116 Abode of Gods
The seat of culture
The people of Almora leaving out the Khasiyas and Doms who
form primarily the basic agricultural bulk of the population live
in the rural area of Almora and are in fact the original inhabi-
tants of Kumaon. The other castes are Brahmins and Baniyas
or small traders, Moussalmans and Christians, most of whom
migrated from different parts of India. The people of Almora
are fond of education and culture.
The chief occupation of the people of Almora is government
service, ordinary trade and barter. In fact there is a strong
desire of education in the people of Almoraand this factor alone
has made it possible that you can find a man from Almora not
only in every nook and comer of India but almost all over the
world. Almora has produced reknowned scholars who have
done extremely well in different fields of occupation.
Almora, being the seat of the kings, has unique distinction of
being the centre of many cultural activities.
It was here that Udai Shanker and Anna Pavalova chose to
enact many of the dramas out of the pages of our scriptures.
Almora as a hill station
Almora is surrounded with a chain of scenic beauty spots which
can easily be approached from Almora. Out of these, such places'
are most famed like Binsar, Kausani, Jogeshwar, Mrigtola and
Simtola. Mr. E.S. Oakly has rightly paid this tribute to-
Almora—
Sweetest breezes blow athwart thee
0 Almora !
Roses bloom high alt the year
In thy golden atmosphere,
And all flowers are dear,
0 Almora.