It all started with one man and a camera. Taking the first ever photo of Kalap, a village lying forgotten in time in the upper Garhwal region of the northern state of Uttarakhand in India, entrepreneur, writer and photographer Anand Sankar believes he has opened the world’s window to the scenic, yet remote settlement.
Located over 200 kms from Dehradun city at an altitude of 7,500 feet, the village is nestled among pine and deodar forests, and overlooks the gorge cut open by the roaring River Supin. Presenting a photo exhibition in the city Anand promises more than just a mere photographic experience.
Anand outlines the journey that took him to the mountains. Having heard of the village from friends at a motorcycle garage Anand made his first visit to Kalap a couple of years ago. “The place is so remote I had to put the first pin on Google maps for Kalap. Initially I helped the locals there by training them to be guides since the exotic remote feel of the village made it a tourist destination. However, the place and the people needed help so I decided to take it up as a project. That’s how the Kalap Trust was formed.”
Elaborating, Anand says: “Kalap is 11 km from the nearest road. Apart from a rundown government school building, the village has no other services. Though there are over 44,000 NGOs registered in Uttarakhand, there are no amenities in Kalap. One of the most critical areas is the lack of access to health care. There is no primary health centre. There is not even a basic health worker. In the history of the village, I took the first doctor to Kalap last October.”
He adds “We are tackling the issue of malnutrition. The Public Distribution System has failed the people of mountains. This was a village that was self-sufficient a decade ago. They used to grow crops but now the PDS is making them dependent on outside help. The impetus for agriculture is gone. Historically there used to be 19 varieties of pulses grown while today only three survive. The incentive has reduced and food habits have changed. The biggest sufferers are the children.”
Education is also a problem area. We are trying to motivate teachers to adopt the school and refurbish it.”
The people in Kalap are skilled and since tourism can’t employ everybody, Anand and his team are exploring ways for people to use their skills. “We have weavers and we are looking at food processing. There is enormous potential in basic industries. The turnover is good for an entrepreneur and the community.”
That brings us to the photo exhibition. “I took the first picture of Kalap. It’s very strange to find undiscovered places like this. I decided to make this project more collaborative and invited photographers to come and live in the village so that there are different perspectives. A total of six photographers — four from Bengaluru and two from Chennai, have stayed in the village. Nandita, a Bengaluru-based visual artist also did charcoal sketches of life in Kalap. The exhibition will help bring Kalap closer to Bangalore. The photographers and artists will share their experiences to make it interactive.”
“I believe in open source. We are open to sharing knowledge. In the development front, people should not guard ideas. The objective should be how big your idea can scale in terms of operations. Let your idea benefit people. If you can use what we are doing, take it and use it. That would be our biggest contribution. Ultimately it’s about the communities involved and we will transfer these skills to the community so they can take up ownership.”
The photo show will also be a fund raiser to help the people of Kalap. Visit the collaborative photo exhibition and hear stories from Kalap at Courtyard Café, K.H. Road, on January 16 and 17 from 3 to 7 p.m. Call 9886781587
