| In 1999, when we interacted with the farmers of village Seola-Majra, Dehradun, Uttaranchal, India, which is the home of the famous Dehradun Basmati, few farmers told us to go to the village Tapovan to look for best quality Basmati. Tapovan (district Tehri, Uttaranchal) is a small village, located on the slope of the hilly ridge between 700 and 1000 m altitude, just above the Lakshman Jhoola in Rishikesh, Uttaranchal. Agricultural lands of the village are on slopes as terraces. Farmers grow a reddish-brown husk Basmati called Tapovan Basmati on these terraces. This variety is confined to the village Tapovan. |