Gupta, Abeer <br/><br/>
Sense of Place-Islam in the Western Himalaya 

 - Vol. 69 (4), 2018 
 - Mumbai  The Marg Foundation  September, 2018 
 - 88-97 Pages 
<br/><br/> Ladakh has been broadly studied as part of a larger Tibetan Buddhist cultural sphere. In this essay, the author shifts focus to look at the Islamic minority communities that exist within the region and their material culture. The history of their objects and sites reveals a syncretic use of various religious traditions and symbols. But with the increasing communal presence in recent years and the affluence that has come in with tourism, local Muslims have chosen to adopt a more distinct identity which emerges in the newer elaborate structures being created and the renovations being made to older buildings. The author traces this change through a study of contemporary vernacular motifs and architecture.