Inside Himalayas Magazine Issue 6 - 2018 Inside Himalayas Issue 6 - 2018 | Page 76

Momo INSIDE HIMALAYAS | NEPAL | TIBET | BHUTAN INSIDE HIMALAYAS | NEPAL | TIBET | BHUTAN Cooking Class by Anisha Mandal LEARN ONCE COOK FOREVER Despite having a vague history of its origin, Momo has become a traditional delicacy of Nepal, over the years, since decades. Learn to cook - delicious - Momo like a typical Nepalese, but under Tibetan hospitality at the Tashiling Homestay in Pokhara, and treat yourself from this quick-learned skill forever. A cluster of traditional log houses that comprise the village of Markot. Photo: Anisha Mandal. We were used to Eid festivities in the rest of the Indian subcontinent being full of exhilaration, with throngs gathering in shrines, and people loudly and joyfully celebrating. But, watching Eid being celebrated in Gurez was a calming and peaceful experience. Contact Us: Royal Mountain Travel-Nepal 76 www.insidehimalayas.com | PO Box 8720, Lal Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, Nepal Phone: +977-1-4444376 / 78 / 79, Fax: +977-1-4444380 Email: [email protected], Web: royalmt.com.np By Royal Mountain Travel The Gurez Valley, tucked between the belligerent sides of Nanga Parbat, is a tiny part of a region known as Dardistan. The ancient land of the Dardic Aryan tribe stretches across both Pakistan and India, and its capital, the village of Dawar, is situated in the Gurez Valley. In the northern part of Indian Administered Kashmir, the unacquainted might presume that this place is dangerous. But, this couldn’t be further from the truth. July was a month of celebration for Muslims as they prepared to celebrate the holy festival of Eid, which marks the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan, and the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal. Kashmir is a Muslim-majority state known for its breathtaking landscapes. It’s been called “heaven on earth” by poets and writers. But it’s also an area of political turbulence. The Indo-Pak border, hemmed by both the Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range, is one of the world’s most militarised zones. While political discussions revolve around the quarrels between India and Pakistan, it’s scarcely known that the last few villages of India, in the Gurez Valley, are home to the Dard Tribe. Their identity is still largely unstudied, let alone adequately represented. They speak the Shina language and have countless folkloric tales and cultural nuggets that www.insidehimalayas.com | By Royal Mountain Travel 77