Pauri

This article is about the municipality in Uttarakhand, India. For its namesake district, see Pauri Garhwal district.
Pauri Garhwal
पौड़ी गढ़वाल
Kund Baijrao
city

A view of the left half of the Gangotri Group in the Western Himalayas from Pauri, part of which is seen on the left.
Pauri Garhwal
Pauri Garhwal

Location in Uttarakhand, India

Coordinates: 30°09′N 78°47′E / 30.15°N 78.78°E / 30.15; 78.78Coordinates: 30°09′N 78°47′E / 30.15°N 78.78°E / 30.15; 78.78
Country  India
State Uttarakhand
District Pauri Garhwal
Elevation 1,814 m (5,951 ft)
Population (2001)
  Total 24,742
Languages
  Official Hindi, Urdu
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration UK
Website uk.gov.in

Pauri is a town and a municipal board in Pauri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Pauri is the seat of the Divisional Commissioner of the Garhwal Division.

Geography

Pauri is located at 30°09′N 78°47′E / 30.15°N 78.78°E / 30.15; 78.78.[1] It is located 1,814 metres (5,951 feet) above sea level. Pauri provides a panoramic view of the snow-covered Himalayan peaks of Nanda Devi and Trisul, Gangotri Group, Thalaiya-Sagar, Nilkantha, Bandar Poonch, Swargarohini, Kedarnath, Kharcha Kund, Satopanth, Chaukhamba, Ghoriparvat, Haathi Parvat, Sumeru, etc. The errand across Kandoliya-Tekka stretch along evergreen deodar trees is worth walking. The town is visited by tourists, researchers and students from across the world. The place is paradise for trekkers, paragliding enthusiasts and nature lovers.

Climate

The region has a sub-temperate to temperate climate, which remains pleasant throughout the year. The climate of Pauri is very cold in winters and the region experiences low to moderate snowfall in the months of January or February. The climate is soothing in summer when flowers bloom in the nearby forests and tourists flock to town. In rainy season the climate is very cool and lush greenery covers the town.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[2] Pauri had a population of 24,742. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Pauri has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 76%. In Pauri, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The language most commonly used in Pauri Garhwal is Garhwali.

Education

Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College

Govind Ballabh Pant Engineering College (GBPEC) is an autonomous State Government Higher Technical Institution. It was created in 1989 to honour the great Indian Freedom Fighter Padma Shri, Govind Ballabh Pant. The institute is located in serenity and purity of the Garhwal Himalayas, at a height of 1800m (approx 5905 ft.) above Sea Level and overlooks the Great Himalayan Range on its East flank. The college offers courses like Bachelor of Technology, Master of Technology and Master of Computer Applications. The college offers Mechanical Engineering, Electronics & Communication Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Civil Engineering, Production Engineering and Biotechnology (from 2010).

Official website: http://www.gbpec.ac.in/

Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Central University

Dr. B. G. R Campus, referred to as the Pauri campus of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University is a full-fledged educational campus established in 1971. Pauri College is one of the three campuses of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, located in Srinagar, Garhwal. The campus offers arts, science and law courses at graduation, post graduation and research fellowships levels. Located amidst the thick forest cover, the college offers a perfect educational environment to its students.

St. Thomas School

St. Thomas School is a premier educational institution in the town, established in 1973. The school comes under the Bijnor Diocese, headed by Rev. John Vadakle. It offers education in Science up to class 12th. It is an English medium school affiliated with ICSE board. This co-educational school has the record of offering 100% pass result in its last 40 years history.

Messmore Inter College

Established in the British era, Messmore Inter College or MIC is one of the oldest schools in the Garhwal region. The school was established in 1873 and offers education in science and arts up to class 12th. This is a Hindi medium, government aided school. The school is affiliated with Uttarakhand Board and is co-educational. This college belongs to the association of Methodist churches in India.

DAV Inter College

This is a Hindi medium, government aided school. The school is affiliated with Uttarakhand Board and offers co-education.

Sri Guru Ram Rai Public School

Sri Guru Ram Rai Public School was established by SGRR education mission in the heart of the city with easy accessibility from different corner of the city. School has a magnificent school building equipped with modern aminities. It has a team of highly qualified, motivated and hardworking teachers. The school is running classes from I to XII and is offering streams science, commerce and humanities for classes XI and XII. It is to proclaim that the school is the only school in the town to offer new subject Biotechnology as an elective subject for classes XI and XII. Shri Guru Ram Rai Public School Pauri Garhwal has achieved high water mark by distinguished performance of the students in the field of academics, extra curricular activities, sports, finearts and in many other inter school competitions.

Government Inter College (GIC)

This is a Hindi medium, government aided school. The school is affiliated with Uttarakhand Board.

Girls Government Inter College (GGIC)

This is a Hindi medium, government aided school. The school is affiliated with Uttarakhand Board......

Places to visit

Himalaya Panorama From Pauri
Himalaya Panorama from Pauri.

Pauri - Ramlila - Golden 100 Years

The Pauri Ramlila is one of the oldest plays, in the Uttarakhand region. The play portrays the life of Lord Rama as described in Ramayana. Pauri's Ramlila enjoys a unique place in the history of Garhwal region. It was begun by, Mr. Tara Dutt Gairola and Dr. Bhola Dutt Kala, the famous social activists. The first play of Ramlila in Pauri began in the year 1883-84.

At that time, Pauri was the administrative capital of East India Company in the Garhwal Region. Mr. Gairola and Kala organized the Ramlila and played it with the help of locals for six days at the sloppy fields of village Kandai. People supported the idea and it continued for years. During the period, some other literary persons joined the play and modified it into ‘Persian Theater". They made the script with the help of Tulsi Das's Ramcharitmanas and some of their own interpretations.

In the year 1897, the newly decorated stage and the unique style of play received appreciation by the people. In fact, the Deputy Commissioner of Garhwal also appreciated the efforts put in to execute such a play. The unusual stage decoration, use of Indian classical music, and the style of play made the Pauri Ramlila special.

In the year 1906, Mr. Purna Chandra Tripathi joined the Ramlila and expanded the Ramlila tenure from six days to ten days. From thereon, the Ramlila began to be played during the ‘Shardiya Navratras’. This format was adopted in the year 1906 and is still continued without any fuss.

Later some more changes were incorporated in 1940’s when, Mr. Mathura Prasad Dobhal, the Director of play added his own written Garhwali songs for ‘Bharat-Shatrughn' and ‘Surpnakha’. In the year 1947, he wrote a song " Swatantra Bharat Punya bhoomi me Ram Raj aaya". Interestingly, the songs are famous among localities. In the same year, the side portrait at the stage was changed by the portrait of Subhash Chandra Boss and Mahatma Gandhi instead of 'Laxmi ji" and Saraswat ji".

The Pauri Ramlila could not be played during the Uttarakahand Movement in the year 1994 to 96. In the year 1997 Mr. Prithvi Pal Singh Chauhan, the M.L.C. of U.P. led a movement for restarting the Pauri Ramlila. Mr. Adwet Bahuguna gave the headstart to Ramlila in a new avatar by adding the light, sound effects and some locomotive scenes. The ‘Gajendra Grahav’ Meghnad vadh’ and Dashavatar’ are some famous memorable direction of Mr. Adwet Bahuguna. In the year 2004 Co-Director of Ramlila Mr. Naveen Bhatt and Surendra Singh added beautiful and enchanting seen of ‘flying Hunuman over the public in search of ‘Sanjeevani Booti’.

Pauri Ramlila is also known for its communal harmony where the Hindus, Muslims and Christians were and are the part of Ramlila. Mod. Sallar, Bare Yaqb, Muddi Qureshi, Munsi Abdul Haqeem, Husen Baksh, Mr. Victor Chowfin, Mr. W.C. Chowfin and many other people are famous for there contribution in Ramlila.

Here is the list of some famous people who are known for their contribution. It begins with Mr. Het Ram Joshi, Mr. Prem Ballabh Chandola, Mr. Kotwal Singh Negi, Mr. Bhagwant Singh Negi, Mr. Dayal Singh Rawat, Pt. SadaNand Kukreti, Mr. Dalloo Babu (Mahitab Singh), Mr. Yadav Chandra Gupta, Mr. Deveswra Prasad Devrani, Mr. S.K. Chandel and several other people whose effort cannot be forgotten.

In the acting and singing domain, Mr. Daya Sager Dasmana, Govind Naithani, Durga Prasad Thapliyal as ‘Ravan", Mr. Nagmal Singh, Virendra Kasyap, Gauri Shanker Thapliyal as Janak’-Vibhisan-Dasharath. Mr. Jam Sahab, Raju Gatti, Giresh Thapliyal as ‘Hanuman’.

Mr. Gauri Sankar Thapliyal is known as a "Iron Pillar" of Pauri Ramlila. In new generation Mr. Manoj Rawat Anjul holds the command.

Media and communications

All India Radio has a local station in Pauri which transmits various programs of mass interest.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pauri.
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