‘I am Jaunsari’ delays the story of Jaunsari tribe, which is a threat to losing its essence, heritage, culture, traditions and landscapes. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

There is a story in each migration as to how and why a family or a community of people went away or displaced from his home to a new. In the early 1980s, when Nitin Joshi’s family left his ancestral home in UttarakhandLocated in the western Himalayan hills, it left a sense of emptiness within the family.

A Pune -based documentary photographer and storyteller, Nitin, decided to return to his roots from an early age, learn about your motherland, join with your legacy again, and one day, light on your community through his craft Put.

A Jaunsari woman from Jaunsar-Bawar region of Uttarakhand. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Nitin’s poignant photographic exhibition, titled ‘I am Jaunsari’, delays the story of his own tribe, which is in danger of losing its essence, heritage, culture, traditions and landscapes. “I started documenting Jaunsaris in 2014 as I eventually want to publish a book about my tribe. I was born in Chhatau village, which was located in Chakrata Tehsil of Dehradun district of Uttarakhand, and was picked up in New Delhi, where my father shifted to work in the 1980s. This documentation is deeply individual to me, as I am also a migrant, ”Nitin says, whose life has bridged two opposite worlds: the calm, timeless landscape and tireless speed of urban life of their ancestral home.

Nitin’s photos are identified, deepened to the deepest relationship between the related and the permanent relationship between the people and their land. The subjects of his images are his neighbors and relatives – who chose to live in the hills, continuously preserving the way of his life.

Children of Nitin Joshi’s village in Uttarakhand. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Uttarakhand is the home of five major recognized tribes: Bhotia, Tharas, Baxas, Jaunsaris and Raji. Jaunsari community lives in Jaunsar-Bawar region of Uttarakhand, part of Garhwal Division and border of Himachal Pradesh. Traditionally, Jaunsaris have been farmers, practicing terraced farming for cultivation of crops like wheat, barley and lentils, while also raising sheep and goats.

Over time, the traditions and culture of the Jaunsari tribe have seen a gradual decline. For Nitin, chronicing your journey through his photography was a way of preserving and preserving their unique ways of this community and their unique ways of life.

“Community documentation is a small step towards addressing the identity crisis which today faces the Jaunsari tribe. Through my photos, I bring the stories of elders to light that remain stable in their villages, preserving customs and landscapes, while the younger generation migrates into cities in search of better opportunities. Photos also celebrate the beauty and flexibility of the tribe as it navigates the delicate balance between tradition and modernity. ,

Nitin Joshi’s family left his ancestral home in UttarakhandSettled in the hills of the Western Himalayas. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Each frame is immersed in apathy and reverence, inviting the audience to reflect on its own connection, says Nitin. “This exhibition is more than just a document of the Jaunsari tribe; It is a celebration of heritage and is an essential reminder of the fragility of cultural identity in the era of rapid modernization, “he says,” My photos are an attempt to inspire the audience to stop, reflect and cherish those roots Let us first define. They fade in memory. ,

‘I Am Jaunsari’ will run in Jahangir Art Gallery from 11 am to 7 pm from 29 January to 4 February.