Life on either side of the border with Levison Wood

One imagines that life on the unstable Indo-Pak border is fraught with danger and hazard, regardless of shared historic and cultural bonds between the 2 nations. Internationally acclaimed author and explorer Levison Wooden and journey author Ash Bharadwaj search to reply a number of questions concerning the Indo-Pak borders with their docu-series India Originals-Expedition Borderlands , launched on September 8.

This four-part docu-series, Levison hopes, will allow the world to see the 2 nations with greater than what headlines recommend.

Cultural deep dive

Discussing the two,500 km expedition that he and Ash launched into, Levison says, “The sequence takes viewers throughout a route that has by no means been captured earlier than on digital camera.” The duo needed to indicate the on a regular basis lives of the folks in distant and off-beat places together with Tyakshi, Turtuk and Gurez in India and Nowshera, Taxila, Skardu, Khaplu in Pakistan to achieve an genuine understanding of native tradition and custom. 

Whereas the genesis for the sequence was pre-Covid, the lockdown gave them extra time to spend on analysis. Levison says, “I’ve travelled to India about seven instances earlier and thrice to Pakistan, however I haven’t been to numerous these locations. Ladakh was a journey of discovery for me. Loads of networking, analysis, homework and speaking to the best folks was concerned in packaging the tales to make the present a journey of discovery for viewers as properly. When Ash and I set out, we had an thought of who we needed to satisfy and what we needed to movie. As for the terrain, in locations like Yakshi, Turtuk, Nubra valley, Dras, Kargil, Teetwal, and Gurez we have been on the mercy of the bottom. However that’s the enjoyment of an expedition.”  

Monitoring robust terrains

In a single episode, the 2 are seen working throughout a excessive move in Kashmir with falling rocks: Levison says he was very grateful that the Border Highway Organisation despatched earth movers to clear the trail. “Landslides are frequent in excessive terrain areas; Had we not taken the chance, the choice would have been sitting and ready.” 

Via the journey they viewers to the world’s excessive polo ground-Shandur in Pakistan and, in fact, by way of a gastronomic journey throughout India and Pakistan. Levison says the big selection of meals he tasted, particularly the curries, will perpetually linger in his thoughts.

Stating that India has modified lots from what he skilled 20 years in the past, Levison says “this was a journey of self-discovery that got here by way of adjusting to my very own notion from my earlier travels.” He says he seen that home tourism has gone up in leaps and bounds. “It’s a good factor to see folks eager to discover their very own nation. Dharamshala was a spot that principally noticed foreigners or the hippie crowd after I first visited. Now, it has extra Indian vacationers.” 

As for similarities between India and Pakistan, he says, “All of the hostility was overshadowed by curiosity, All of them wish to know what’s on the opposite aspect of the border. They’ve households throughout the border however can not meet.” He provides, “Personally, it’s laborious to understand that folks dwell on one aspect of the river however should not capable of cross it..”

India Originals-Expedition Borderlands is now streaming on discovery+