Wise Wall Project, Khati

In the second edition of the Wise Wall Project, an initiative of Project FUEL and FUEL Foundation, we collaborated with the Hans Foundation to collect and paint the life lessons of the villagers of Khati. 

The project aimed at increasing the visibility of the village by transforming it into an art gallery for people all across the world to learn from, while also raising awareness against the various community issues surrounding rural life and seek solutions for the same.

The lady living in this house was the first one in Khati to do a love marriage almost 85 years ago. She boasts of the tricks she employed to convince the family for the marriage and fondly remembers her wedding procession.

During our stay in Khati, we witnessed a beautiful festival called ‘Phool Dei’. A significant harvest festival in Uttarakhand, Phool Dei is a reverence paid to the Gods for the good crop year.

The popular story about this house is that the great-great grandfather who lived in it killed a tiger with his elbow. He was out in the jungle to graze his cows when a feisty tiger showed up. The grandfather without battling at eyelid fought him. We did not know the authenticity of the story but the way everyone in the family spoke about the incident encouraged us to paint it for them.

"When I was young, I had a beautiful rose garden in my parents house. Every time someone visited the village, the relatives would get the person to see 'Champa's rose garden'. When I got married my husband asked what makes you happy and I answered, 'Roses'. He ensured to bring me one from each trek he went for. He passed away a few years ago and yet I see and smell roses when I close my eyes and think of him or my childhood."

And to celebrate Champa's story we painted these geometric roses on her house.

“My mother was the first Ayurvedic doctor of Khati. She picked these barks, roots, leaves and herbs and made a concoction to heal severe back and knee pain. Before she passed away, she taught me her secrets.”
-Bhagwan Singh Dhanu, 38

"My parents weren't having any children for a long time. When I was born they were so elated that they offered a silver statue to the goddess in the village temple. It was a huge deal in those days for families to rejoice over the birth of a girl-child. When my husband passed away, I had small kids to look after. My father before dying sanctioned his pension on my name. So I walked 25 kms to the post office in the snow and got myself some money to run my house. I am 81 and of all the things I am starting to forget, I will never forget how generous my parents have been." This story from Bilori Devi inspired this mural.

"My father is the Postman of this village. With a humble salary of 165 rupees he raised four children, and gave them basic education and good values. I left Khati for a small job in Surat. It broke my self-confidence and took away my dignity. I returned back to my roots to find respect and love. You might forget home but fortunately home never forgets you.”
-Durga, 30

The school in Khati is only till class 8th. But a new building is awaiting to be inaugurated which will provide education to students till class 12th. Cheers to more classrooms, more books and more educated minds even in the remote villages of the world.

Earlier, the villagers would trek down the mountain to fetch water from the river. In the past two years, The Hans Foundation has worked in the area and have laid down water pipelines in the village in an effort to make water accessible.

Khati has now become the second village after Saur, in the recent history to have a documented database of life lessons from an entire community. And as wishful as it gets, the village has now been transformed into a living storybook that tells the tales of Khati, like never before.