Kanda

Some towns in Uttarakhand (उत्तराखंड) do not shout for attention. They no longer have flashy boards or busy streets. Kanda (कांडा), in the Bageshwar (बागेश्वर) district, is one of these places. It sits within the lap of inexperienced hills, wherein mornings smell of pine (चीड़) and damp soil after rain, and evenings are wrapped in a smooth, mountain quiet.

Where History Still Sits in the Shade of Temples

Long before today’s roads and jeeps, this land was ruled by the Katyuri (कत्यूरी) kings. From the 7th to the 13th century, they left their mark across Kumaon in temples, in stone pillars, in stories. Then came the Mankoti (मंकोटी) kings of Gangoli. By the 16th century, Balo Kalyan Chand of the Chand dynasty had brought this region into the Kumaon kingdom.

The past here is not just in books. It is in the way elders tell stories while sitting on the temple steps. It is in the carvings, half-hidden by moss. It is in the antique footpaths still utilized by shepherds and schoolchildren. A vintage man inside the market as soon as said, “इन पहाड़ों में हर पत्थर के नीचे एक कहानी है” — underneath each stone in these hills, there's a story.

The Land and Its Pathways

Kanda lies about 26 kilometers east of Bageshwar. The avenue winds through ridges and dips, past terraces carved into the hills like large green stairs. Some slopes have tea gardens, their leaves catching the morning sun.

But the hills are also changing. Quarrying for soft stone has left scars here and there. Locals speak about it quietly, as if not wanting to wake an old worry. The land here has always given, but it needs rest, too.

The main road is National Highway 309A. Shared jeeps and buses are the lifelines. The ride is never just about getting somewhere. Every bend opens up a new view, a new stretch of sky, sometimes even the distant hamlets of Bans Patia or Chaukori peeking through the mist.

A Market That Knows Your Name

Kanda’s market is small. A few shops, a tea stall or two, and the Kalika Mandir close by. But it is not just a place to buy things. It is where neighbors meet, in which information travels faster than the bus, wherein a shopkeeper will set aside sparkling vegetables for you without being asked.

In the mornings, the candy smell of singals (सिंगल) and Bal mithai (बाल मिठाई) drifts from the halwai’s counter. Children are prevented from choosing between hot samosas and jalebis by coins clutched in their fingers.

The market changes mood during the Kanda Mahotsav. For three days, the streets fill with stalls, music, and the sound of Ramleela plays. People from surrounding villages walk down in colorful clothes. Children run with paper toys. The night sky glows from the temple lamps.

Many young people from here join the defense forces. When they come home on leave, the whole town knows. There is pride in the way people speak of them, as if they carry Kanda with them wherever they go.

People, Fields, and Quiet Numbers

In 2011, the tehsil had about 26,000 people, spread across 180 villages. That is over six thousand homes, most made of stone and mud, with slate roofs that shine after the rain.

The sex ratio here is in favour of women, which is rare in many parts of India. Literacy is close to seventy-nine percent, even though the gap between men and women is still huge. Life here is gradual, consistent, and deeply tied to the land.

Fields of wheat (गेहूं), paddy (धान), mandua (मंडुवा), and seasonal vegetables line the hills. People still comply with the old approaches, sharing labour throughout harvest, supporting rebuilding a neighbour’s wall, and lending grain without counting every grain returned.

Schools and Learning

Kanda has been a place for learning for more than a century. The Government Inter College started as a middle school in 1902. Generations have studied here, walking long distances with books wrapped in cloth.

The Government Degree College opened in 2008, and later came the ITI and Polytechnic. These institutions let young people study without leaving their homes. In classrooms here, dreams stretch far, but roots hold strong.

Temples and the Calendar of Festivals

Temples in Kanda are more than buildings. They are part of the metropolis’s heartbeat. Kalika Mandir stands at the centre, even as Golu Mandir, Jawala Devi Mandir, Annapurna Mandir, Dholinag Mandir, Hanuman Mandir, and Pheninag Mandir relax inside the surrounding hills.

Festivals flip these temples into gathering locations. During Dussehra, the air is thick with drumbeats and the Choliya dance. On Shivratri, bells ring deep into the nighttime. Women sing Jhora (झोड़ा) and Chaachari (छाछरी) songs, their voices soaring over the fields.

The seasons convey their very own celebrations. Harela in the rains, Phool Dei in spring, Ghee Sankranti after the harvest. These are not just dates on a calendar. There are ways of living in step with the land.

The Everyday Life of Kanda

Morning comes with the odor of tea boiling on chulhas (चूल्हा). Schoolchildren walk in pairs, their chatter echoing along slim lanes. Farmers head out early, sickles in hand. Goats bleat from a nearby slope.

By noon, the market wakes up. Someone repairs a cycle, another sells cucumbers fresh from the sphere. Elders sit down on a wooden bench, sipping tea and speaking about the climate, politics, and sometimes anything at all.

Evenings are slow. The hills turn gold, the shadows grow long. Temple bells ring, and households gather for dinner. Somewhere in the distance, a flute performs, soft enough to make you stop and pay attention.

Why Kanda Stays With You

Kanda does not try to impress. It does not need to. It stays with you because of its steady heart. Because here, history lives quietly in the present. Because the pace is human, not hurried.

When you leave, you take with you the scent of pine after rain, the taste of hot singals with tea, the sound of folk songs at dusk, and the sight of terraced fields shining under the morning sun. And you know that one day, you will want to come back, not as a tourist, but as someone who has learned to walk at Kanda’s pace.