Major Info about the Himalayas - Essay Example

> < > < > < > Himalayas Learning about the geographical nature of the mountains, new cultures and places is my area of interest. After going through a lot of places across countries, I found Himalayas as my area of interest. India is a country with many different cultures and places. Himalayas is one of the most attractive mountain areas in India. It is the worlds highest and is the home to the world’s highest peaks. I gained a lot of information about this wonderful place by reading many articles. These articles gave a lot of insights about the people, their culture and their traditional practices. People and Economy The first article was about the people of Himalayas and their way of life. The population in this part of the country is not so high which is greatly affected by the climate making communication and movement difficult in these harsh living conditions. Over the years, people living in the remote and isolated villages have preserved their identity. However, the advancements in technology, communication and transport, are bringing the people exposure to the outer world. With a population of around 40 million, the place is mostly occupied by the Hindus of the Indian origin and the Tibetan Buddhists. Most of the economy in this area is dependent on agriculture. What was surprising is that even with the advancement of technology, the modern industries are lacking in this area. The Himalayas has major hydroelectric potential, but the development of hydroelectric resources requires outside capital investment (Himalayas, uttaranchal.ws). Over the last decade, it has witnessed a lot of growth in population but not so equal growth of employment. This has also led to the lack of development in this area. Another reason is Education, which is improper and lacking. Skilled labor to organize and manage the development of natural resources is in scarce. One of the impressions I got about this place was even with the rich government, people in many parts of the mountain face malnutrition, lack of good drinking water facility and poor health services. The food production is not enough to serve all the people. A large portion of the food processing involves developing cereals, wheat, barley, millet, sugarcane, tea and fruit processing is also done in large amounts. However, the people and the place with its natural beauty makes it a heaven to live in. This has been the unique about this country. A lot of people from different cultures and language reside in the same place with peace. Reading about this place has given me an idea about the peaceful nature of the Indian people. Traditional practice The tribes of Himalayas have a lot of centuries old traditional practices. Apatani is one of the oldest tribes in that region. One of the famous traditions is the Apatani oral tradition. It involves narrating stories to others about their culture to influence the attitude of the locals towards certain thinking. One of the striking features is that it is not told in sessions and this narration does not have to be performed in a particular place, but can be performed anywhere at home, in public places or during rituals. When it is concerning ritual texts, it is usually read out by male priests whereas tales are read out by women. Another of the famous practice carried is practicing Yoga. The Himalayan tradition advocates complete self-sufficiency of a human being without dependence on any object external to his spirit and mind (The Tradition, yogaineurope.eu). This method allows the people to control his human mind. Founded millions of years ago by great saint, Swami Rana of the Himalayas, this method awakens the energy. The methods are purely internal and are related more to science than anything else. This is Yoga and the method to control ones human mind is the process of meditation. Yoga allows people to control their blood cells and increase their energy. One of the interesting rituals which I came across was about a death tradition in the Himalayas. Years back, researchers have found the existence of skulls which they considered to be beheaded during a death ritual tradition. These articles have indeed given me a clear picture on how the tribes conduct their ritual practices. Reading this article has also given me a clear picture on Yoga and its origins. Environmental Issues Himalayas serves as the home to a lot of rare species of trees and insects. Deforestation has been an issue all over the world with poachers cutting down the trees for their needs. Similar issue has been faced by Himalayas over the last decade. Cutting down trees to meet the increasing demand to feed livestock, firewood and the construction of roads and dams has led to a number of landslides in these beautiful mountains over the years. Deforestation combined with overgrazing has led to soil erosion and many environmental problems. With the ever growing population, pollution has also increased. The one major difference which I find from America is that people living in hills in India suffer from diseases when they consume the water from the river. The pollution has increased to an extent where diseases like cholera and typhoid are becoming common. This does not augur well for the people who live there and the ruling government must take steps to take care of its people. The pollution along with deforestation has led to the climate change and melting of glaciers over the two decades. Experts claim that this can cause havoc for the people who are living in that region. The melting of glaciers is a sign that rivers can burst and can sweep away people living in the area. Researchers feel that if the rise in temperature continues, the rivers in that area might dry up soon. This article has given valuable information about the environmental issues that Himalayas is currently facing. Even with the highest of altitude peaks, deforestations have led to the environmental changes and rising of temperatures. A few of the findings did not surprise me since most of the people living were the tribes. These articles have been very useful and gave loads of information. Works Cited Blackburn, Stuart. “Himalayan Tribal tales”. 2002. “Himalayas”. N.d. Web. “The Tradition”. N.d. Web. < http://www.yogaineurope.eu/himalayantradition/> Read More