Artlexicons

  A serviceman cleans the air-conditioner in scorching heat The Winter capital of J&K is used to the Kitni Garmi hai season and celebrates it on the Tawi-river’s shore during Bijli gul weekdays and Light kab ayegi weekends. With a heart full of hope and a couple dozen calls to the lineman and 1912 (toll-free number), every family has at least one tradition they follow during summers. Calling the serviceman to get their air-conditioned ready for the impending heat wave. These unsung heroes are so booked during the month of April and June that by the time they arrive to their 7 th customer of the day, they are usually showered with curses while already being drenched in sweat. As I see Mr Rakesh squeezing his cloth mask till sweat dripped from it to the floor, I realise their tale is one that needs to be told. Cleaning out wasp nests, pigeon nests and sparrow nests from air-conditioners is a routine matter for these well-stung heroes. “ Har season mei tamoodi toh katti hi hai,” i

Pallavi Sareen   In the lush green village of Kalihand, residents commemorate their deceased by planting trees, the fruits of which are meant for friends, neighbours and travellers. Jammu: “When someone dies in our family, we plant a tree,” said Nath Ram (75), a resident of Kalihand village in Doda, a remote district in Jammu and Kashmir. Spread over 572 hectares, the village is located 25 km away from Doda town. Surrounded by lush green trees and rugged mountain slopes, villagers in Kalihand have a unique culture of commemorating the dead by planting a fruit tree and watering it for at least a year or longer till it bears fruit. Nearly a third of the population in the village are Hindus who follow this tradition.  “ Shastron mei likha hai ” (it is written in the scriptures) and “ punya ka kaam ” (it is virtuous work) are two phrases repeated by the priest and locals alike while explaining the origins of this practice and its link to funerals. Pandit Daya Ram, the village priest, refer

‘Jeevika’ roughly translating to livelihood is enhancing the lives of small and marginal farmers in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir. The multipronged strategy was conceptualized by Udhampur’s District Development Commissioner Dr Piyush Singla to store discharge of perennial water bodies in a ‘pond’, made of polythene sheets. The water would then be supplied to the farmers’ fields through a drip irrigation system. These Polythene ponds would increase the assured irrigation of Agriculture land cultivated by small and marginal farmers while also ensuring a sustainable ecosystem that conserves water. Given the fact that Udhampur district is predominantly agrarian where 80 per cent population resides in rural areas and is dependent upon agriculture as their main source of livelihood, the initiative will enhance the water usage capacity and help in generating sustainable livelihood.

You don’t expect a Pulitzer Prize winner to walk you to the door and wait till you have left the sight on a day which is supposed to be HIS ‘big day’. But that is exactly what Channi Anand does and that is exactly what Jammu’s hospitality is all about. He welcomes all the love and appreciation that comes his way while ignoring the feeble attempts to overshadow this victory through means of regionalist hegemony. “It’s a matter of prestige for all of Jammu and Kashmir. This award is for all the journalists working here,” he says as his family makes all attempts possible to make him look camera-worthy. Usually the one behind the camera, he was shy to speak up about his journey. He is used to letting his photographs do the talking and while receiving the most prestigious awards for journalism was a dream-come-true, he had little to say about how all the events unfolded.   “The award ceremony began at 12 at night and I was awake till 3 am. As soon as my name was announced, I coul