Notes fromParvada

Ordinarily, Parvada would be nowhere on my list of places to visit — it would never make the cut. Everything in this rollercoaster of a year though has been a revelation, and smaller has emerged bette

Ordinarily, Parvada would be nowhere on my list of places to visit — it would never make the cut. Everything in this rollercoaster of a year though has been a revelation, and smaller has emerged better, so it’s the inconspicuous places that now grab my attention. Despite living in Kumaon, I was clueless about the hamlet’s existence in the shadow of its celebrated neighbour Mukteshwar. For the few tourists who have ‘discovered’ it in recent times, there is another reason apart from its offbeat status that is attractive: not a single COVID-19 case has been reported here so far. On the drive up the winding stretch from Bhimtal, past Bhowali and Ramgarh, my stomach turns queasy with the effects of hill driving. It’s not the narrow turns that stir my insides, but a thin film of smoke that seeps into my nose, curls inside my nasal passage, and settles resolutely in my throat like an illegal squatter. Kumaon is burning once again, and the smell of dying trees begging for help has never been more recognisable. The pandemic of forest fires that plagues Uttarakhand nearly every year is back, and this time with unprecedented force. There has been no rain this spring, not enough snow this past winter, and little of the attention this issue deserves.