At Basar, Arunachal Pradesh, 2017

Basar feels peaceful in a way that makes you slow down.But even in that stillness, I noticed signs of wanting — not urgent, not aggressive — just present.A phone in a quiet hand. A new aspiration spoken softly. A tradition repeated slightly differently than before. It didn’t feel like intrusion. It felt like adjustment.

The traditions here are not disappearing. They are alive. But I sensed they are slowly being asked to perform — to explain themselves, to remain relevant, to fit into newer frames of value.

What struck me most was the absence of a clear culprit. Everyone participates in this shift, yet no one seems fully responsible for it. Desire moves collectively, and accountability dissolves as it spreads.

This doesn’t feel like cultural collapse. It feels like a pause between versions — a transition that is still deciding what it wants to become.