We were at Majkhali yesterday, a village about an hour’s trek from Naini where we’re staying. The summer’s been particularly hard on these people. The infiltration well that Grassroots installed has dried up and about 20 families in the village now rely on a naula nearby. A naula is the traditional type of well in this area. It’s about 4-5 feet deep and taps the sub surface water. The naula we saw had nearly dried up as well. There was a trickle of water at the bottom, which allowed the women to fill about a bucket an hour. That’s roughly a bucket per family.

The women had been waiting at the naula for a couple of hours when we came by. And still they smiled and offered us a drink of their precious water. Taaza hai, they said. Sheher mein nahi milega. (It’s fresh! You won’t get this kind of water in the city.) Not only that, they even offered to fill the empty water bottle we were carrying!

The hospitality of these people is unbelievable. They invited us into their homes, offered us cups of chai, stopped whatever they were doing to chat with us.

Mr. Bhandhari, a developmental worker with Grassroots, told us that these are proud, fiercely independent people. You won’t find any shanties here he said. Even the poorest people have pucca houses. And it’s apparent when you walk in the hills. All houses, even the tiniest ones have a profusion of flowers around them. Empty oil cans are turned into flower pots, and there are begonias and geraniums on every balcony.

It’s sad that the Kumaonis’ natural resources have been exploited to a point where there just simply isn’t enough to go around. Emigration to the cities has become a major problem here. Grassroots is trying to restore the natural order of things in the hills, by providing them with alternative sources of energy and water. They’ve considerably improved the quality of life in this area, but with poor governance and slow-changing attitudes, there’s still a long way to go.