Johār

In September 2021, I trekked for three days to the land of my ancestors called 'Johār Valley' in the interior regions of Kumaon, Uttarakhand to photograph the activities during the annual religious festival dedicated to goddess Nanda Devi and lord Raghunath. Each village in the valley worships their own god/goddess in their own unique way.

After the Indo-China war in 1962, most of the families left the valley as the war ended the trade with Tibet, which was the primary source of livelihood. Now only a few families live in these villages with ruins of empty old houses, but during these religious events a lot of people come back to their respective villages to celebrate the tribal culture together and try to liven up the valley as it used to be in the bygone era.