Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Friday visited his mother's ancestral village Thati in Uttarkashi district and met his maternal cousin and family.
Gen Rawat shared childhood memories with his cousin Narendra Pal Parmar and also gave gifts to his family, Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Pankaj Bhatt said.
The Army chief also visited his mother's ancestral home and offered prayers at the Raj Rajeshwari temple.
Gen Rawat spent about half an hour in the village where villagers offered him 'dal pakoras' and 'puris' to eat.
Uttarkashi MLA in the 1960s, Thakur Kishan Singh Parmar, was Gen Rawat's maternal grandfather.
The Army chief's late father Lt Gen Lakshman Singh Rawat, from Sainj village in Pauri district, was also in the Army.