Tashi Tewa

                                 Photo 1: A candid moment with Ewi Tsering Bhuti Since my ‘baal-kuney’ Jai-Nepal (one of the oldest cinema halls in Kathmandu, Nepal) times watching ‘Caravan’ directed by Eric Valli, I have always remained curious on how Eric Valli saw and projected ‘Dolpo’, one of the Himalayan Indigenous community. Besides how Valli and his team economically benefited, I was (and still) more attuned in understanding how various peoples from Dolpo and the larger scattered community as a whole (socio-culturally, economically, and politically) benefited or not benefited. Thanks to some critical piece/reflection by Ken Bauer, Sara Shneiderman/Mark Turin, Puspa Damai and Gerda Pauler, we’ve alternative vantage points on how the ‘Himalaya’ project can be critically analyzed. In past, I have chosen to reflect on gender narratives and consequently, thanks to both Manjushree Thapa and Phurwa Tashi, my work on the late Tsering Yangzom (who played as a wife of

Possibly one of the oldest pictures one can see of Dolpo (the north-east side). Peoples including my grandfather (possibly in his 40s and a chief at that time; 4th on the first row starting from the right), other influential head lamas and women and children here can be seen on the ground of Takrang along with folks (2?; and might be porters for Bantawa) from lowlands (sitting in the 2nd row, from left) welcoming possibly Makar Bantawa, the first Zonal Commissioner (sitting opposite) in Dolpa during 1960s. T hakur Prasad Tulachan from Tukche, Mustang translated the message of commissioner. Tulachan was also one of the three tax collector for the region.  Zonal commissioners were the direct representatives of a King during the autocratic Panchayat regime (1961-1990) and further played an influential role in cementing the King's centralized authority. During the initial years of Panchayat, one cannot also forget the rising Khamba rebellion along the northern borders. When Bantawa