Apple Grafters
The Apple Grafters of the Apple Country in Kotkhai and else where in Apple growing regions are highly sought after men who specialize in grafting any Apple variety on any Apple tree. Their Story.
Apple Grafters
This is what all Apple trees should be like. Just dripping with Apples.
This was in a neighbouring Orchard and the amount of fruit on this particular Tree was quite amazing. As per the tradition here, an Orchardist can ask a fellow Orchardist here for a "Kalam" from the said Tree. The Kalam or a small branch can then be grafted on another Tree to hopefully get similar results as the parent Tree the Kalam came from.
But it's the master Grafts men who hold the key. They come around in the Grafting season and create their magic. Technically a single Apple Tree can grow as many as 10 or 20 or even 50 varieties of Apple as long as it's done by an expert Graftsman.
These Graftsmen are men of their own moods and need to be handled well. For example we pay an expert Graftsman Rs. 2000 per day plus a "Bottal". They work on the Grafts for a few days and then disappear into their own oblivion till the Grafting season comes again.
I should add that a grafted Kalam doesn't always give the same results as the parent Tree due to changes in the soil, location, sun angles etc etc of its new host Tree.
Anyways buy Himalayan Apples
Pic from August 2017. Mahasu Village, Kotkhai Tehsil, Himachal Pradesh
Kiki’s Blog
Stories from the Himalayas
Five years ago the Galwan Valley was in the News for the wrong reasons after a deadly clash between the Indian and Chinese Armies in the Valley located in Ladakh lead to many deaths on the contentious Border between the two countries in wake of continued Chinese intrusions into Indian territory.
This area along the Shyok River, of which the Galwan Nallah or the Galwan River which forms the Galwan Valley has been off limits to Civilians since long but now the Indian Government has decided to open up the area for Civilians and we were amongst the First Civilians to venture into this beautifully desolate part of the Eastern Karakorams in Ladakh. Earlier Civilians could only venture upto the Village of Shyok from where the Shyok River takes a U turn and flows in a Northerly direction.