Here are a few pictures from Mussoorie. Mostly I'm busy studying Hindi and preparing for field work, however I've taken time on the weekends to explore.
In addition to walking on the roads, which don't have much traffic, there are trails leading down into the villages lower down on the hills. The trails are remarkably well maintained, and as one goes down, and weaves between different slopes, one encounters different habitats. This chir pine-oak grassland reminds me of the ponderosa pine forests of the inter-mountain west.
Although I rarely encounter other people, the trails are quite well-maintained, and favor switchbacks over steep Vermont-style staircases, perhaps because of the frequent use of these pack mules, which seem to mostly carry milk up from the villages, and dry goods back down.
It is good that there are switchbacks, because these mountains are steep, and agriculture relies on extensive terracing.
Langurs are big (30-40 lb) acrobatic monkeys which are primarily vegetarian. Although they don't come into your house, they do like to eat gardens - they ate all the leaves off my landlord's plum tree, and also uprooted all of his carrots.
The rhesus macaques are much more aggressive, and will come into your house to steal bananas. They are smaller, and more of an urban than agricultural pest.
When it is really clear, you can see endless mountain ranges, and to the north, very distant snowcapped peaks.
As is so common in India, there is an eccentric mixture of high modern and traditional technology. I was amused by the roof of this building - part traditional slate, part modern tin, part modern cement, complete with a tv satellite!
These kids were out in their yard feeding their buffalo & cows when I walked by. The oldest girl (on the right as you look at the picture) started a conversation with me. I tried out my still very hesitant Hindi, while she spoke confidently in fairly fluent English - impressive, since she is only enrolled in a local village school (8th grade). Public schools have poor reputations here, but this girl was excited about her classes, and if nothing else, has at least learned alot of English.
They were excited to show me their newborn calf. I wanted to take their picture with the calf, but they insisted that they take
my picture with the calf. Like so many domestic animals I've met in India, the calf was extremely skittish. Of course cows are sacred here, but the predominant means of herding them (and horses, goats, and dogs...) is to hit them, often painfully, with a stick, or throw rocks at them. So they learn early on to fear people. I'm reminded of the saying, current in the draft horse community in the US, that horses are much better off now that only those people with a natural inclination and love of horses are working with them - rather than everyone - many people who used to work with horses never understood them, and so consistently mistreated their animals.
A little temple near a village barn.
I came across a wedding last Sunday in a village, 1 hour walk downhill from the nearest road. But that doesn't mean they don't want the whole event captured on video.
And what would a wedding be without a bagpiper?
Lunch was cooking when I came by. It looked good, but I had to meet someone, and couldn't stick around.
A scenic spot for a wedding for sure, but one of the boys I spoke with told me that it wasn't a very good village - "the infrastructure here is no good." He attends high school in Mussoorie, a couple hours walk away.
There is some debate over whether the big storms we've been having are pre-monsoon storms, or whether they are an early start to monsoon. Either way, they bring beautiful clouds.
In addition to walking on the roads, which don't have much traffic, there are trails leading down into the villages lower down on the hills. The trails are remarkably well maintained, and as one goes down, and weaves between different slopes, one encounters different habitats. This chir pine-oak grassland reminds me of the ponderosa pine forests of the inter-mountain west.
Although I rarely encounter other people, the trails are quite well-maintained, and favor switchbacks over steep Vermont-style staircases, perhaps because of the frequent use of these pack mules, which seem to mostly carry milk up from the villages, and dry goods back down.
It is good that there are switchbacks, because these mountains are steep, and agriculture relies on extensive terracing.
Langurs are big (30-40 lb) acrobatic monkeys which are primarily vegetarian. Although they don't come into your house, they do like to eat gardens - they ate all the leaves off my landlord's plum tree, and also uprooted all of his carrots.
The rhesus macaques are much more aggressive, and will come into your house to steal bananas. They are smaller, and more of an urban than agricultural pest.
When it is really clear, you can see endless mountain ranges, and to the north, very distant snowcapped peaks.
As is so common in India, there is an eccentric mixture of high modern and traditional technology. I was amused by the roof of this building - part traditional slate, part modern tin, part modern cement, complete with a tv satellite!
These kids were out in their yard feeding their buffalo & cows when I walked by. The oldest girl (on the right as you look at the picture) started a conversation with me. I tried out my still very hesitant Hindi, while she spoke confidently in fairly fluent English - impressive, since she is only enrolled in a local village school (8th grade). Public schools have poor reputations here, but this girl was excited about her classes, and if nothing else, has at least learned alot of English.
They were excited to show me their newborn calf. I wanted to take their picture with the calf, but they insisted that they take my picture with the calf. Like so many domestic animals I've met in India, the calf was extremely skittish. Of course cows are sacred here, but the predominant means of herding them (and horses, goats, and dogs...) is to hit them, often painfully, with a stick, or throw rocks at them. So they learn early on to fear people. I'm reminded of the saying, current in the draft horse community in the US, that horses are much better off now that only those people with a natural inclination and love of horses are working with them - rather than everyone - many people who used to work with horses never understood them, and so consistently mistreated their animals.
A little temple near a village barn.
I came across a wedding last Sunday in a village, 1 hour walk downhill from the nearest road. But that doesn't mean they don't want the whole event captured on video.
And what would a wedding be without a bagpiper?
Lunch was cooking when I came by. It looked good, but I had to meet someone, and couldn't stick around.
A scenic spot for a wedding for sure, but one of the boys I spoke with told me that it wasn't a very good village - "the infrastructure here is no good." He attends high school in Mussoorie, a couple hours walk away.
There is some debate over whether the big storms we've been having are pre-monsoon storms, or whether they are an early start to monsoon. Either way, they bring beautiful clouds.
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