Kargil: A living archive of flavour

In Stories From A Kargili Kitchen, Yash Saxena explores this as a land that is ever-evolving yet perennially frozen in time.

- Deepansh Duggal

Another figure that haunts the Kargili kitchen is that of a storyteller, a wandering minstrel who narrowly escapes the clutches of a snow leopard in one of the stories. These stories are woven into the fabric of the Kargili kitchen and are as essential as the ingredients that go into the making of a Kargili kitchen.

It was once frequented by Silk Route traders but now lies still. It has evolved over the years, yet remains constricted by an identity shaped almost entirely by the conflict synonymous with its name. The conflict which gave Kargil visibility also distanced it from India’s cultural centre. Its geographical location creates an emotional distance so vast that most Indians don't identify with the district at all.

It is a land of paradox, at once mainstream and fringe. Saxena observes: “India is a constant and Kargil brings a variable that doesn't fit the mould.”

Consequently, he laments Kargil’s erasure. He laments globalisation too, not because he is a traditionalist but as a grief-stricken observer witnessing age-old recipes disappear as convenience and processed foods take over. And he laments the drawing of the India-Pakistan border, a line that stilled the once-fluid movement of traders to which the place bore witness.