The Grass Seeker

Author: Uddalak Gupta

Photographer: Ruhani Kaur

Every year, when the snow starts to melt, 67-year-old Gaddi shepherd Room Singh packs a few of his essentials.

Food to last him for three to four months,

40 kgs of salt for his animals,

pots and pans,

a worn-out radio,

medicines,

a torch and solar lantern,

and an old rifle to scare bears away.

Rounding up his flock of about 300 goats and sheep, he bids farewel to his wife Hitmani Devi, his family and his vil age Shiah in the Garsa val ey of Himachal Pradesh—and sets off.

2/21

3/21

Grass. Juicy blades of grass high up on the hil slopes, fed by meltwater streams and clean mountain air that his flock loves to graze on. That is what Room Singh goes looking for, when summer reaches the val ey.

4/21

5/21

For hundreds of years, nomadic Gaddis have responded to the changing seasons, heading up in summer and turning back from the high grasslands before the freezing winter. For the last 40 years, Room Singh has fol owed in their footsteps, wrapped in his wool en chola (knee-length coat) and tapping his trusty stick.

6/21

Finding pastures isn’t always easy. Some years ago, when he reached his final camping ground at Donspaan, it snowed for two days without stopping. His animals went without food because the grass was buried deep. He couldn’t bear to eat, either. “If they go hungry, I do too,” he says.

7/21

He begins his long uphil trek from a vil age cal ed Kalga. After crossing Kheerganga, Room Singh enters a wild and unspoilt landscape, where settlements have musical-sounding names. Tundabhuj, Thakur Kuan, Patra Ghat, Pandu Pul, and final y Donspaan.

PIN PARVATI VALLEY

PARVATI RIVER

DONSPAAN

PANDU PUL

THAKUR KUAN

PATRA GHAT

TUNDABHUJ

KHEERGANGA

KALGA

Map not to scale.

8/21

The 60-kilometre journey takes him along the raging Parvati. The bridge across is broken, and there’s only one trail ahead. He crosses icy torrents and melting snow bridges; he climbs across steep rock faces and navigates chil y waterfal s. The tinkling of the flock’s bel s keeps him company in the silence.

9/21

10/21

11/21

Here, 13,000 feet up in the Pin Parvati val ey, Room Singh likes to walk in the wide open spaces, col ecting firewood and letting his flock graze at its own pace.

There is no rush to get anywhere. The air is pure. The water is clear and sweet. Wildflowers are abloom and herbs grow waiting to be picked.

12/21

Room Singh has seen these high places

change over the years. There was a

time when no rock could be seen on

the mountains nearby because they

were always covered by snow. Now,

with temperatures rising because of

climate change, the glaciers are

melting and grassy pastures have

become rare.

13/21

14/21

He worries that if it stops

snowing, the rivers wil

run dry and the world wil

come to an end.

15/21

16/21

To the Gaddi, each stone, each spring, each slope is precious. Room Singh loves the mountains like he does his family, and never feels lonely. The shepherd sleeps under the open sky, his flock gathered around him. He wastes little and barely pol utes, taking only what he needs from nature and leaving no trace of his stay.

17/21

Room Singh knows that the days of his past are drawing to a close. Finding pastures is getting harder, and his animals aren’t as healthy as before. With their wool no longer being what it used to be, sel ing the Gardu blankets and shawls isn’t easy.

18/21

19/21

A Gaddi shepherd migrates to grasslands that are high up, unfit for agriculture. Over the years, the climb has become more difficult, with old routes closing down and trees being planted on pastoral grounds.

20/21

The nomadic way of life of these generations of pastoral wanderers is fast disappearing.

Now, the young men in his vil age see the city as their future.

One of his sons is a driver, and his eldest grandchild studies at a local col ege.

But Room Singh continues to walk to the place he feels most at home.

21/21

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories -

provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the ful terms of use and attribution, please visit the fol owing link.

Story Attribution:

This story: The Grass Seeker is written by Uddalak Gupta . © Pratham Books , 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

'The Grass Seeker' has been original y published by Pratham Books. The development of this book has been supported by Parag, an initiative of Tata Trusts.

www.prathambooks .orgReference: Prof Mol y Kaushal, ‘Sacred Response to Environment: The Gaddi and His Mountain’.

Images Attributions:

Cover page: An old man standing on a rock up in the mountains, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Page 2: A man gazing up at the mountains, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: Shepherd

with his flock in the mountians, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: goats grazing in the

mountains, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 5: Huge rock with goats grazing around, by

Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: Old shepherd with his grazing flock, by Ruhani Kaur ©

Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7: A herd of goats huddled together, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020.

Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 8: A trail map, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY

4.0 license. Page 9: broken bridge over a raging stream, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 10:

View of melting glaciers, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 11: Old man gathering firewood in

the mountains, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC -BY -4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, al without asking permission. For ful terms of use and attribution,

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The development of this book has been supported by Parag, an initiative of Tata Trusts. www.prathambooks.org.

This book was made possible by Pratham Books' StoryWeaver platform. Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories -

provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the ful terms of use and attribution, please visit the fol owing link.

Images Attributions:

Page 12: a herd of goats grazing under misty mountains, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page

13: Goat perched on a huge rock, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 14: Old man walking

beside a melting river, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 15: images of melting glaciers, by

Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 16: Old man by a gushing river, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 17: Happy old man seated under the mountains, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 18: A herd of Goats in the dark, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved.

Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 19: Morning sunrays through the rocks, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC

BY 4.0 license. Page 20: A goat behind a rock, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 21: Man

walking across rocky terrain, by Ruhani Kaur © Pratham Books, 2020. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC -BY -4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, al without asking permission. For ful terms of use and attribution,

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The development of this book has been supported by Parag, an initiative of Tata Trusts. www.prathambooks.org.

The Grass Seeker

As the weather turns warm, Room Singh takes his flock of goats and sheep and scales the Himalayas for fresh grass. With global (English)

warming a reality, this photo book traces the journey that a Gaddi shepherd has been making for the last 40 years.

This is a Level 4 book for children who can read fluently and with confidence.

Pratham Books goes digital to weave a whole new chapter in the realm of multilingual children's stories. Knitting together children, authors, il ustrators and publishers. Folding in teachers, and translators. To create a rich fabric of openly licensed multilingual stories for the children of India and the world. Our unique online platform, StoryWeaver, is a playground where children, parents, teachers and librarians can get creative. Come, start weaving today, and help us get a book in every child's hand!

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