 www.aranyah.com Gajja Village Crafts Seva Handcrafted Himalayan Wildflower Cards Made to your order for every Special Occasion!  Unique! Himalayan Wildflower Cards Made to order for: Wedding Invitations Birth Announcements Special Occasions
Gajja Seva  www.aranyah.com Order Your Unique Cards Now! For that Special Family Occasion! Questions? Orders! Contact: sumathi@aranyah.com  Himalayan Wild Flower Cards  Vanamali Ashram Wildflower Card Seva: Gajja, Uttranchal: India The Himalayan ranges stretch across the whole of north India and provide a barrier between the Indian sub-continent and Afghanistan. The State of Uttranchal is one of the newly formed states which spans the whole of the western Himalayas. It is composed of the three states of Tehri, Garwal and Kumaon. It is relatively a very poor state and does not have many resources. But it contains the four main places of worship of the Hindus - Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. The latter two are the sources of the mighty rivers Ganga and Yamuna. The main source of income for the state is from the pilgrims who flock to the state from all parts of India in order to go to the holy shrines which are located here. Now the state has also started to encourage the tourist trade. The Himalayan regions are not only filled with beauty but also with spiritual vibrations due to the austerities practiced here by countless sages through the hoary ages. The natural beauty of Uttranchal can only be compared with the Kashmir valley. The snow-capped mountains contain some of the highest peaks in the world so it is also a trekker’s paradise. Two of the greatest and holiest rivers of India have their origin in Uttranchal. The sparkling waters of the Ganga provide a contrast to the deep blue waters of the Yamuna. The Ganga gushes through deep gorges and impenetrable ravines until it touches the plains at the holy city of Rishikesh. The Yanmuna takes another path and reaches modern Delhi. The two never meet until they reach the city of Allahabad.  Apart from the few cities which form the path of the pilgrim route, Uttranchal is filled with countless little villages, perched high up on crags and clinging to the hillside. Most of them are very poor and well below the poverty line but the hill tribes are have an essential pride unlike the poor found in towns and they continue the way of life dictated by hundreds of years of cultivation and do not yearn for more. The land though beautiful is not very fertile and the women have to slog hard to eke out a meager living. Their main crops are wheat, rice and red beans. However they are a very happy and peaceful people. There is no police force in any of these little villages. Gajja is one such village. Even though it is only two hours drive from the town of Rishikesh it is still untouched and keeps up its essential village life with a headman or woman as the case may be. The Garwal women are very beautiful and have striking carriages. They are very progressive unlike the other North Indian women. Since they were not influenced by the Mogul conquest they did not have to cover their heads or become subservient to the men. In fact they are strangely independent and much more hard working than the men. They are the ones who keep the household going. Unfortunately many of the man are addicted to alcohol. Until recently illicit liquor was being brewed in houses but now thanks to the women who went on strike, this has been banned.  
The Vanamali Ashram is a small ashram situated in Rishikesh. We have been helping the poor children of our locality for about twenty years. Now we decided that we should do some work in some remote villages in the hills and hence we came to Gajja. Here we have been distributing clothes, blankets and sweaters to the children and the poor people but we thought it would be better if we could give them some work by which they could earn a living without the burden of having to accept charity. Hence we taught a few of the young women to do these wild flower cards. This helps them to buy many things for their family as well as support their own education and school fees for their sisters and brothers. It also teaches them to appreciate the beauty of the nature, which surrounds them. They have begun to notice so many small, delicate plants and flowers, which they had never noticed before. They have to pick the flowers from the jungles and fields and hedges and not from garden. They have to press them for at least one week before pasting them into designs of their own making. We provide the natural paper for them which we buy from Delhi. We hope to introduce new handicrafts for them so that more of them will find employment. 
We hope that with the grace of god this small beginning will snow ball into an all-India venture to help the villagers and tribals of India who need great support. Hari Aum tat Sat  Himalayan Wild Flower Greeting Cards Handmade Natural Paper with Envelopes Now Available at www.aranyah.com  Order Your Unique Cards Now! For that Special Family Occasion! Questions? Orders! Contact: sumathiny@gmail.com Vanamali
Gita Yogasram
Tapovan P.O.,Via Shivanand Nagar, Rishikesh, Utteranchal State, 249192, INDIA Thank you for supporting this valuable service! Wholesale inquiries are invited sumathi@aranyah.com     |
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