Panchayati Raj, as we all know, generally refers to the local self-government in India. In our country Panchayati Raj functions as a system of governance in which Gram Panchayats are the basic units of the local administration. This system of governance is making a huge impact in transforming the country from grass root levels. Basically, this system is a three tier structure:

• Gram Panchayat at village level.
• Mandal Parishad or Block Samiti at Block level and
• Zila Parishad at District Level.

This system is functional in all the states and UT’s except some North Eastern States like Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and UT Delhi. Partially though, but yes our state J & K has also adopted it. There is still no concrete implementation of Panchayati Raj act in the state. Out of these three basic pillars on which this system stands, two are still under construction in J & K. Elections of Chairman at Block Level for Zila Parishad have not been conducted so far in the state. Though news is circulating in the media that elections for the post of Chairman will kick start after 2018 polls but no one can guarantee that. Panchayati elections are being conducted here since its very inception but not on regular basis as defined in the constitution because of many factors like terrorism etc. Our state witnessed first Panchayati elections in 1974, then in 2000. Last time it was held in 2011 when there was NC-Congress alliance ruling in the state. Term of those Panchayats ended in 2016. Now after two long years since the completion of the term of last Panchayats we go through polls in our state due to the great efforts put in by the former Governor of the state Sh.N.N.Vohra. Two major parties PDP and NC boycotted the elections this time. Rest played their part well when it was least expected of them in these Panchayati elections. Now the results are in public domain. Here is a list of newly elected Sarpanches:

You might get bored after reading all this internet stuff above but let me tell you how this piece of information opened up a new chapter in the politics of Paddar. If you are a politically hooked guy then I am cock sure that you would have observed mass level participation of people for the post of Sarpanches  and panches this time. But do you really know why? You might object this question and hence call it childish as everyone has the right to contest elections in this democratic country. Sorry to disappoint you, but this is not a story here. People participated in large numbers this time only and only because of the frustration caused by the two recent developments in the area. Here are these:

1. Rumor that elections for the Chairman will be held this time and
2. Biased survey report given by the constituted committee members of BJP.

We shall discuss these one by one. First, when this rumor that the elections for the post of Chairman would be held this time reached the naïve ears of our novice leaders they started hitting the nail on the head by dropping themselves in the political battlefield. There are 13 Panchayats in our block out of which 5 are reserved for women and you will notice that this time there were more than 3 or 4 contenders in every Panchayat irrespective of gender and caste. Those who claimed themselves to be the tall leaders of Paddar also pulled their socks up for it. Before I come to the second reason let me share one story with you to simplify the tricky political equations before you. It has been said that when Balrama was on his way to find a suitable place for him in Paddar he sent one of his aides namely Shwana to a place in Sohal Paddar, so that he could stay there. But when Shwana went there he loved that place very much and took it for himself thereby cheating Balrama. That place is now called as Shwana Bani. Same is the story of BJP committee in Paddar which was actually constituted to conduct a survey of party inclined candidates who had substantial expected support in the respective Panchayats.  But, inspite of doing that, committee members of Paddar adopted another policy of pick and choose and projected their own favorite candidates all over the Paddar to take benefit of the party backing thereby denting the upright image of Party in Paddar. How can a place of above 90% BJP supporters call this a good decision? How can they fight against the candidates backed by the BJP when they were themselves inclined to the same party? Don’t you think that they would feel cheated after listening this? They did and that is the reason why there is so much resentment among the locals regarding this. Some are leaving the party just after the elections. Here is a list of some who had worked for the party for the last 20 years and left:

High command, BJP, though denies party participation in these elections. But one cannot ignore the fact that their local extensions at the ground level did not play their part well to manipulate the elections using party name. It is obvious and people of Paddar know it very well. Silence of the former Cabinet Minister and MLA of the Constituency Sh. Sunil Sharma on the issue will surely lead him to face the music in Paddar in the upcoming assembly elections. Now, if he has to prevent the party from the prospected loss he must come up with solutions to soothe the wounds of those candidates who licked the dust during these elections due to the foul play of their local selfish party leaders in Paddar. Locals, whom our Former Minister considers as their core grass root leaders are the ones who are denting the party image ever and anon. I have seen locals making a comment “Paddar BJP ka garh hai” party wale kehte hain, agar aisa hai to fir apne aapko kyu mehroom karna chahte hai garh se, is garh ke aapsi maslon me interfere karke? “Paddar is their solid votebank” party members often say, if it is so then why do they want to lose it by meddling into its personal affairs?

There is quote of former President of USA, Franklin D Roosevelt who once said that “ In Politics nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.” This fits well here. There is no end to the grudges of people but does that all matter? Absolutely No! People who played well are ready to handle the affairs and that is quite enough for those who tried to give a tough fight this time to their contenders on moral grounds. When there was fight going on in Paddar I liked one shayar from Sh Arpan Singh Rana ji ( Newly elected Sarpanch of Atholi Panchayat) very much. This always remained on his lips whenever I talked to him and that I think has provided enormous strength to his zeal during these elections and yes it is also a magic pill for all those aspiring leaders who are busy making excuses. Here it is:

“”Ab hawayein hi karegi roshni ka faisla

   jis diye me jaan hogi wo jalta rahega”

Anyway, newly elected Sarpanches and Panches are ready to extend their hands in the development of their Panchayats. It is strongly anticipated from them therefore that they would play their part well by keeping their self-interest aside. Development was not the issue, prestige was the issue at the time of campaigning, but I hope this line of thinking shall change and idea of development will cross their minds for the betterment of Panchayats.

Please share it as much as you can and yes don’t forget to drop valuable suggestions in the comment box :

Tatta Pani, A beautiful village in Paddar

The Land of hot water, Tatta Pani, is a beautiful place in the Paddar subdivision of Kishtwar district. It is a major tourist attraction in the area. People from all across the country visit this place every year with great reverence. Hot water that gushes out from the deep cracks of the Earth is widely known for its magical healing properties. Though there are many such hot-water springs in the world but this in Paddar is unique and the thing which makes it unique is its myth that has held people from two villages together for so long.

Now it is on its way to becoming a magnet for all Machail Yatra devotees and tourists who come from all across the country to bath in the pools for healings from different kinds of afflictions. Relish on the legend that is associated with it. Here it is:

The Legend Of Tatta Pani

It is believed that Balrama, the elder brother of Lord Krishna came here in the form of NaagSadhu some thousands of years ago from (Pangi) Himachal to Chandipadhar (a place in Gandhari Paddar).

He meditated there for some period and then travelled along the route to Chittoo Paddar. He found Chittoo a very lovely place among all the other places he travelled. Therefore he asked Chitto Maa (who ruled that place) for some space to live there.

Furthermore he said that he would bless the land with hot water and some other help which would increase the magnificence of the land. But Maa put down his demand and offer outrightly stating that she is self-sufficient and didn’t want any kind of help. But if he wanted some help, she would give him instead in the form of 9 companions who would help him all around, she said.

After being refused by Chitoo Maa he left the place and went in search of other places. Amongst all the other places he went thereafter, he found the land ruled by the Rana of Zar suitable and conducive to his nature. So he decided to stay there. But the land he sought well for himself was owned by the old lady named Ruti (whose husband had died).So, he asked her for some place there to live but she also refused him straightly.

Distrait Balrama then tried to live there by himself, unwary of the circumstances. But when the old lady came to know about this she got furious and hit him in the eye with pincers. Also, she warned him to leave the land that he had occupied illegally. She remained adamant on her decision of not giving an inch of land to him. On seeing this, Balrama came back to his original form of Sheshnaga and commanded all the other nagas(snakes) of the area to leave the place immediately.

To his advice all the nagas left the land and went with him. But, before leaving the place he cursed the old lady Ruti of misfortune and it is believed that the same year the land of the old lady faced severe drought. There didn’t rain for a whole year and because of which many crops destroyed. There was an acute shortage of food that year and people started rebelling against the the local Rana.

To this the Rana of Jar went himself in search of him. After finding him, Rana begged for mercy and asked him to remove the jinx from which his land was suffering. To this benevolent Balrama agreed and went to the place of old lady with his nagas again. After reaching there he hit the earth with his trident there and hot water started oozing out of the place. There became a pool of hot water.

He said that this water would help people cure many diseases. He advised the people of the land to send 3 people to Chittoo to invite all the 9 aides that Maa promised him earlier of help.

They came on the full moon night and Sheshnaga taught them the procedure of cleansing the pool which is still unknown to the people of Paddar. Since then they come on the full moon night of winters every third year and clean it.

It is considered immoral to watch them cleansing, therefore nobody dares to watch them He also told the people there that he would meditate that night and a stone would appear there the very next day. Next day, the stone appeared and people constructed a temple

there in his reverence. After this incident this land got the name of Tata Pani. The Land of Hot-Water. It is believed that after this incident all the problems of the land resolved and they started living happily once again.

Lessons From the legend

This legend is no ordinary. It says a lot about the science and history of our land. Snakes are given a prominent space in the legend. Occurrence of drought after the departure of snakes is our ancestor’s way of telling us through the medium of this legend that snakes are crucial to the ecosystem.

Scientific research has also shown that they help in bringing rain to the land. Also, according to a mythologist Devddutt Patnayak The hooded serpent or Naga is an important creature in the mythological landscape.

It is associated with fertility and wisdom. People visit serpent shrines seeking good harvest (fertility of the land) and children (fertility of the womb). Moreover, there is also a mention of a king of Nepal in the history who killed almost all the snakes in his region which led to severe drought in the land that very year. This suggests that there is a strong connection between the snakes and the occurrence of rain.

They also control the population of rats and rodents in the ecosystem and thereby reduce the risk of above 30 diseases like Black Plague, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS), Leptospirosis etcetera that are caused due to the increase in their population. To make it clearer, let me share the story of one more incident from the US. Once a dog keeper in Florida planned of killing all the snakes in his locality. After achieving the target, his locality was hit by a plague due to the increase in number of rodents and because of which many people died.

There are many other roles that snakes play in the ecosystem. They protect the environment from many harmful bugs and insects. Also, there is a yogic angle to it.

Our ancestors were supposed to have known this secret of the snakes earlier. That’s why, there is a strong tradition of worshiping of snakes in the area. People of Paddar still perform some rituals in the name of Nagdevta whenever there is a scarcity of rain there, which is a testimony to this fact.

To make the legend perfect, presence of one person from Jar Paddar is considered mandatory to complete the ritual, otherwise their demand would remain unheard, they believe.  Paddar is full of these stories of Nagas. This land is blessed with many springs and we know that snakes play a crucial role in the cleansing of outlets of these springs and that probably could be a reason why there are so much snake worshippers in the region.

Hot water of the Tatta Paani also has many health benefits. It contains sulphur which cures patients from many rheumatic diseases and joint pains. Temple of Nagdevta there is a symbol of respect for these snakes which endow the land of Paddar with multiple benefits. A pool is also constructed there where people bath to get rid of joint pains. Only people from Chito clean the pool every third year in the winters and the belief that watching them is immoral has moral reason behind it. This belief has its root in enhancing the coordination between the villages. It increased their cooperation ever since and who knows whether people of Chito were also concerned with the knowledge of snakes or not. Anyways, this story has enough to teach us. Let us explore it in the future!

If you liked the legend and the lessons associated with it please share it and comment because your comments are something which pump life into the dry world of words.