Himachal Pradesh
Escaping Mumbai for spectacular Spiti
Earlier in April, I went to Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh, momentarily escaping Mumbai’s brutal heat and humidity. Nestled at 14,000 ft., its cold, snow-covered mountainous landscape, sustainable living, and mystical beauty is truly a ‘world within worlds’ as Rudyard Kipling described it.
Art, spiritualism and more to delight you at this Dharamshala fest
Get ready to participate in uplifting workshops and performances by eminent artists like Piyush Mishra, Raj Zutshi, Navtej Johar and others at Swara Mountain Arts Festival at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. The six-day event begins on April 21.
Celebrating the arrival of spring with the Fagli festival
Fagli, celebrated across Himachal Pradesh to mark the transition of the season from winter to spring, is a significant and colourful festival with traditional music and dance that brings communities together.
This hidden library in Spiti is a book lover’s paradise
When Takpa Tanzin saw his daughter struggling to find reference books for her coursework during the Covid-19 lockdown, he built a library in Chicham, their remote village in Spiti valley.
‘I find purpose in life through thangka art’
Skipping school and homebound because of a polio attack, Krishna Tashi Palmo enrolled in a Tibetan thangka art school at 22, finding purpose in life through art. Now she is one of the few renowned women thangka artists.
The warm homespun blanket of Gaddi tribe is going cold
The small Gaddi tribe’s tradition of handloom weaving is slowly disappearing from Himachal Pradesh as fewer people are interested in the laborious process.
‘Waste dumping in open has increased human-wildlife conflict’
Surge in tourism in the Himalayas has led to enormous plastic waste generation, adversely affecting the region’s environment and wildlife. Vishal Kumar, CEO, Waste Warriors, discusses how this problem can be addressed.
Food truck provides a bright spot to Himachal’s rural women
Purusharth Jamwal, a marine engineering graduate and entrepreneur, helps makers of artisanal food products who have limited access to markets and whose businesses were hit hard by the Covid pandemic.
Solan mushroom farmers make it big with fungi
A mushroom revolution took place in Himachal Pradesh about 30 years ago as farmers looked for high returns from a limited space. The result is mind-blowing.
This is where your cabbage may be coming from
Bara Garan is a remote sleepy hamlet nestled at a height of 2,350m in the Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas. Located in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, Bara Garan had no road connectivity to a nearby town until a couple of decades back. Residents had to walk for a day to reach Barot, the nearest town. But things changed when a road was constructed. Now villagers who earlier grew crops only for self-sustenance are farming cabbage commercially, selling it to traders across north India.
Himachal apples give way to pomegranates
Changes in climatic conditions have led to Himachal farmers growing pomegranates, as many find that apple cultivation, other than high-density varieties, is no longer economically viable
Plight of migrant workers needs attention in Himachal Pradesh
Migrant workers, who contribute significantly to infrastructure development in the developed mountain state, need to be provided with better working and living conditions through friendly government policies