Beyond the tangible: Invisible losses relating to floods in Mustang, Nepal.

The villages of Lubrak and Kagbeni look radically different now. Rivers have left behind a trail of debris, altering the landscape and the memories it held for its people. Homes under rubble, ancient trees uprooted, fields that once fed generations now lay buried. How does one account for the symbolic and affective losses of culture and place? A sense of belonging, personal and collective notions of identity, and ways of knowing and making sense of the world? This talk will provide on the ground narrative accounts of invisible losses relating to floods in a Transhimalayan region of Nepal using audio-visual mediums. The talk would provide insights into how such losses vary across the settlements of Lubrak and Kagbeni, emphasizing on their sociocultural and economic identities.