Kabhi mujhe lage ki jaise
Saara hi ye jahaan hai jaadu
Jo hai bhi aur nahi bhi hai ye
Fiza, Ghata, Hawa, Baharein
Mujhe kare ishaare ye
Kaise kahoon
Kahani main innki?
Saara hi ye jahaan hai jaadu
Jo hai bhi aur nahi bhi hai ye
Fiza, Ghata, Hawa, Baharein
Mujhe kare ishaare ye
Kaise kahoon
Kahani main innki?
Sometimes I feel like,
the whole world is magic.
Everything which exists and doesn't.
The breeze, clouds, winds, spring
they all beacon me,
how do I tell you, the stories they hold.
the whole world is magic.
Everything which exists and doesn't.
The breeze, clouds, winds, spring
they all beacon me,
how do I tell you, the stories they hold.
- 'Jo Bhi Main' written by Irshad Kamil, performed by Mohit Chauhan for 'Rockstar'
Mountaineer Rajeev Sharma, who's scaled many peaks in his lifetime, Everest being one, told me that not everyone makes it to the Himalaya, if you find yourself there, it is because the land called you. He also brought upon me an embarrassing realisation that it's called the 'Himalaya' and not the 'Himalayas' like the western world addresses it. This was on my third trip to Himachal Pradesh, one day before I climed up 14,000ft to Brighu Lake in Kullu Valley as part of a workshop arranged by my college.
Having been there five times in the last two years, I believe the Himalaya has put me on speed dial. I seem to be going there more frequently than I visit home. Or maybe home, simply means something else now.
I remember the first time I sensed it, a low hum of belonging in my chest. The feeling of being in a safehouse. It was on a starry night by a furious Beas. Every time I wake up after an uncomfortable, overnight drive in the bus from Delhi and the quaint hamlets with a backdrop of giant, gentle peaks come into view, it feels like homecoming.
I have spent a good part of the last two years, studying a few sociological, ecological and anthropological issues in Kangra and Kullu district as a part of my Masters in Documentary Film at Srishti Manipal Institute. My mentor's work largely centers around the Gaddi — the nomadic pastoralists of Himachal Pradesh. Hitching my wagon to my mentor's, I frequently visited Bir and Naggar to research on the shepherds and the weaving community.
Naturally, my thesis project was meant to be in this area of study and from a vast catalogue of subjects, I picked a small collective of weavers in Naggar, Kullu, who are trying revive and keep alive the craft of hand weaving and natural dyeing.
