A panoramic view of main road & market of Tarikhet
Tarikhet is a big
hamlet, which is the Block headquarters that goes by the same name and
comprises of 134 village Panchayats. The STD code of the destination is –
05966 and PIN code is – 263663.It is at
a lower elevation of about 1500 odd meters above mean sea level and apart from
the Block Development Office, it houses banks, ATMs, a Primary Health
Centre, Govt. Inter College et al. With Indian
independence struggle movement in its credit, Tarikhet is a charming, verdant
and beautiful cute village nearby Ranikhet on the way to I have been away from
writing blogs for a long time and as I am struck down because of the pandemic,
while searching for smaller destinations in the region of the internet, I could
find only some scanty and scattered information.Accordingly, I decided to gather information
and put them on the internet in form of blogs for the readers and hence
starting this series as ‘Nondescript destinations of Kumaon’.In this series, I am starting with Tarikhet
being the nearest township from my village.
A panoramic view of Tarikhet from Gandhi Kutir
Tarikhet is a
charming, verdant and beautiful cute hamlet nearby Ranikhet on the way to
Ramnagar. It is a rather big hamlet, which is the Block headquarters that goes
by the same name and comprises of 134 village Panchayats. It is perched at a lower elevation of about
1500 odd meters above mean sea level, but has salubrious climate the year
round.Being the block headquarters, apart
from housing the Block Development Office, it also has two banks and their
ATMs, a Primary Health Centre, many private run as well as Government run
schools, Govt. Inter College et al. The STD code of the
destination is – 05966 and PIN code is – 263663.
Outside view of the Gandhi Kutir
Close up of the pillar commemorating visit by Gandhi ji
A plaque indicating the Gandhi kutir
Tarikhet is well
known for its association with the Indian independence struggle movement in its
credit.The recognition of Tarikhet and
its association with freedom struggle is attributable to the famous ‘Gandhi Kutiya', a small hut where Mahatma
Gandhi stayed for three days in June, 1929. Tarikhet was the nerve
center for all the activities related to the freedom struggle. This is a must
place to be visited to get the feeling of the history of India and
its independence. This prime attraction is now in a rather neglected
state here, which is the small hut known as Gandhi Kuti, where Mahatma Gandhi,
the great symbol of peace and tranquility and Father of our Nation, stayed once
during the freedom movement. This place is thus,
a symbol of India’s freedom struggle against the British Raj.
However, as you approach this venerated place, the government apathy is palpable
& noticeable straight away. The condition of the approach road is
atrocious, with no maintenance whatsoever. Even more so is the actual
Kutir, which is ceremonially spruced and decked up during the Gandhi Jayanti
etc., as informed by the local residents, or else in case when some local
leaders troop in and make tall claims, only to disappear later. The
staircase is in bad shape, the place where Gandhiji stayed was converted into a
school but the same is now in a state of total disrepair and the locals have
even removed the doors & windows from the building, that sans any kind of
security or periphery wall whatsoever. The statute of Ghandhiji that was
placed inside the Kutir and was on verge of being vandalized, has been kept in
safe custody by the Principal of the local school of Prem Vidyalaya,
Tarikhet.
The statue of Gandhi ji kept in Prem Vidyalaya in Tarkhet
The
place bristles with activities all round the year, with people moving to and
fro in the market or visiting Government offices for their works.The market is spread across both sides of the
State Highway that connects Ranikhet with Ramnagar and is the main market for
local villagers for sourcing their requirements, be it clothes or other day to
day sundry requirements.It houses some
quaint little sweetmeat shops and a few restaurants that cater mainly to local
cuisine.There is a small hotel or
rather a home stay that goes by the name of ‘Pine grove Hotel’ and is situated
in the outer vicinity of the township.The
place also offers an opportunity to visit a temple housing the famed Golu Devta,
the reverend deity of the region and also is home to a small temple dedicated
to Lord Hanuman inside the temple complex.
Thus, this destination
known as Tarikhet, although may not be a destination of great tourist
attraction, but is definitely a quaint and tranquil little destination, where
the nature lover traveler can spend a few days in solitude.
Here is a link to a short video of the destination
