The Project
Dhanana is a small village in Bhiwani district, Haryana, India. Like most villages of its kind, its history existed only in the memories of its oldest residents — undocumented, at risk of being lost entirely.
I built this site to change that.
What It Covers
The site is structured around six areas:
- History — origins, notable events, and the village’s evolution over generations
- Demographics — population, households, and community composition
- Culture — traditions, festivals, and local customs
- Governance — panchayat structure and local administration
- Memory Wall — a dedicated space where residents and diaspora can contribute memories, photos, and stories
- Contact — for submissions, corrections, and community outreach
Trilingual Design
The site runs in three languages: English, Hindi (हिन्दी), and Haryanvi (हरियाणवी). This wasn’t just a translation exercise — each language serves a different audience. English for the diaspora and younger generations, Hindi for broader accessibility, Haryanvi for the oldest residents for whom it’s the native tongue.
Stack
- Next.js 14 — App Router, static generation for fast loads
- Vercel — deployment and hosting
- Custom i18n — three-language routing built without a heavy library
Why I Built This
My family is from Dhanana. Watching older relatives be the sole carriers of decades of local knowledge made the stakes clear. This site is an archive before it’s a website.