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This paper examines the educational and livelihood trajectories of mainly upper caste youth in the quickly changing Shanti Valley, Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh. This, against the backdrop of economic liberalisation, and the spread of urbanisation and higher education in India in the last two decades. It shows that while higher education has limited attraction for area youth in terms of work and livelihood, what is really transformational is the metamorphosis of the valley from a space dominated by horticulture and agriculture to a site with expanded tourist arrivals. Youth entry points into tourism appear to follow family trajectories, as young people move away from farming as a sole and primary occupation, via such new non-farm employment. Further, as young people and their families come to engage with tourism, the knowledge for such endeavours comes from numerous sources, with higher education being only one route to such learning. Tourism, and the spread of mediated encounters mean that 'urbanised' forms of life and living are increasingly visible as the valley is reconstructed as a hybrid global-local space. However, as the local landscape metamorphoses, there are widespread concerns about ecological futures, raised by youth and their families alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ventilago Gaertn. (Rhamnaceae) is widely distributed in pantropical areas of Africa, Asia, and Australia. However, fossil records of this taxon are sparse, which limits understanding of the evolution and biogeographic history of the genus. In the present study, we report and describe two new fossil species of Ventilago, V. siwalika sp. nov. from the Miocene sediments of Himachal Pradesh, western Himalaya, and V. pliocenica sp. nov. from the Pliocene sediments of Jharkhand, eastern India based on single‐winged samaras. Ventilago pliocenica is characterized by a prominent midvein, obtuse to sub‐round apex with mucronate tip, longitudinal secondary veins extending the full length of the fruit, and reticulate nature of higher‐order veins, the presence of equatorial rim, the hypanthium, and short pedicel. On the other hand, V. siwalika is characterized by a prominent midvein, obtuse to sub‐round apex with mucronate tip, longitudinal secondary veins extending the full length of the fruit, and reticulate nature of higher‐order veins. Our discovery represents the first unambiguous fossil record of single‐winged samara of Ventilago from India and provides valuable insights into the evolution of this genus. In this paper, we also review its biogeographic history and add new information to understand its hypothetical migration route. Present and earlier records of Ventilago also suggest that this genus was a common forest element during Neogene (Miocene time) in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indic rites of purification aim to negate the law of karma by removing the residues of malignant past actions from their patrons. This principle is exemplified in the Kahika Mela, a rarely studied religious festival of the West Himalayan highlands (Himachal Pradesh, India), wherein a ritual specialist assumes karmic residues from large publics and then sacrificed to their presiding deity. British officials who had 'discovered' this purificatory rite at the turn of the twentieth century interpreted it as a variant of the universal 'scapegoat' rituals that were then being popularized by James Frazer and found it loosely connected to ancient Tantric practises. However, observing a recent performance of the ritual significantly complicated this view. This paper proposes a novel reading of the Kahika Mela through the prism of karmic transference. Tracing the path of karmas from participants to ritual specialist and beyond, it delineates the logic behind the rite, revealing that the culminating act of human sacrifice is, in fact, secondary to the mysterious force that impels its acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state of Himachal Pradesh, over the past decades, has seen a marked surge in accelerating the development leading to remarkable growth and plethora of livelihood opportunities. This paper brings out the case of a village, Gagal, depicting the fortunes that the development has brought in the quotidian life of people and changing the picture of the village giving it a new dimension. The paper compiles selected case studies that .reflect on the success of development programs initiated in the area and how the people have drawn benefits from them. It also throws light on definite flaws and loopholes that have led to people lose their faith in these initiatives and explains how these programs have failed to accomplish their goals on the ground reality. The paper explores how the development has transformed the silhouette of the village encountering development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper demonstrates the assessment of slope stability analysis between Rampur to Jhakri road section along National Highway (NH-22), Himachal Pradesh, India. The different types of slope failures have affected most part of slopes which causes considerable loss of life and property, inconveniences such as disruption of traffic along highways. The poorly designed rock slopes for road widening or construction purposes may weaken the stability of the slopes. A detail field investigation has been carried out to collect the representative rock samples for determination of physico-mechanical properties of rock and joint data for kinematic analysis. The rocks exposed in the area are highly jointed quartzite and quartz-mica schist of Rampur-Larji Group of Palaeoproterozoic age. The continuous slope mass rating (CSMR) technique has been applied for the assessment of slope stability analysis at five vulnerable locations and the results shows slopes are partially stable to unstable. Kinematic analysis mainly shows wedge type of failure along with few toppling and planar failures. The existing slope required immediate treatment to prevent the failure for its long term stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]