The hills are alive with enterprise
IF it were not for my friend living in Dharamshala, I might have skipped the stopover entirely. “Tapovan,” she clarified, adding, “it’s away from Dharamshala.” The last time I explored the Tibetan settlement was years ago when I was on a whirlwind trip to write a guide to the town: a list of things to do, where to eat, and what to buy, all crammed in 24 hours.
This time though, Tanya introduced me not only to the quieter extension of Dharamshala but also to the many tiny sustainable enterprises that are slowly helping Tapovan metamorphose into a meaningful community, one initiative at a time.
As I pulled into an isolated stretch of the woods, Tanya greeted me together with her housemates: Megha, an artist whose work is inspired by patterns and materials of nature; and Ziggy, an indie Labrador who has been Tanya’s constant companion, including through her relocation from Pune to Dharamshala in the pandemic to pursue her work as an outdoor therapist. Tapovan has exerted this pull over many, as I learnt over the course of my stay.
After a quick orientation, we drove out for lunch and stopped over at Rakkar village in the neighbourhood to take a look at a house designed by the late Delia “Didi” Contractor. The self-taught German-american architect—who made Dharamshala her home in her later years and gained recognition plus the Indian government’s Nari Shakti Puraskar for her work relating to women’s empowerment—has left her legacy behind in this small suburb of Dharamshala. Her work is scattered all over the area in the form of public buildings and private residencies.
Soon, we were at the Teapot Café, a cosy hangout with an adorable obsession with all things teapot, from the paper napkin holder shaped like one to the colourful teapots all over. Everyone seemed to know everyone, as befits such a small place, and after a round of exchanges we settled down at the table outside—for the couch inside had been taken over by several furry friends. The dog love had clearly spilled over from the Dharamshala Animal Rescue close by, an outfit that works with strays.
After browsing through the pre-loved books on sale and picking up a bookmark, we headed back. En route, we made another stop, at Manooni, a homegrown concern with a range of forest-to-bottle personal care products created by Simran Sandhu. A word-of-mouth, all-women-run, fair-trade business, the brand gets its name from the glacier-fed perennial Manooni river that runs through the valley. The enterprise prides itself on creating sustainable cosmetics from natural ingredients.
Another small enterprise driven by similar conservation ethics has found its feet in the neighbouring village of Jia to which we drove the following day. There we found Malini Kochupillai neck-deep in the tenacious pursuit of one more sustainable enterprise. Together with co-founder Kunal Singh, she has set up Tenacious Bee, a collective that works towards the ethical production of honey and its byproducts.
“The bee’s well-being is at the centre of our business,” said Malini. Most bees in the honey industry are uprooted from their native regions and overworked through various seasons, something the people at Tenacious Bee ensure does not happen. The result is small batches of beautifully packaged produce and an ethical business.
On our way back, we drove up the hill from Tapovan for a view of the main town of Dharamshala that was propped up on the hill in the distance, going around the massive structure of the world’s highest international cricket stadium surrounded by buildings, houses, and intersecting roads. Somewhere out there in the clamour was the Dalai Lama Temple that I did not visit, the swanky new Dharamshala Skyway ride that I did not take, and the famous Norbulingka café that I skipped.
As I paused to take in the setting sun and the rising twinkling lights beyond, I was glad to be viewing Dharamshala, but from the other side this time.
1. “Mata ni Pachedi” are a form of paintings traditionally done by the nomadic Vaghari community hailing from Gujarat and Rajasthan. But for the community they are more than just art and serve a very specific purpose. What is it?
2. Longtime friends Ive De Smet, a plant geneticist, and David Vergauwen, an art historian, are collaborating on a unique documentation project. What is it about?
3. Found object is a loan translation from the French objet trouvé and describes art created from undisguised but often modified objects or products that are not normally considered materials from which art is made, often because they already have a non-art function. Marcel Duchamp is thought to have perfected the concept when he made a series of ready-mades consisting of completely unaltered everyday objects he selected and designated as art. The most famous example is a piece titled “Fountain”. What everyday object did Duchamp use here?
4. An excerpt from Theartstory.org: “Similar to René Magritte’s oversized painted objects, _______ _______ By Mona Hatoum is a large steel sculpture in the shape of an unfolded domestic box grater morphed also into a room-dividing screen. The work is both comical and sinister. On the one hand it seems like a lighthearted novelty to see a small domestic object so dramatically enlarged, whilst on the other hand, the sharp metal holes and protrusions become threatening and potentially harmful. [It] is deprived of its original function and viewers are encouraged to see beyond reality and to look within their own imagination. The title too is a play on this, referencing not only the object itself, but also implying that there may be unseen conflicts at home, and that the safety, comfort, and union implied by domesticity is not in fact always the case.” Guess the name of the work.
5. One can draw a parallel between X’s portrayal of herself to that of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, who is often portrayed tied to a tree, his body pierced with arrows. X aligns herself with the martyr visually, and being raised in a Catholic home, she would have been familiar with the patron saint of soldiers. Desmond O’neill, a physician writing for The BMJ, describes X’s work as a vital tool in the understanding of pain. He commended X’s ability to portray the intangible feeling. Although it is all around us, we lack the ability to “grasp or express it”; X is the exception to the problem of portraying it. Name X.
6. Originally titled “A Child’s World”, it is a painting by Sir John Everett Millais that became famous when it was used over many generations in advertisements for X. During Millais’ lifetime, it led to widespread debate about the relationship between art and advertising. The painting portrays a young golden-haired boy looking up at a bubble, symbolising the beauty and fragility of life. On one side of him is a young plant growing in a pot, emblematic of life, and on the other is a fallen broken pot, emblematic of death. He is spot-lit against a gloomy background. Name X.
7. Impressionism is a 19th century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists such as Claude Monet. In fact, the name of the canon was inspired by a Monet painting called “Impression, Sunrise”. This makes Monet the literal poster boy for Impressionism. It is well deserved, for Monet was hugely successful in painting a subject that came to define the Impressionist style. What was his characteristic subject of choice?
8. John Goffe Rand was an American painter and inventor. In 1841, he patented X with the US Patent and Trademark Office. He went on to patent several later improvements. Pierre-august Renoir had this to say about Rand’s invention. “Without X, there would have been no Impressionism.” Name X.
9. Paul Cezanne once said he gave up painting X, as “fruits were more reliable”. Name X.
10. The apple was an ongoing motif in many of Rene Magritte’s works, including in “Son of Man” and in “Le Jeu De Morre” (The Game of Mora), which is a painting of a green apple with the words au revoir (goodbye) painted on it. Who owns this painting?