This octogenarian is the last surviving master craftsman of the fading Likhai woodwork tradition of Kumaon A million wrinkles crease his face; his eyes are clouded with age. But 89-year-old wood carver Ganga Ram stands straight as a pine tree, his toothless smile bright and welcoming when we meet him at his home in Kumaon’s Diyari village after a steep climb up a twisting, slippery, gravelly path. As dogs bark, roosters crow and Bollywood songs blare from his neighbour’s home, we settle down to chat with the master craftsman—Nainital’s last surviving artisan of the vanishing Likhai tradition.

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