astha chaudhary

For generations, the doorless home was not just architecture but also a philosophy for Van Gujjars. | Picture courtesy: Astha Chaudhary In Tomadiya Khatta village​​ in​ Nainital district, Uttarakhand,​ a home stands without a door. There are walls, triangle-shaped windows, and an open central area, but no door and no lock. For the Van Gujjars who live here, this is not an oversight but a way of life.

“I prefer zyun (wood) over gas,” says Saja Begum, a resident of Rajwar in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir. “If we rely on LPG cylinders for both cooking and heating, they last only eight days,” she adds. Firewood and bukharis (traditional wood-burning stoves) are preferred not only for cooking but also for warmth during chillai kalan, the region’s harsh winter spell that usually begins in late December and lasts through January.

In Ladakh’s Pang region, a vast tract of land—approximately 80 km—has been earmarked for a mega solar power plant, which is projected to generate up to 13 GW of renewable energy. The project began all the way back in 2019, when Ladakh was granted its union territory status, and is slated for completion in 2029–30. However, this new 13 GW mega solar power plant project is a great cause of concern for us, as it can lead to a strain on our natural resources.