They work in cities, but their heart lies in the country. The five ‘Sangha sisters’ from ‘Navan Pind Saradaran’ village in Gurdaspur are a blend of modernity and tradition who have converted their two ancestral heritage houses – ‘The Kothi’ and ‘Pipal Haveli’ – into homestays wherein tourists not only get the best of both worlds – urban comforts and rural tranquillity – but they (mansions) have also contributed to the village’s economic development.
This emotional venture of theirs is a real home away from home which has put the village on the tourism map. Their vision and efforts to preserve the heritage without losing sight of moving with the times by attracting tourists and generating employment opportunities finally bore fruit this year when ‘Navan Pind Saradaran’, located 5 km south of NH 54, won the bronze medal in the Best Tourism Village category on World Tourism Day.
The Union Ministry of Tourism had received entries from 795 villages across the country. Around two decades ago, the ‘Sangha sisters’ – Simran Kaur, Gurmeet Rai Sangha, Manpreet Sangha, Gita Kaur, and Noor Sangha – started taking care of the heritage mansions of their ancestors, which made space for rural tourism.
“These ancestral houses have been refurbished with modern facilities while restoring the original fabric,” said Delhi-based Gurmeet Rai Sangha, who is a renowned conservation architect.
Simran Kaur, who also works in Delhi, manages things in the village on weekends. She has set up a goat farm in the village to provide employment to the rural community. Manpreet Kaur Sangha lives in the US and manages social media promotion and bookings for the Kothi and Pipal Haveli.
Gita Kaur mostly lives in the village and works with self-help groups for the production of crafts and the empowerment of women. Noor, a lawyer, who lives in Mumbai, is the legal hand for the village. “Our village remains in demand from September to April. Some tourists stay here for a week to 10 days,” said Simran.
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“Members of the local community were trained in cooking and housekeeping. This was followed by skill development of local women in crafts. They make bags, sweaters, lamp shades, table linen, cushion covers, bed sheets among others products that tourists buy,” said Gita. “Our father (late Captain Gurpreet Singh Sangha) died in a plane crash. There is an emotion behind putting efforts into the development of this village, and that emotion is the memories of our father, who wanted to put the village on the tourism map,” said Gita.
The village was founded by Narain Singh in the late 19th century. He built the ‘Haveli’ to reside in, store produce, agricultural implements, and interact with farm workers. His son, Beant Singh, built the ‘Kothi’ in 1886. The homes in the village exist around the Kothi and Haveli, collectively giving a distinctive character to the village.
Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Agarwal said, “In terms of population, this village isn’t very large, but in terms of preserving its heritage and generating employment opportunities, this village has done an excellent job. We are also considering to spruce up heritage buildings in the upper and lower regions of this village.”
