The village is half way up a hill. The Ramganga flows at the foot of the hill and Masi is on the banks of the river. No motor road reaches up to the village; from Masi you can cross the river by car and move a few hundred yards up another hill, but then you have to descend on foot into a small valley, cross a little stream or gaderaa, and then climb up the main path to the village which is two-foot wide, alternatively in concrete and in large stone, but occasionally disappearing in a few yards of mud.

Below is a picture of the Ramganga at the foot of the village. Masi would be a few hundred yards to the right of the photograph frame. Masi is a small town, a couple of hundred dwellings at most, with one internet center that is open a couple of hours each day, and a few shops selling readymade clothes, boiled eggs, trinkets and wood and metal furniture. Adigram Fuloria has perhaps just 40-50 houses. There is electricity in the village, and satellite TV for those who can afford it.

Most children in the area go to school... and play a lot of cricket. They take their cricket seriously. Almost every game has real wickets and, wonder of wonders, two bats being used. In the photo below, you can even see the creases marked in white chalk. The bowler was churning up a pretty decent pace. Once in a while the ball would go into the Ramganga, just as in the streets of New Delhi our ball would sometimes find its way into a 6 inch wide rainwater drain.

At the foot of the hill is a little temple. The temple has been around for a while. When we went there recently (2006), the priest we met there was the nephew of the man who had married my parents many decades ago. The temple is a loose collection of small halls built around a tiny old cave that is blackened with soot from innumerable havans. The temple has a quaint gate with the traditional bell. We took off our shoes near where a large collection of brooms lay. The air was fresh and cool.

Kumaon's history is not well known among most Kumaonis, at least not as well known as, say, the Maratha history to the Marathas. I will come back to it in another article. Suffice to say that the area has been inhabited by Hindus for quite some time. A large number of religious relics can be found in these areas that appear to be several hundred years old. Lying in the temple were these ancient stone idols corroded by the centuries, including the one of Nandi on the right.

Although the hillsides are dotted with villages, the area is still has a frontier feel. A few days before we visited this year, a leopard made its way into the village at night and hung around roaring while people listened from behind bolted doors. It left, carrying away the Pradhan's dog. There are almost no stray dogs left in the village and people do not enjoy venturing towards the edge of the village after dark.

One evening, a few minutes from Masi, across the river on the Adigram side, we were startled by a pack of four foxes or jackals, running up the road at a terrifying pace, then scrambling up and down the hill (see below) in seconds to make a detour around us, and then galloping off on the road again.

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