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Festivities at Stokes house in Kotgarh

Added by Himachal Live News on October 11, 2009. | October 11, 2009 |

Today was a day full of fun and festivity at the Harmony Hall at Thanedhar, Kotgarh. The entire Stokes clan had gathered from all corners of the world. The eldest, Mr. Vijay Stokes had organised a traditional dham. It was a reunion of sort for the people here as they were meeting the entire family after a long long time. The younger generation of the Stokes is now settled in the United States and only Mr. Vijay Stokes stays here in the Barubag Hills. Mrs. Satya Parmar, wife of the late Chief Minister Mr. YS Parmar had also come for this occasion who also hails from the Stokes family. Here are a few pictures I clicked without intruding into the privacy of the family. To know more about the Stokes family and the Barubaug hills read Stokes legacy in Kotgarh.

Stokes residence, The Harmony Hall, built by Mr. Satyanand Stokes in the early 20th century.

Harmony hall, Thanedhar, Kotgarh

Natti starts with the ladies taking the lead

natti at harmony hall, kotgarh

And goes on for hours!

Harmony hall natti kotgarh

ladies at Natti at Harmony hall kotgarh

festivities at Harmony Hall, Thanedhar, kotgarh

The Arya Samaj temple built by Mr. Stokes

Jyotirgamay temple Thanedhar kotgarh

The temple has inscriptions on the walls with no deity in the temple. Mr. Stokes was an Arya Samaji after all

Stokes Temple, Thanedhar, kotgarh

Another look at the temple

Temple built by stokes at Thanedhar, Kotgarh

Some great views from the Barubag top. A view of the Kotgarh valley

Kotgarh valley

The distant hill tops looked so near. The farthest hills are that of Rohru

View from barubag kotgarh

An amazing view of the Satluj

Satluj view from Barubag hills kotgarh

Another view of the Harmony Hall

Stokes House Harmony Hall at Kotgarh

Also see pictures of welcoming the new bride in Kotgarh and a trip back home to Kotgarh

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Facebook comments

  • Sachin

    nice pic……..

  • Sachin

    nice pic……..

  • Vivek Jishtu

    Amazing pics

  • Vivek Jishtu

    Amazing pics

  • Bheegi Billi

    Wow!!!!!!!! What majesty? I wonder if there are carpenters still who know the art.

  • Bheegi Billi

    Wow!!!!!!!! What majesty? I wonder if there are carpenters still who know the art.

  • Aparna Thakur

    Great picture and very informative. Btw is there other literature about Stokes besides “An American in Khadi”. I was told that this book is a biography of his.

    Thanks

    • http://nityin.wordpress.com/ NITYIN

      ‘American in Khadi’ has been re-published as ‘American in Gandhi’s India’. The book has been written by Stoke’s grand daughter Asha Sharma. This is available on Amazon. I think there is no other book which covers Kotgarh and Stokes better than this one.

      • http://nityin.wordpress.com/ NITYIN

        This book is available on Google books. Read an excerpt
        here

  • Aparna Thakur

    Great picture and very informative. Btw is there other literature about Stokes besides “An American in Khadi”. I was told that this book is a biography of his.

    Thanks

    • http://nityin.wordpress.com NITYIN

      ‘American in Khadi’ has been re-published as ‘American in Gandhi’s India’. The book has been written by Stoke’s grand daughter Asha Sharma. This is available on Amazon. I think there is no other book which covers Kotgarh and Stokes better than this one.

      • http://nityin.wordpress.com NITYIN

        This book is available on Google books. Read an excerpt
        here

  • aarkay

    Here’s God’s plenty.Thanks for sharing the magnificent photographs- Nityin!

  • aarkay

    Here’s God’s plenty.Thanks for sharing the magnificent photographs- Nityin!

  • http://olio-gallimaufry.blogspot.com/ Geetali

    That temple is amazing, Nityin! Thanks for sharing.

  • http://olio-gallimaufry.blogspot.com/ Geetali

    That temple is amazing, Nityin! Thanks for sharing.

  • http://www.madaboutbags.org/ Shivee Sirmauri

    awesome pictures Nityn… specially the one with Rijta clad women…. :) :):)

    • http://nityin.wordpress.com/ NITYIN

      Thank you everyone for the kind words. Had a great Sunday after a very long time.
      PS: Never knew this post would be such hit. There were 139 page views alone for this post today :)

  • http://www.madaboutbags.org/ Shivee Sirmauri

    awesome pictures Nityn… specially the one with Rijta clad women…. :) :):)

    • http://nityin.wordpress.com NITYIN

      Thank you everyone for the kind words. Had a great Sunday after a very long time.
      PS: Never knew this post would be such hit. There were 139 page views alone for this post today :)

  • Shelley

    As a little boy, when I lived in Princeton, a frequent visitor to my home, was Vijay Stokes. My father, who was doing research in Physics, and my mother enjoyed Vijay’s visits. Vijay Stokes remained a lifelong friend of my family’s. He probably does not know that my Dad died 2+ years ago.

    What I remember of Vijay was that he was in a big hurry! He came to Princeton to do a Masters. When he found that no one prevented him from taking extra work load, auditing classes, etc., he went at it with a vengeance. As I recall it, he broke all Princeton records by earning a couple of Masters degrees plus a doctorate in a little over two years. I think he had a girl in India who he wanted to return to and marry!

    • http://nityin.wordpress.com/ NITYIN

      That is a great info Shelley! Now looking at his simple life style here, you will be surprised! I did not knew he had a doctorate.

      Many thanks for your great feedback.

      • Shelley

        I’ll double-check those facts in a couple of hours. I will lunch with my Mother and she should remember more exactly.

      • Shelley

        My mother says that Vijay just wanted one thing when he came over (quite frequently, I gather). Aloo! Any kind of ‘aloo’ would do!

        She also recalls that he only stayed at Princeton for about a year and a half. And, yes, he earned two Masters and a Ph.d. in that time. He was betrothed to a girl in India and so was in a hurry. He then went and taught at Kanpur IIT.

        • http://nityin.wordpress.com/ NITYIN

          Great info Shelly.. keep them coming.

          Sorry, delayed replies from my end as am traveling these days

  • Shelley

    As a little boy, when I lived in Princeton, a frequent visitor to my home, was Vijay Stokes. My father, who was doing research in Physics, and my mother enjoyed Vijay’s visits. Vijay Stokes remained a lifelong friend of my family’s. He probably does not know that my Dad died 2+ years ago.

    What I remember of Vijay was that he was in a big hurry! He came to Princeton to do a Masters. When he found that no one prevented him from taking extra work load, auditing classes, etc., he went at it with a vengeance. As I recall it, he broke all Princeton records by earning a couple of Masters degrees plus a doctorate in a little over two years. I think he had a girl in India who he wanted to return to and marry!

    • http://nityin.wordpress.com NITYIN

      That is a great info Shelley! Now looking at his simple life style here, you will be surprised! I did not knew he had a doctorate.

      Many thanks for your great feedback.

      • Shelley

        I’ll double-check those facts in a couple of hours. I will lunch with my Mother and she should remember more exactly.

      • Shelley

        My mother says that Vijay just wanted one thing when he came over (quite frequently, I gather). Aloo! Any kind of ‘aloo’ would do!

        She also recalls that he only stayed at Princeton for about a year and a half. And, yes, he earned two Masters and a Ph.d. in that time. He was betrothed to a girl in India and so was in a hurry. He then went and taught at Kanpur IIT.

        • http://nityin.wordpress.com NITYIN

          Great info Shelly.. keep them coming.

          Sorry, delayed replies from my end as am traveling these days

  • http://www.mapwayin.com/ Avninder Thakur

    Great pictures. Where is the clan photo?

    • http://nityin.wordpress.com/ NITYIN

      Well, I missed out on that one :(

  • http://www.mapwayin.com Avninder Thakur

    Great pictures. Where is the clan photo?

    • http://nityin.wordpress.com NITYIN

      Well, I missed out on that one :(

  • Deepak K. Thakur

    Hi Nitin, very nice pictures of HH, Barubag, Thanedhar, Satluj valley & the nati. Thanks & keep up the good work. Love, Deepak.

    • http://nityin.wordpress.com/ NITYIN

      Thanks Deepak ji..

      • Abhishek

        thanks for the link. the article on stokes legacy is quite useful. So you are a photographer too. great pics.

  • Deepak K. Thakur

    Hi Nitin, very nice pictures of HH, Barubag, Thanedhar, Satluj valley & the nati. Thanks & keep up the good work. Love, Deepak.

    • http://nityin.wordpress.com NITYIN

      Thanks Deepak ji..

      • Abhishek

        thanks for the link. the article on stokes legacy is quite useful. So you are a photographer too. great pics.