<h1 class="left">It’s easy to perceive spring. You might imagine hillocks thawing to birth fresh buds, bees and butterflies in tow. But spring is more than the visual we summon from imagination—more than a vibrant image. It’s birdsong. A dokpa dredging through meadows with his beastly but docile yaks. The musky scent of incense wafting over the bowed head of a monk in prayer. Butter sculptures whose toffee tones mirror the masks dotting the walls of Sikkimese townfolk. Arriving here—after a flight and a hardy ride across asphalt and dirt roads—brings to mind a childhood favourite: Heidi, A Girl of the Alps. Now, its infectious aura is entirely real.</h1>
<h1 class="centre">A stark contrast to the buzz of city noise, Gangtok—like the rest of Sikkim—is shrouded in charm and mystique. The city is merely a pitstop on a two-week cleanse as part of Royal Enfield Social Mission’s third edition of The Great Himalayan Exploration with UNESCO. A moment of rewiring that multi-tab browsers—the creative industry at large—are rarely accustomed to living.</h1>
<h1 class="centre">The new-fangled detoxes and retreats geared towards reclaiming the present often feel like the bare bones of it all—a smidge of respite from device-led reality. But this offline moment, as you escape from Lachen, to Lachung and beyond, is something else: a riot of emotion coloured in by small, grounding interactions. The friendly few who proudly welcome strangers into their homes for a night’s simple rest. The woman who proudly shows off her rice paddies basking in the daylight under careful ministrations. Or the weaver whose fine yarn will surely be spun into silken threads. Upbeat smiles. Banal yet intimate routines. Melancholic greens shadowed beneath a cluster of clouds. This is a new version of spring, as dirty explores the landscape in its rawest, truest form—one built, held, and kept alive by its people.</h1>
<h1 class="left">Photographed by: Riccardo Dubitante</h1>
<h1 class="Left">Banner: Bumthing prayer in Dzongu</h1>
<h1 class="full">It’s easy to perceive spring. You might imagine hillocks thawing to birth fresh buds, bees and butterflies in tow. But spring is more than the visual we summon from imagination—more than a vibrant image. It’s birdsong. A dokpa dredging through meadows with his beastly but docile yaks. The musky scent of incense wafting over the bowed head of a monk in prayer. Butter sculptures whose toffee tones mirror the masks dotting the walls of Sikkimese townfolk. Arriving here—after a flight and a hardy ride across asphalt and dirt roads—brings to mind a childhood favourite: Heidi, A Girl of the Alps. Now, its infectious aura is entirely real.</h1>
<h1 class="full">A stark contrast to the buzz of city noise, Gangtok—like the rest of Sikkim—is shrouded in charm and mystique. The city is merely a pitstop on a two-week cleanse as part of Royal Enfield Social Mission’s third edition of The Great Himalayan Exploration with UNESCO. A moment of rewiring that multi-tab browsers—the creative industry at large—are rarely accustomed to living.</h1>
<h1 class="full">The new-fangled detoxes and retreats geared towards reclaiming the present often feel like the bare bones of it all—a smidge of respite from device-led reality. But this offline moment, as you escape from Lachen, to Lachung and beyond, is something else: a riot of emotion coloured in by small, grounding interactions. The friendly few who proudly welcome strangers into their homes for a night’s simple rest. The woman who proudly shows off her rice paddies basking in the daylight under careful ministrations. Or the weaver whose fine yarn will surely be spun into silken threads. Upbeat smiles. Banal yet intimate routines. Melancholic greens shadowed beneath a cluster of clouds. This is a new version of spring, as dirty explores the landscape in its rawest, truest form—one built, held, and kept alive by its people.</h1>
<h1 class="full">Photographed by: Riccardo Dubitante</h1>
<h1 class="full">Banner: Bumthing prayer in Dzongu</h1>