Thalisain is a town and tehsil of Pauri Garhwal district in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand. At an elevation of 1690 metres from sea level, it is situated on a gentle slope above the right bank of Nayaar (East) river. It is in the southwestern foothills of Dudhatoli Range and at a distance of 83 kilometers from Pauri town (headquarters of Pauri Garhwal district) and 95 kilometers from Gairsain, the future capital of Uttarakhand.
Etymology
Originally, the name of the place was Thali (some locals still call it by this name), but since the town is settled on a long and gentle hill (known as “Sain” in Garhwali language) it later came to be known as Thalisain. Just like in Gairsain, “Gair” means a deep place or a valley and “Sain” means a flattish hill.
History
Garhwal got its name during the 9th century AD when Kanakpal, the chieftain of Chaandpurgarhi, conquered all the little kingdoms from Uttarkashi to Garhwal-Kumaon border and unified them to form the kingdom of Garhwal with Garhwali as the official state language. Garhwal literally translates to “Land of Forts”. There were 52 of those fortresses scattered all over the land, Chaandpur being one of them. Thalisain was a part of Patti Choprakot in the historic Chaandpur kingdom, with its headquarters at Chaandpurgarhi in Chamoli Garhwal. Chaandpur kingdom administered five Pattis of Garhwal viz Choprakot, Chauthan, Dhaijyuli, Lohbha and Chaandpur (at present the first three are in Pauri District and the next two in Chamoli district, forming a part of Dudhatoli mountains).
Ruins of ancient temples of that era can still be found and a few temples are in a very good condition. From these ancient monuments, it can be ascertained that the place has been inhabited since ancient times. Although Thalisain town doesn't have any ancient monuments, but ancient temples can be found scattered around the surrounding hill-tops. Most of these stone temples have been built in traditional Ashlar style, some even showing Katyuri characteristics dating from 12th to 16th century AD. All the temples except Rahu temple in Paithani have been built in remote areas or in wilderness. Besides temples, there are a good number of old houses that can be seen in some villages. These traditional houses, known as Tibaari in Garhwali were quite popular at the time, when Garhwal dynasty was at its peak. Later on, Pauri and Chamoli became a part of British Garhwal and the kingdom of Garhwal shrank in size, almost the entire Uttarakhand was under the British. Thus began a decline of those houses and their construction flourished only in the valley of Bhagirathi, which was the last stronghold of the royal family. Today, those temples and houses tell of the glorious past of the Garhwal kingdom when there were no roads and warriors roamed the forests and bridle paths on their horses.
While British administration undertook the construction of several roads, schools and medical facilities in the region, they also formulated policies to take control of the natural resources, specifically the forests, as the region had one of the densest forest covers in Garhwal hills and was conveniently close to the plains of North India. Trees were felled recklessly for timber, fuel and railway sleepers. It was during that era, when railway line was extended from Moradabad to Ramnagar in 1907. Ramnagar became the nearest railhead for the region and facilitated harvesting of forest produce.
Geography
Thalisain tehsil comprises two blocks, Bironkhal block and Thalisain block. Thalisain development block extends from latitudes 29.54 N to 30.10 N and longitudes 78.54 E to 79.13 E, measuring 35 km in length and 49 km in width. Most of the Himalayan ranges extend from north-west to south-east direction. The south-eastern face is most favorable site for the location of settlements. Because of the sunny aspect, compact settlements are located on the spurs and river terraces. The south- eastern faces are denser than northern and western aspects. North western aspects are not favorable for human habitation and agricultural occupations because it receives less solar energy.