Dr. Mohinder Kumar
Survival by humans requires collective mode of settlement. Taiser is a small settlement established 100 years ago. It is situated on foothills 15 km far from Drass in Kargil district. Four brothers selected this place to settle for survival at Taisar since adequate water from snow-melting and soil moisture was available on foothills -good for irrigated-farming. Four generations have passed on this land -present generation is fifth one. They are now five families -of which one is poor, illiterate, left settlement and migrated to Gyaras village across river Drass in 1998 to live separate life. His objective is to do commercial farming instead of living on grass cultivation. Collectively four households own 25 acres land, of which 80% land is used as pasture for grazing cattle and 20% is used for cultivation of ‘alfa-alfa’ grass stored for winter.
Village Weekly
Size of settlement is 64 persons -all joined by kinship, family and blood relations. They are Muslim Scheduled Tribe (ST) families who speak local “Shina” language. With outsiders they can interact in Hindi, Urdu and English languages. In current generation literacy rate is 90%. Today they are an educated progressive group of people who competed and achieved landmarks of progress difficult even for urban people. They represent a harmonic mix of tradition with modernity. All four families have constructed separate houses on same land at Taiser to live separately though connected, in close proximity, cooperation, and mutual care. Women in families do farming job as well as house jobs -as common in Kargil district. Men do off-farm jobs. They are employed in Government service (departments), army, business, etc. Settlement faces shortage of farm-labor. So they hire wage-labor from outside -‘Bakarwal’ youths, Kashmiri Muslims, ‘Gurjar’ and Nepali workers hired @Rs.350 per day wage rate.
Taisar settlers follow all traditional festivals and ‘roza’ -elderly persons, children, everyone. They have relatives living in different villages and maintain regular contact. They consider Sarpanch quite cooperative and helpful though he did not guide or inform about Kisan Credit Card (KCC) facility. However, they have their ration cards prepared through his efforts. Sarpanch lives in Ranbir Pora “city”. Panch lives in Chasgu village. Settlement people opined that it is the responsibility of Panch to inform them about MNREGA. They perceive Sarpanch more useful and cooperative. He would arrange for “machine” (snow remover) in winter season from Boarder Road Organization (BRO) at least three times each month. Economic assets of settlement includes 20 cows, 3000 willow trees, 25 acres land (of which 20 acres pasture), 20 chicken birds, and 30 youths. All youths got high education. Each of the four households in hilly settlement has two-three permanent servicemen employed in Drass. This isolated settlement in the interior has produced five teachers, three army officers, one medical officer, and two businessmen. Main occupation of settlement (dera) is Government service and business; allied occupation is farming i.e., grass cultivation and plantation.
The settlement is situated in interior upland, three-four kilometers inside main Drass road. Construction of link road was started under PMGSY in 2012. Without dispensary facility in “village” they are forced to go to Drass. Since it is a small settlement of four households and 64 persons, there is no private doctor, no medical shop, no grocery shop, and no ration store. However, it has one primary school. They purchase household goods, provisions and ration goods from Drass on monthly intervals. For winter, they would purchase and stock goods for six months even as the area witnessed snowfall up to four feet. Each household has dish TV antenna. They own two cars and one motorcycle. The small sized settlement is an example that proves cooperation and unity makes survival possible amid adverse conditions. Living in isolation at secluded place, they struggled together for a long period of over 100 years to tide over natural conditions of extreme cold, snow, lack of drinking water (particularly in winter), absence of medical service, lack of road connectivity (till 2012), no streetlight, no ration store, etc. Still they got education and produced Government officers, teachers, army officers, medical officers and businessmen to contribute to the goal of social progress and economic development. Amid lack of proper means for physical survival for the past 100 years, they made economic survival and accumulation of resources/ wealth possible by sheer dint of dedicated struggle.
During winter they face a great problem of drinking water supply even as ‘nallahs’ on top of hill get frozen. They bring drinking water in plastic canes on head load from a nallah near Tololing (where Kargil war was fought) as water does not freeze there too much. They do not use vehicle, donkey or pony to load and carry water. This practice was compulsorily carried out and continued twice a day (morning and evening) on daily basis for three months during winter. One or the other family members by rotation used to fetch water in this way. Lowest temperature in January and February was recorded as -30oC in 2010 though it used to be still lower at -60oC in 2000 and -65oC in 1995. As compared to four feet snowfall in Kargil, Taisar areas around Drass witnessed nine feet snowfall in 1995. In 2010 snowfall in Kargil and Taisar (Drass) dropped to two feet and four feet, respectively. Winter cold does not create much problem (except drinking water) for inhabitants of this small settlement as they have got accustomed to living in severe cold conditions of second coldest inhabited region in the world. They do not sit inside even in winter season and move out for day-to-day activities. Men would go out for service (employed in govt. departments) or go to Drass town/ Kargil city as soon as roads are cleared. They wear warm good quality woolen ‘phairan’. They store food-stock for six months in advance. In case of urgency or scarcity, they move out to seek help. Earlier (before 2013) Taisar was not connected with Drass main road or national highway -so they walked down the main road. Construction of link road started in 2011 was under-construction in July 2013 and was to be given topping with macadam by end of 2013. Patients particularly faced great difficulty during winter to visit hospital in absence of link road prior to 2013. For over 100 years until 2013, all households in settlement managed without link road as they carried seriously ill patient on their back to walk. Now with two owned cars (Alto) they can carry patient to hospital in Drass or Kargil without losing precious time.
Settlement demanded hand pump to be installed by Government though it is prosperous small rural colony inhabited by educated people. Settlement faces drinking water problem for the past 100 years though it could not install hand pump with private investment. They require dispensary because it is inconvenient to visit Drass each time they face sickness. They require road lights on newly built link road (four kilometers) since it is felt dangerous to move-out in night. It also demands exclusive ration store. Overall, life in Taiser is a pleasant mix of history and modernity, struggle and success, idyllic stagnation and forward march, primitive pastoral-settled-agricultural past and modern professional entrepreneurship combined with salary service. It’s in transition.
(Author works for NABARD; views are personal)
Feedback: mohinder1966@gmail.com
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