Something about the famous rungshya picture

 After 10 years of hiatus, I would like to start again this blog with the book cover of Pahad (the mountain) published in 1989. The book was about society, culture, history and ecosystem of Uttarakhand Himalayas.  However, my main interest lies in the back cover of this book, in the iconic picture of a gorgeous rung woman in her traditional attire and silver jewelry, looking out of the beautiful ornate window of her old house. 

The cover of Pahad 1989. The picture of it was circulating in facebook groups 

The original photo was taken in 1987 during Kangdali festival in village Sosa by Anup Sah. The festival of Kangdali is celebrated once every 12 years in the villages of Chaudas. This photo went on to became one of the most famous portrayals of rung culture. I am yet to see another picture as famous. It was in back cover of Pahad, in a calendar by Koormanchal bank and a painting of it was prominently displayed as an advertisement of tourism department of Kumaon region (KMVN) for years. Even today, after more than 25 years this photo was taken, I see rung women posing the same way to get their best pictures. 

The beautiful woman in this picture is my Mother, Pushpa Hyanki (née Budiyal) who was the first graduate in Sosa when she married my father. She graduated from Allahabad university in 1962 before joining as a lecturer in Pithoragarh. The house in this picture is our old house in Sosa. The house is more than 100 years old. The structure is made with stone and timber, floors and walls plastered with rammed earth and roof is covered with stone slabs. The heavy doors and windows are made of wood and have intricate engravings and symbols.

Trivia Time - Did you notice that there is one another person in this picture? In the left bottom side of the window there are a set of eyes and nose. That is a kid holding his mother's hand and trying to sneak in the picture. That is me :) 

 P.S. This blog was in cold for last 10 years. In last few days I have changed its look, removed unnecessary posts and assigned a URL rungkatha.blogspot.com, but my target is still the same - To learn more about rung society by speaking with knowledgable rung people and write it down to remember.