The festival of Diwali was celebrated with great pomp and show in the whole country, but this time Diwali was special in a village of Uttarakhand. Migrants have started to feel attached to the villages that are getting empty due to migration. Especially due to the availability of road facilities in the villages, migrants have started to repair their ancestral homes and live in them.
A similar case is of Swarka village of Karnaprayag. Many families from the main tok of this village migrated years ago and settled in other places including Delhi. Two years ago, migrant youth Pradeep Maikhuri and Dr. Sanjay Maikhuri celebrated Diwali by lighting diyas in their old houses. After which these youth have now built houses.
Their elders are living in these houses and this time they celebrated Diwali in their homes after four decades. Pradeep’s father Ballabh Prasad says that he remembered the days of his youth in the village. He also played Bhailo (twirling burning sticks tied to a rope) in his house. There was also singing and dancing.
He also worshipped his favorite deities. Senior social worker of the village, Teeka Prasad Maikhuri says that after the road reached the village, two families have built their new houses. Three families have repaired them. While two others are renovating their houses and building new ones. In such a situation, where the village was becoming empty due to the tragedy of migration, now there is hope of the village returning to its glory due to the initiative of the migrants. Especially the village is becoming vibrant during festivals and social public functions.
