Riding for Culture, Rolling Through Chaos: UNESCO and Royal Enfield in Himachal
Shimla, August 2025 — A noble idea has hit the Himalayan roads. UNESCO and Royal Enfield have joined hands for the fourth edition of The Great Himalayan Exploration, a six-week ride to celebrate and document Himachal’s intangible heritage—from Kangra miniatures and brass craft of Chamba to Kath-Kuni homes and the community feasts of Dham.
Their cultural hub has been set up in Theog on land rented from local landowner Anup Thakur, grandson of the Sauhta family with deep industrial roots in Mumbai.
But beyond the colourful promise of preserving culture lies a state in deep distress.
Himachal is in the grip of a devastating monsoon. Over 500 roads remain blocked, five national highways are down, and remote valleys are cut off for days.
In Kullu and Manali, bridges have collapsed, orchards are marooned, and families struggle to get food and medicines.
“It feels strange—they are here to celebrate our culture while we can’t even reach hospitals,” says Kamla Devi from Balson, staring at a landslide that has eaten away the only road to her hamlet.
The expedition was flagged off with much fanfare by local officials, but on the ground, villagers question the optics of riding shining motorbikes past broken homes.
Royal Enfield’s corporate social responsibility arm speaks of “immersion in communities,” but many here feel disconnected from the narrative.
“Our heritage today is about survival. Who will document that?” asks Bhagat Singh, an apple grower who lost his orchard road in the rains.
The contrast is glaring: a high-profile cultural mission riding through villages that are themselves gasping under the weight of landslides, floods, and despair.
Even as UNESCO and Royal Enfield seek to archive Himachal’s living traditions, locals wonder if the state’s most urgent tradition—resilience in disaster—is being ignored.
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