Village Vibe celebrates the art, culture and festivals of India’s village life. Urbanites aren’t the only ones who become social media stars, produce stunning art, enjoy food fads or follow fitness crazes. And as for festivals, there’s a totally different vibe in the villages.
Village Vibe
A Himalayan baithak of folk music & qawwali
The ‘baithak’, or an intimate setting in which musical performances took place, is slowly fading. The Amarrass Society for Performing Arts, in partnership with Village Square, is reviving this tradition by hosting a baithak of folk music and qawwali in the beautiful hills of Uttarakhand.
Majestic mountain escapes beyond the Indian Himalayas
December 11 is International Mountain Day, and we’re giving you the lowdown on mountain destinations outside Himalayan country. So if you’re heading for the hills anytime soon, check out these high-altitude spots in the lesser-known ranges of India.
I am not the guardian of Uttarakhand’s folk traditions
Sarvjeet Tamta, a self-taught qawwali singer and harmonium virtuoso from Almora, delves into his love for the folk music of his state, his journey with his band Himali Mou and their alter ego Rehmat-e-Nusrat, playing to packed houses across the globe today and his dalit background.
He’s saving Tripura’s puppetry tradition, no strings attached!
Prabhitangshu Das, who heads the Tripura Puppet Theatre Group, is at the forefront of preserving the craft in his state. From making children smarter to creating social change, there’s much to be gained from puppetry, he believes.
The river Spiti: a glacial waterbody of the upper Himalayas
Village Square journeys along the river Spiti, in Himachal’s Lahaul and Spiti district, and discovers that though most settlements in the region have sprung up around it, the river itself serves little practical purpose to inhabitants.
Punjab’s hockey villages dribble past lost touch for Paris Olympics bronze
The villages of Sansarpur, Mithapur, and Khusropur in Punjab, once renowned for producing Olympic hockey players, are reviving their legacy after decades of decline due to various reasons, including drug abuse in the region.
Bringing Sufi saints of Bihar from history’s footnotes to its pages
Syed Amjad Hussain, a 19-year-old author of two books on Bihar’s lost love of Urdu, is documenting 50 Sufi saints from the 12th century to contemporary times to correct misconceptions about Sufism.
Karitchi, no longer a forgotten condiment of Garo cuisine
Entrepreneur Dharmen Momin from Meghalaya is reviving the traditional Garo practice of making karitchi, a local alkaline liquid that was once central to their cuisine but lost to cheap, store-bought sodium carbonate.
Ogla, the blushing buckwheat blossom
Buckwheat, aka ogla, is mostly known for its grain-like seeds used in cooking. But take a look at its flower! When ogla fields blossom in one of the few places it grows in India, the whole Sangla Valley in Himachal Pradesh blushes pink.