Lahaul’s true colours

Lahaul valley has been witness to intense socio-cultural and ecological transformation since the opening of the geostrategic Atal Tunnel in 2020. At this crucial juncture, how are Lahauli artists contemplating the future of their home? Hopes, desires, fears, aspirations — what do these look and feel like? What role can Lahauli artists play in fostering dialogue and collective reflection as we walk towards a future that holds many promises as well as immense uncertainty? To address these questions, Tanzin Bodh and I began working on putting together an art exhibition. ‘Lahaul Futures’ was organised as a joint initiative of Life and Heritage of Lahaul (LAHOL), Tanzin’s organisation that works on trans-Himalayan heritage preservation, and Filming Lahaul Project, a visual ethnography project I co-founded in 2015.

We invited 10 local artists to offer their interpretations — their personal imprints on what the future could look like, and shouldn’t look like for Lahaul. The exhibition gained further relevance as its opening coincided with the Leh to Delhi climate march of Ladakhi environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk. As he crossed Keylong, the district headquarter, with his fellow padyatris, he accepted our invitation to see the art works and interact with artists.

The exhibition includes paintings and a sculpture with the participation of artists across different age groups. Young artists like Suryansh Barpa and Yashika, 14 and 11, respectively, imagine a future for locals with enhanced connectivity, and equally for the world to come and experience Lahaul’s beauty. At the same time, they express caution about social and environmental costs, and advocate knowledge about Lahaul’s fragile ecology. Alongside the prospects of growth, their paintings are coloured in fear, anxiety and loss. The concern of pollution post the opening of the tunnel is depicted in toxic emissions, whereas the devaluing of traditional knowledge systems is represented through the demise of vernacular architecture, and the rapid concretisation of Lahaul.

Yangchan’s perspective, however, infuses hope by proposing the future as a pathway where development and indigenous lifeworlds coexist. A future wherein rivers and streams continue to flow freely, with snow in abundance. Similarly, Sheetal imagines a Lahaul where sustainable planning and traditional aesthetics go hand in hand.

For Priyanka and Abhimanyu, the transformation of the resilient ‘Lady of Keylong’ glacier into one grieving with pain became a guiding thread to narrate the story of their ‘burning’ home. As though their paintings ask: with mountains eventually engulfed in fire as a result of unsustainable human activities, what will fuel Lahaulis in future? The artist duo urges us to think about our changing relationship with land, commercialisation of natural resources, climate change, desires to embrace modernity, and our inner battles of being an individual and collective at the same time.

Rinchen Dolma’s mixed media piece ‘Kiri Miri’ provokes us to confront this overwhelming sense of confusion and restlessness — who are we and what are we becoming? This masculine representation rooted in both the present and future is a potent reminder of the temptations and pressures of modernisation. The artist appeals that we together build bridges strong enough to sustain our core values as we walk into an unknown future.

Stanzin Nyentak’s ‘Aage School’ (School Ahead) alerts us about what lies ahead. The changing essence of the Himalayas is conveyed through the stark transformation of its non-humans. The artist portrays the slow erasure of Himalayas and its inhabitants through the inability of the Himalayan yak to recognise itself in the mirror, forced to dwell by the ocean in future.

Krishna Tashi Palmo’s ‘Jumi’ depicts the gathering before the final moment of destruction. With humans turning away from responsibilities, mountains have been forced to take it upon themselves to contemplate their future. Palmo’s piece depicts the ageing of the young Himalayas as they get consumed under all kinds of pressures, eventually submerging in their own waters from melting glaciers.

Aashish Bhat’s illustration ‘Autumn Colours’ is a succinct reflection on post-tunnel extractivism in Lahaul. Heavy construction overtaking the crisp golden sight of autumn foliage tells the story of a changing landscape. ‘Expansion’ puts us upfront with real data — the threat posed by the expanding glacial lakes of Lahaul.

On at Keylong’s Shur Restaurant till Oct 10