About
Indian Village
For real Indian experience there is nothing
than “Get away from all”. In
the hinterland of India, the initiated traveler
will come, face – to – face
with reality and diversity of real Indian
encounter. Rural India provides a natural
landscape, which could vary from a tea plantation
to fishing village. From the hardy mountaintops
in Ladakh to the natural backwater of Kerala,
the possibilities are endless. The local
folklore, the performing artistes, the social
milieu are also diverse and breathtaking
that for the tourist, the experiences unique.
There is peace and tranquility
in Indian countryside, music and dance,
and cuisine is authentic and richly varied.
Some of our tour itineraries include one
or two villages to get glimpses of the rural
India and some of those are:
Alchi – tucked away
along the left bank of Indus in Ladakh,
lies this monastic village. Its Buddhist
Monastery goes back nearly a thousand years,
predating the Tibetian influence that was
to become a major force in the mountain
desert. Descending from a vehicle, one sees
smiling faces framed in low-slung mud brick
houses.
Orcha – in the heart
of Bundelkahnd lies a fortified cluster
of dwellings, temples and shrines bearing
testimony to a medieval legacy in stone.
Created by the Bundela Rajput Chief Rudra
Pratap in the 16th Century lies in Madhya
Pradesh on the left bank of River Betwa.
A visit to Orcha is a journey back in time.
Bhalukpong – on the
edge of the luxuriant forest of the Pakhui
Game Sanctuary, along the Kameng River lies
this village, the gateway to exotic Bomdila
and Tawang monasteries of Arunachal Pradesh.
Nature’s generosity is evident here.
And in its mystical wonderland, straddling
India’s northeastern corner, the village
of Bhalukpong holds a special place.
Rungli Rungliot –
“thus far and no further” –
a literal translation of the pious benediction.
This charming village in the Darjeeling
region boasts some of the best tea in the
world. As the story goes, that peripatetic
monk’s search for the ultimate tea
ended here. For he had evidently covered
great distances over unpaved tracks, and
traversed valley after valley.
Khetri – a profusion
of typical frescoes, lies in the shekhawati
region of Rajasthan. Just as a local lore
is redolent of heroic deeds, Rajashtani
painting displays decorative forms vividly
composed in colourfull schemes. Be they
forts, havellies, cenotaphs are temples,
nowhere, is such a profusion of frescoes
to be found as in Shekhawati.
Betul – life
centers around fishing and coir production
in this rural haven on the estuary of the
Sal River. Also, sample the gourmet Goan
delights while you are there. Away from
the bustle of the main tourist routes in
South Goa is a gem of a village that any
discerning visitor would love to reach.
Beneath an attractive canopy of coconut
palms, banana, jack fruit and papaya village
remains busy in fishing and coir production.
About Indian Tribes
India has second largest
tribal population of the world next to African
countries. As many as two hundred tribes
live in different isolated, hilly regions
and constitute 7.67 percent of the total
population of the country.
The largest number are found in Madhya Pradesh
with 12 million / 23 percent of the total
tribal population of the country. The other
predominant tribal states are Orissa, Bihar
and Maharashtra each with over population
of 5 million. The smaller tribes are found
in Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar
Islands and South India.
India has more than two hundred tribal groups
and many more sub-groups. Nine major or
large tribes are the Bhil, Gond, Ho, Khond,
Mina, Munda, Vaga, Oreon and Santhal, they
constitute more than 25 percent of the total
tribal population and the most predominant
are three i.e. Bhils, Gonds and santhals.
Most predominant are three i.e. Bhils, Gonds
and santhals. The tribal economy is by and
large based on activities around the jungle.
Food gathering, hunting and fishing continue
to be the main source of livelihood, though
some of the larger tribes such as the Santhals,
Mundas and Gondas have become agriculturist
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