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A threshold marked by hand.

Domestic ritual and the small gestures that prepare a home.

Uttarakhand

First passage

I begin Uttarakhand with aipan. It is a place to start looking at the labour, landscape, memory and changing present that gather around a single thread. A real portrait needs many voices and many return visits. This first passage simply leaves the door open.

This is a first doorway, not a total account of a place. As the archive grows, I will shape these stories with local knowledge, review and full credit to the people in them.

Four ways to meet a place.

01

Food

Mandua, pahadi dals and simple mountain kitchens offer deep comfort.

02

Festival

Harela welcomes monsoon and the idea of planting for the future.

03

Flora & fauna

Himalayan monal, oak forests and alpine meadows hold a fragile, high-altitude balance.

04

Fashion & craft

Aipan marks thresholds with red earth and white rice paste.

Next field journalWest Bengal↗

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