My Grandmother was married at the age of 14 and by the age
of 16 she had given birth to two children(The younger one being my father). She
often narrates to me the days when she had been a young bride and lived in the
Kumaoni village of Budhimanya district. The houses were such that cattle
occupied the ground floor and the families lived in the first floor. The chulha
where women prepared food was also in the ground floor ,A typical Kumaoni Woman’s
day starts early in the morning, they need to go downhill to the river, to
collect drinking water (they run the risk of being attacked by various animals).Take
care of their families, prepare food, raise the cattle and also work in the
fields. The guys generally laze around and by the end of the day live up to the
famous quote” Surya ast, pahari mast”
One of
the Incidents , I remember is as follows, My grandmother had been preparing
food downstairs when all of a sudden there was an alarm that a leopard has come
into the village. It is very common for the predators like
leopards,Jackals,hyenas to enter into villages in search of food inform of cattle
and babies. The locals use the Kumaoni Mastiff or the Pahari kutta as their
protection against such predators. These dogs are known for their courage and
their ability to face, the most ferocious of predators. The British extensively
used this breed as watchdogs throughout their empire.
One such local pet faced and killed the Leopard,that day . Kudos
to the Kumaoni Mastiff!!
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