I am honestly surprised at how little interest the rest of India has in the Himalayan region in general. Right from Kashmir and Ladakh to Himachal, Uttarakhand and the northeast—these areas are filled and fueled by their own unique stories and histories, but are almost foreign to the rest of us. This is why an ongoing exhibition at Travancore House, Delhi, put together by industrialist Siddhartha Lal’s Royal Enfield Social Mission, has visitors transfixed.
More so, if like me, they come from outside Delhi, as the national capital has become the natural first flight out of the Himalayan regions. The result is that Delhi is naturally treated to the finest wools from this region, as well as its street-side staple, the momo. ‘Journeying Across the Himalayas’ could have well been the title to Lal’s autobiography.
The young CEO and MD of Eicher Motors is a renowned motorbike enthusiast; he is also credited with reviving the Indian, and now multinational, motorcycle company Royal Enfield. Lal’s passion is seen through every exercise of the company’s impact series—building design-savvy and green infrastructure across villages and small towns in the motorcycling routes of the Himalayas, as well as telling stories from the very small and very proud communities that live there. This exhibit has brought together 50 such communities, artists, creative practitioners and small businesses to showcase here.
One of the highlights is a Rs20 lakh prize, in collaboration with Vogu.
