Himachal – The Land of Gods and Goddesses

Himachal Pradesh which is known as 'Dev Bhumi' is situated in the North of Himalayas.

• The traditional architecture in H.P. is highly evolved and functional.

• It is a cliché example of Vernacular Architecture. (Grown out of the land, fulfilled local needs, uses local materials, drew on local culture)

• The most elementary form of hill architecture is still found in the old temples. These temples are widely scattered everywhere all along the mountain slopes and in the valleys.

Heritage

The people of Himachal Pradesh are amongst the most delight fully coloured in the country. They are humorous and light hearted even in adversities and are found of good living. They are honest, they have generally a great regard for truthfulness. They mostly depend on agriculture. The villages are generally self-sustaining units. Every village has temple where people congregateformeetings/worship.

Language and Culture

• Major religions are Hindu, Sikh & muslim and they are interacting with Hindi, Punjabi and Pahadi today.

• In terms of costumes, the people of giriwar region dress themselves in kurta and pajamas. However, Giriwar people use traditional dress. The men wear a white wool coat, lohia, a black woolen tight pajama and a woolen hat.

• Women traditionally wear lehengas and kurtis, increasingly giving way to salwar and kameez. His traditional head dress is the dhatu (a triangular piece of colored cloth tied over the head), which is soon to be replaced with a loose cloth, dupatta.

• Bishu is a fair that is held at several places, and features the Thoda dance. Nati, Gee, Rasa and Budhechu are the styles of folk dance in Sirmaur.

• On special occasions processions of local deities and fairs such as Renuka fair in the memory of goddess Renuka are being held.

The fairs/festivals of Renuka and Trilokpur are very famous and draw several lakhs of devotees and pilgrims every year.

Geological Background

Sirmaur District is largely a mountainous region. The geological sequence of the rock formations as seen in the area can be categorized into two main groups:

(i) The Himalayan Group of metamorphic rocks.

(ii) The Sub-Himalayan Group of metamorphosed hills.

Major rivers

The Giri River enters the district lengthwise at one end and emerges on the other, dividing the whole territory into almost two equal parts: the Giri- awar, region and the trans-Giri or Giri-par region. Besides the Giri, there are some other small rivers or rivulets, such as the Bata, the Jalal, the Kawal and the Markanda.

Site Research

Location – dhaulakua, sirmaur district, himanchal pradesh

Approach road - N.H. 72 ( Ambala – Dehradun highway)

Land owner – iim sirmaur

Earthquake sesmic zone - iv

Site area - 210 acre

Maximum ground coverage: 35%

Connectivity:

Nearest major railway stationDehradunrailwaystation(60kms)

Nearest airport - jolly grant airport dehradun and chandigarh airport. (100kms).

Total site area is 210 as per government official tender. seasonal river is covered the 40 acre area and orchid is come in around 54 acre area.

North side of the site has major road, which is national highway - 72, which directly linked the Ambala-Deharadunharidwar.

The topography of the site is almost flat with a very gentle slope from west to east. The seasonal river is flowing across the site which divides the east side of the site into two. Edge of the site has organically developed.

ALL YEAR CLIMATE & WEATHER AVERAGES DATA FOR SITE

Maximum temperature – 40*c

Minimum temperature – 0*c

Mean temperature – 23*c

Humidity - 68%

Dew point – 15*c

Wind – 2 km/h

PRESSURE – 1008 mbar

Visibility – 3km

Hottest month – June

Coldest month – January

Wettest month – August (673.6mm avg)

Windest month – April (3km/h avg)

Annual precipitation – 2115.4 mm (per year)