They Who Walked Mountains

English/34mins/2002
Producer: Manju Kak
Sponsored by: Department of Culture, Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi

Subject Focus: Human ecology and displacement as a conservation issue.

Summary: For centuaries Indian Himalayan border tribes traded with Tibet. They brought much needed Tibetan salt, borax, yak’s tails and wooden cloth and bartered it with grains, jaggery and other goods. The trade routes cut through the western and eastern passes of the Himalayas. The Bhotias of Johar Valley of the Uttaranchal Himalayas were one such group of traders. These passes were abruptly closed in 1962 following the Indo Chinese war. Trade came to an end. With it too a centuries’ old culture based on border trade that traditionally bonded Tibetan and Indian Bhotia communities in Familial friendships.

Producer’s/Director’s Profile: Manju Kak is a short story writer and has published two works of fiction First Light in Colonelpura (Penguin) and Requiem for an Unsung Revolutionary (Ravi Dayal). Her writing has been included in several anthologies in India and abroad. She has scripted documentaries and her other published works include reviews, essays, criticism and development journalism. Her research work had been on the Shilpkaars of Kumaon and The Wood Carving Tradition. She has received some fellowships including the Charles and Hawthornden Fellowships.