Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati Champawat

Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Swami Vivekananda, by his disciples Captain James Henry Sevier, and Mrs Charlotte Sevier. Today it is entrusted with the publication of the original writings of Swami Vivekananda. As an ashram dedicated to the study and practice of Advaita Vedanta, no images or idols are worshipped here, not even of Sri Ramakrishna and no images were kept in the premises according to the Ashram ideals set by Swami Vivekananda himself.

Also referred as the Mayawati Ashram, it is located at an altitude of 1940 meters, 22 km from Champawat in Champawat district,Uttarakhand, and 9 km from the town of Lohaghat. Advaita Ashrama is a major publication centre of the Ramakrishna Order for books in English and Hindi, mainly through its branch in Kolkata, and also maintains a charitable hospital at Mayavati. Among its important publications are The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda in English and as well as a Hindi translation, The Life of Swami Vivekananda, and English translations of important Hindu scriptures.

Some of the old manuscripts of the Ashram have now been microfilmed and preserved at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Delhi.

History

The Advaita Ashram has its origins in 1896, when Swami Vivekananda was travelling through the Alps recuperating, and expressed the desire to have a similar place in India, for retreat and study of Vedas.

Earlier, in 1895, Captain James Henry Sevier who had served the British Indian Army for five years, and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth Sevier, met Swami Vivekananda in England. Later in 1896, for nearly nine months, they travelled with him through Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. It was at the Alps that Swami Vivekananda, while travelling with the couple that he expressed his desire to have a similar retreat for the monks in the Himalayas. So, in December 1896,

Upat Golf course Ranikhet

Upat Golf course Ranikhet

The Upat Golf course is situated 6 Km from Ranikhet. The 9 hole Golf course is said to be the best managed Golf course in India. Upat Golf course is generally used by army-men, but is also open for general public, on payment of a small amount. It is one of the most challenging courses in the world where one can enjoy the ethereal beauty of the course with the changing seasons. This is currently one of the best maintained courses in the country. Many Golf championships are held on the Upat Golf Course.

Upat Golf course Ranikhet

The winding clear roads of Ranikhet bring you to this beautiful Golf Course spread on both sides of the road with amazing views of the Himalayas. In the vicinity of Trishul Peak & Nanda Devi, its probably the most beautiful gift to us by the British. Tee off at 6,000 ft. in Ranikhet and find out yourself why Golf is called the most beautiful game. The weather, surroundings and the greens blend so harmoniously in Ranikhet, no doubt the British chose this place as a Golfing Destination.

 Upat Golf course Ranikhet

The Golf Course is maintained by the Kumaon Regiment and civilians are not permitted to play. Well if you know someone from the regiment, then obviously you could be considered :) The problem with the Golf Course is the road which divides the Course in two parts. Tourist buses, local transport are allowed to cross the Golf Course but thankfully the vehicles cant stop.

gangolihat haat kalika temple

mahakali temple gangolihat(patal bhuvneshwar)

Gangolihat is a small Himalayan hill town in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. It is tehsil and sub divisional headquarter of the district. Gangolihat is famous for its Shakti Peethas of Hat Kalika of goddess Kali.[1] Nearby at 'Patal Bhubneshwar', underground caves are major tourist attraction. Also nearby are the tiny hill stations of Chaukori and Berinag.From Gangolihat Panchchuli peaks and Nanda Devi are clearly visible.

Gangolihaat is famous for its ancient temples and underground caves. 'Haat Kalika', 'Ambika Dewaal', 'Chamunda Mandir', 'Vaishnavi Mandir' are some of the famous temples here. 'Vaishnavi Mandir' is a special one because from here one can clearly view the Himalayas. This temple is situated on a mountain that is called 'Shail Parvat', which is notable in Hindu holy books.

There are many beautiful underground caves in Gangolihaat. 'Patal Bhuvneshwar', 'Shailashwer Gufa' and 'Mukteshwar Gufa' are most notable ones. A new underground cave has been also found recently and that is called 'Bholeshwar Gufa'.

'Haat Kalika Mandir' was chosen by Sankaracharya for installation of Mahakali Shaktipeeth. It is believed that the Original Goddes Kalika Mata, which supposed to be in West Bangal, shifted her place form Bangal to Gangolihat. This Temple is very famous all over the India, specially among Indian Army Forces. Posthumous Param Veer Chakra award winner Capt. Bikram Batra was a great devotee of Goddess and had created an Army Rest House near the Temple for Army Personnel, who come Gangoihat to get the blessing of Goddess, when they are at borders and fighting against the enemy .

The Goddess Haat Kali is also the Isht Devi,, the reverred Goddess, of the Kumaon regiment of the Indian army. Once, the ship in which the officers and soldiers of the Kumaon reginement were travelling started to sink. Efforts to save the ship were proving to be in vain. Then the soldiers prayed to the Goddess Haat Kali to save their ship. As if by a miracle, the ship reached safely ashore, guided by some high waves. Since then, the members of the  Kumaon regiment  pay homage to the Goddess and provide their services to the temple.

Gairsain Vidhan Bhawan to be built on 498 acres of land

Dehradun: The proposed Assembly building at Gairsain and related infrastructure like hostels for MLAs and officials will come up at 498 acres of government land at Bhararisain, Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said on Wednesday.

     

The plot was selected after assessing the viability of about half a dozen of them in terms of connectivity in Gairsain and adjoining areas in Chamoli district, Kunjwal said after chairing a meeting with officials sent there to identify a piece of land for the purpose.

     

The foundation stone of the proposed Assembly building is to be laid on January 14.

     

Apart from Vidhan Bhawan, hostels for legislators and officials and a 40-room guest house will be built on the site, Kunjwal said, adding there will be no dearth of funds for the project which may cross an estimated expenditure of Rs 22 crore.

     

A Vidhan Bhawan at Gairsain is being seen as a deft political move by the state government to assuage the feelings of the development starved hill regions of Uttarakhand.

     

In a bid to strike an emotional chord with people in the hill areas of the state, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna held a meeting of his Cabinet at Gairsain last month and announced the government's decision to build a Vidhan Bhawan there.

     

He had also announced that at least one session of the state Assembly will be held there every year. Gairsain is an emotive issue in Uttarakhand with a large section of those who fought for statehood in favour of the village being named as the hill state's permanent capital.

    

Deliberations were also held at the meeting over construction of a new Assembly building in Dehradun and a team headed by principal secretary revenue was set up to identify a plot for the purpose.

    

The team has been asked to submit its report within seven days, Kunjwal said. Rs 87 crore received from the Planning Commission have to be spent over the construction of the new Assembly building in Dehradun, the Speaker said.

courtesy-http://post.jagran.com

Gairsen or Gairsain  is a village in Chamoli district in central Uttarakhand, India.

According to an old tale the name Gairsain comes from the Garhwali language. Gair means deep and sain means plane, referring to a place such as a valley, a plane area at the foot of hills.

It is situated in the center of the Garhwal and Kumaoun mandal. It is 1,750 metres (5,740 ft) high above sea level.

Gairsain is also the site of the source of the Ramganga River, the doodhatoli parwat where the Ramganga River rises.

Gairsain is just about 16 km from Almora border at the national highway 87 extension. Nearest railway station from Gairsain is Ramnagar which is 150 km away. Nearest airport is Gaucher which is about 54 km.

It is being seen as a future capital of Uttarakhand. Government of Uttarakhand had constituted Dixit commission for the search of a permanent capital which recommended Gairsain for the capital but the file related to this is gathering dust in Dehradun.

Recently Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in his first visit to Gairsain promised a lot of developmental projects to this town. He promised that an air strip would be laid in Gairsain. Apart from this one session of legislative assembly will be held in Gairsain annually.