A Mandala in progress greets you as you enter the venue for Journeying Across the Himalayas, a week-long multidisciplinary festival intended to showcase cultural and ecological practices from the Himalayan region, in Delhi. Monks from Namgyal Monastery in Dharamsala work on the tedious diagram, carefully laying sand on the fine lines, only to destroy it all as soon as it is completed. The message is of the transience of life, its impermanence and the futility of attachment.
From Mandala Art to Living Roots
A multisensory installation inspired by Meghalaya’s living root bridges by designer Sumant Jayakrishnan, titled Bridging Spaces; Living Roots!, is simply breathtaking. Meghalaya comes alive in the two boats, a huge bridge and an ambience created to depict the region’s culture and craft.
Curated around the theme ‘Ours to Tell’, the initiative by Royal Enfield Social Mission brings together artists, community practitioners, chefs, designers and filmmakers in a mix of exhibitions, performances, workshops, culinary sessions and panel discussions. The festival aims to foreground voices from Himalayan communities and to surface practices around craft, materiality and conservation.
Bidisha Dey, executive director of Eicher Group Foundation, says, “Journeying Across the Himalayas is a space for communities and collaborators from across the region to share their stories in their own words. Our second edition, with the theme ‘Ours to Tell’, aims to tell the stories of the Himalayan natives in their own language and voice. This year’s programme is bigger in scale, and we hope that we can be a meaningful platform to narrate the stories of the mountains and its people.”
A large metal-and-mixed-media sculpture by Dhruvi Acharya created from dismantled motorcycle parts for the Helmets for India initiative; Echoes of the East, an exhibition on endangered languages and draping traditions of the Northeast by Julie Kagti, a materials-focused installation by the Material Library of India, a Ladakhi pashmina showcase, and the annual Himalayan Fellowship for Creative Practitioners exhibit also provide food for thought, besides a host of panels, workshops and talks all centred around the mighty Himalayas.
Multi-Sensory Mix
The festival will also host daily screenings curated by the Dharamshala International Film Festival under its DIFF on the Road programme, featuring Himalayan filmmakers and films on sustainability and cultural heritage.
A substantial culinary section includes sessions on Dimasa food traditions, trans-Himalayan cuisine from Ladakh, Kargili foodways, bamboo-based culinary practices from Meghalaya, and food preservation techniques from Kashmir.
The performance lineup brings together folk and contemporary acts, including a joint appearance by Lou Majaw, Rudy Wallang and Joi Barua, as well as musicians and ensembles from Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
