranging from the Upper Proterozoic to the Eocene is preserved within the sediments of the TH. Stratigraphic analysis of these sediments yields important indications on the geological history of the northern continental margin of the Indian continent from its Gondwanian evolution to its continental collision with Eurasia. The transition between the generally low-grade sediments of the Tethys Himalaya and the underlying low- to high-grade rocks of the High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence is usually progressive. But in many places along the Himalayan belt, this transition zone is marked by a major structure, the Central Himalayan Detachment System (also known as South Tibetan Detachment System or North Himalayan Normal Fault) which has indicators of both extension and compression (see 'ongoing geologic studies section below).
- The Nyimaling-Tso Morari Metamorphic Dome, NTMD: In the Ladakh region, the Tethys Himalaya synclinorium passes gradually to the north in a large dome of greenschist to eclogitic metamorphic rocks. As with the HHCS, these metamorphic rocks represent the metamorphic equivalent of the sediments forming the base of the Tethys Himalaya. The Precambrian Phe Formation is also here intruded by several Ordovician (~480 Ma[13]) granites.
- The Lamayuru and Markha Units (LMU) are formed by flyschs and olistholiths deposited in a turbiditic environment, on the northern part of the Indian continental slope and in the adjoining Neotethys basin. The age of these sediments ranges from Late Permian to Eocene.
- The Indus Suture Zone (ISZ) (or Indus-Yarlung-Tsangpo Suture Zone) defines the zone of collision between the Indian Plate and the Ladakh Batholith (also Transhimalaya or Karakoram-Lhasa Block) to the north. This suture zone is formed by:
- the Ophiolite Mélanges, which are composed of an intercalation of flysch and ophiolites from the Neotethys oceanic crust
- the Dras Volcanics, which are relicts of a Late Cretaceous to Late Jurassic volcanic island arc and consist of basalts, dacites, volcanoclastites, pillow lavas and minor radiolarian cherts
- the Indus Molasse, which is a continental clastic sequence (with rare interbeds of marine saltwater sediments) comprising alluvial fan, braided stream and fluvio-lacustrine sediments derived mainly from the Ladakh batholith but also from the suture zone itself and the Tethyan Himalaya. These molasses are post-collisional and thus Eocene to post-Eocene.
- The Indus Suture Zone represents the northern limit of the Himalaya. Further to the North is the so-called Transhimalaya, or more locally Ladakh Batholith, which corresponds essentially to an active margin of Andean type. Widespread volcanism in this volcanic arc was caused by the melting of the mantle at the base of the Tibetan bloc, triggered by the dehydration of the subducting Indian oceanic crust.
[edit] See also
Localized geology and geomorphology topics for various parts of the Himalaya are discussed on other pages:
- Indus River - the erosion at Nanga Parbat is causing rapid uplifting of lower crustal rocks
- Mount Everest
- Sutlej River - similar small scale erosion to the Indus
- Tibetan Plateau to the North (also discussed in Geography of Tibet)
- Himalayas main page
[edit] Notes
- ^ The fourfold division of Himalayan units has been used since the work of Blanford and Medlicott (1879) and Heim and Gansser (1939).
[edit] References
- ^ Burbank, Douglas W.; Leland, John; Fielding, Eric; Anderson, Robert S.; Brozovic, Nicholas; Reid, Mary R.; and Duncan, Christopher (8 February 1996). "Bedrock incision, rock uplift and threshold hillslopes in the northwestern Himalayas". Nature 379: 505–510. doi:10.1038/379505a0.
- ^ Ding, Lin; Kapp, Paul; Wan, Xiaoqiao (6 May 2005). "Paleocene-Eocene record of ophiolite obduction and initial India-Asia collision, south central Tibet". Tectonics 24. doi:10.1029/2004TC001729.
- ^ Klootwijk, Chris T.; Gee, Jeff S.; Peirce, John W.; Smith, Guy M.; McFadden, Phil L. (May 1992). Geology (Geological Society of America) 20 (5): 395–398. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0395:AEIACP>2.3.CO;2.
- ^ Achache, José; Courtillot, Vincent; Xiu, Zhou Yao (1984). "Paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of southern Tibet since Middle Cretaceous time: New paleomagnetic data and synthesis". Journal of Geophysical Research 89 (B12): 10311–10340. doi:10.1029/JB089iB12p10311.
- ^ Patriat, Philippe; Achache, José (18 October 1984). "India−Eurasia collision chronology has implications for crustal shortening and driving mechanism of plates". Nature 311: 615–621. doi:10.1038/311615a0.
- ^ Besse, J.; Courtillot, V.; Pozzi, J.P.; Westphal, M.; and Zhou, Y. X. (18 October 1984). "Palaeomagnetic estimates of crustal shortening in the Himalayan thrusts and Zangbo suture". Nature 311: 621–626. doi:10.1038/311621a0.
- ^ Besse, Jean; Courtillot, Vincent (10 October 1988). "Paleogeographic maps of the continents bordering the Indian Ocean since the Early Jurassic". Journal of Geophysical Research 93 (B10): 11791–11808. doi:10.1029/JB093iB10p11791. ISSN 0148-0227.
- ^ Klootwijk, C.T.; Conaghan, P.J.; Powell, C.McA.. (October 1985). "The Himalayan Arc: large-scale continental subduction, oroclinal bending and back-arc spreading". Earth and Planetary Science Letters 75 (2-3): 167–183. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(85)90099-8.
- ^ Bingham, Douglas K.; Klootwijk, Chris T. (27 March 1980). "Palaeomagnetic constraints on Greater India's underthrusting of the Tibetan Plateau". Nature 284: 336–338. doi:10.1038/284336a0.
- ^ Le Pichon, Xavier; Fournier, Marc; Jolivet, Laurent (1992). "Kinematics, topography, shortening, and extrusion in the India-Eurasia collision". Tectonics 11 (6): 1085–1098. doi:10.1029/92TC01566.
- ^ Frank, W.; Gansser, A.; Trommsdorff, V. (1977). "Geological observations in the Ladakh area (Himalayas); a preliminary report". Schweizerische Mineralogische und Petrographische Mitteilungen Bulletin 57 (1): 89–113.
- ^ Steck, A.; Spring, L.; Vannay, J.-C.; Masson, H.; Stutz, E.; Bucher, H.; Marchant, R.; Tièche, J.C. (1993). "Geological Transect Across the Northwestern Himalaya in eastern Ladakh and Lahul (A Model for the Continental Collision of India and Asia)". Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae 86 (1): 219–263.
- ^ Girard, M.; Bussy, F. (1998). "Late Pan-African magmatism in Himalaya: new geochronological and geochemical data from the Ordovician Tso Morari metagranites (Ladakh, NW India)". Schweizerische Mineralogische und Petrographische Mitteilungen Bulletin 79: 399–418.
[edit] Bibliography
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009) |
- Besse J., Courtillot V., Pozzi J.P., Westphal M., Zhou Y.X., (1984): Palaeomagnetic estimates of crustal shortening in the Himalayan thrusts and Zangbo Suture.: Nature (London), v. 311, p. 621-626.
- Blanford W.T., Medlicott H.B., (1879): A manual of the geology of India: Calcutta.
- Brookfield M.E., (1993): The Himalaya passive margin from Precambrian to Cretaceous times: Sedimentary Geology, v. 84, p. 1-35.
- Dewey, J.F. (1988). "Extensional collapse of orogens". Tectonics 7 (6): 1123–1139. doi:10.1029/TC007i006p01123.
- Dewey J.F., Cande S., Pitman III W.C., (1989): Tectonic evolution of the Indian/Eurasia Collision Zone: Eclogae geologicae Helvetiae, v. 82, no. 3, p. 717-734.
- Dèzes, p. (1999): Tectonic and metamorphic Evolution of the Central Himalayan Domain in Southeast Zanskar (Kashmir, India). Mémoires de Géologie (Lausanne) No. 32.
- Heim A., Gansser A., (1939): Central Himalaya; geological observations of the Swiss expedition 1936.: Schweizer. Naturf. Ges., Denksch., v. 73, no. 1, p. 245.
- Molnar P., Tapponnier P., (1975): Cenozoic tectonics of Asia; effects of a continental collision.: Science, v. 189, p. 419-426.
- Patriat P., Achache J., (1984): India-Eurasia collision chronology has implications for crustal shortening and driving mechanism of plates.: Nature, v. 311, p. 615-621.
- Ricou L.M., (1994): Tethys reconstructed: plates, continental fragments and their Boundaries since 260 Ma from Central America to South-eastern Asia: Geodinamica Acta, v. 7, no. 4, p. 169-218.
- Stampfli, G.M.; Borel, G.D. (February 28, 2002). "A plate tectonic model for the Paleozoic and Mesozoic constrained by dynamic plate boundaries and restored synthetic oceanic isochrons". Earth and Planetary Science Letters 196 (1): 17–33. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(01)00588-X.
- Stampfli G.M., Mosar J., Favre P., Pillevuit A., Vannay J.-C., (1998): Permo-Triassic evolution of the westernTethyan realm: the Neotethys/east-Mediterranean basin connection: Peri Thetys, v. 3.
- Steck A., Spring L., Vannay J.-C., Masson H., Stutz E., Bucher H., Marchant R., Tièche J.C., (1993): Geological Transect Across the Northwestern Himalaya in eastern Ladakh and Lahul (A Model for the Continental Collision of India and Asia): Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae, v. 86, no. 1, p. 219-263.
- Steck, A.; Spring, L.; Vannay, J.C.; Masson, H.; Bucher, H.; Stutz, E.; Marchant, R.; Tieche, J.C. (1993). Treloar, P. J.; Searle, M. P.. ed. "The tectonic evolution of the northwestern Himalaya in eastern Ladakh and Lahul, India, in Himalayan Tectonics". Geological Society, London, Special Publications (London: Geological Society of London) 74: 265–276.. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1993.074.01.19. ISSN 0305-8719.
- Yin, An (May 2006). "Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Himalayan orogen as constrained by along-strike variation of structural geometry, exhumation history, and foreland sedimentation". Earth-Science Reviews 76 (1-2): 1–131. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.05.004. ISSN 0012-8252.
[edit] External links
- "Tectonic and Metamorphic Evolution of the Central Himalayan Domain in Southeast Zanskar" (Kashmir, India). PhD Thesis By Pierre Dèzes
- "Geochronologic and Thermobarometric Constraints on the Evolution of the Main Central Thrust, Himalayan Orogen". PhD Thesis By Elizabeth Jacqueline Catlos
- "Geology and Petrographic study of the area from Chiraundi Khola to Thulo Khola, Dhading/Nawakot district, central Nepal". MS Thesis By Gyanendra Gurung
- Granitoids of the Himalayan Collisional Belt. Special Edition of "The Journal of the Virtual Explorer"
- Reconstruction of the evolution of the Alpine-Himalayan orogeny. Special Edition of "The Journal of the Virtual Explorer"
- "Geology of Nepal for Engineer"
- Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun,India, main page
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