‘Best Tourism Village’

• Context: Three Indian villages have been nominated for UNWTO’s ‘Best Tourism Village’.
• Madhya Pradesh's Ladpura Khas village, Meghalaya's Kongthong village, and Telangana's Pochampally are the villages that have been nominated.
• Ladpura Khas village is located in Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh. It is famous for its palaces and temples built in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• Kongthong village is also known as 'Whistling village' as in this village, a mother calls her child by a tune instead of a name, like Eeooow, Ooeeo, etc. These musical names are called ‘jingrwai Iawbei.’ The villagers here have two names-a regular name and a song name. The song names have two versions, a short song (used at home) and a long song (used in the forest to keep away evil spirits).
• Bhoodan Pochampally village located in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district of Telangana is popular for its weaves, especially handwoven ikkat saris. It is known for its famous Bhoodan movement, which saw rich landowners voluntarily gift a percentage of their lands to the landless.

Sources:

• Three Indian villages nominated for UNWTO’s ‘Best Tourism Village’; Details here
• Three Indian destinations in line for UNWTO’s ‘Best Tourism Village’; know about them here

Image Sources:

• Three Indian destinations in line for UNWTO’s ‘Best Tourism Village’; know about them here
• Private Pochampally Textile Village Tour from Hyderabad