One imagines that life at the volatile Indo-Pak border is fraught with risk and danger, despite shared historical and cultural bonds between the two nations. Internationally acclaimed writer and explorer Levison Wood and travel writer Ash Bharadwaj seek to answer several questions about the Indo-Pak borders with their docu-series India Originals-Expedition Borderlands , released on September 8.
This four-part docu-series, Levison hopes, will enable the world to see the two countries with more than what headlines suggest.
Cultural deep dive
Discussing the 2,500 km expedition that he and Ash embarked on, Levison says, “The series takes viewers across a route that has never been captured before on camera.” The duo wanted to show the everyday lives of the people in remote and off-beat locations including Tyakshi, Turtuk and Gurez in India and Nowshera, Taxila, Skardu, Khaplu in Pakistan to gain an authentic understanding of local culture and tradition.
While the genesis for the series was pre-Covid, the lockdown gave them more time to spend on research. Levison says, “I have travelled to India about seven times earlier and thrice to Pakistan, but I haven’t been to a lot of these places. Ladakh was a journey of discovery for me. A lot of networking, research, homework and talking to the right people was involved in packaging the stories to make the show a journey of discovery for viewers as well. When Ash and I set out, we had an idea of who we wanted to meet and what we wanted to film. As for the terrain, in places like Yakshi, Turtuk, Nubra valley, Dras, Kargil, Teetwal, and Gurez we were at the mercy of the ground. But that’s the joy of an expedition.”
Tracking tough terrains
In one episode, the two are seen running across a high pass in Kashmir with falling rocks: Levison says he was very thankful that the Border Road Organisation sent earth movers to clear the path. “Landslides are common in high terrain regions; Had we not taken the risk, the alternative would have been sitting and waiting.”
Through the journey they viewers to the world’s high polo ground-Shandur in Pakistan and, of course, through a gastronomic journey across India and Pakistan. Levison says the wide range of food he tasted, especially the curries, will forever linger in his mind.
Stating that India has changed a lot from what he experienced 20 years ago, Levison says “this was a journey of self-discovery that came through adjusting to my own perception from my earlier travels.” He says he noticed that domestic tourism has gone up in leaps and bounds. “It is a good thing to see people wanting to explore their own country. Dharamshala was a place that mostly saw foreigners or the hippie crowd when I first visited. Now, it has more Indian tourists.”
As for similarities between India and Pakistan, he says, “All the hostility was overshadowed by curiosity, They all want to know what is on the other side of the border. They have families across the border but cannot meet.” He adds, “Personally, it is hard to grasp that people live on one side of the river but are not able to cross it..”
India Originals-Expedition Borderlands is now streaming on discovery+
