Building “Dyarā” away from Home

A visual essay on the Lives of Nepalese Migrants in the Western Himalayas

Abstract

The culture of migration is so deeply ingrained in the Nepal highlands, that individuals from marginalized households in the western provinces view migration to India as “a rite of passage to adulthood”. The western Himalayan region, due to its close proximity, attracts a significant number of Nepalese migrants during the non-agricultural season, where they engage in informal work opportunities and return to Nepal in the agricultural season. This type of migration is described in existing studies as ãune-jãne, or coming and going, which signifies the temporary and circular nature of the movement. However, over time, migrants have adopted a different approach, with a greater emphasis on choosing temporary migration to Gulf countries while also spending significant time in the western Himalayas, leading to semi-permanent migration as compared to earlier, temporary migration. This semi-permanent migration serves as the central focus of this essay. This photo essay displays the Nepalese migrants who have migrated to the remote regions of Uttarakhand, a state in the western Himalayas of India, and who have been residing in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand for the past few years. It aims to provide a closer peek into the realm of the everyday practices of these migrant workers, focusing on how they build their living space on agricultural fields, which they refer to as “Dyarā”; cultivate the abandoned fallow lands; and are involved in vegetable cultivation. Further, it also tries to show how their children perceive the space and adapt to it.