User:Apandeyhp89/Himalayan Institute of Cultural and Heritage Studies

The Himalayan Institute of Cultural and Heritage Studies (HICHS) is an Indian non-governmental organisation working to disseminate knowledge on the Himalayas. It is based in Bigri village near Dhami, in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh, India.

History
HICHS was established in January 2020 by Sonali Gupta. Gupta is an anthropological archeologist with a B.A. and M.A. in History and an LL.B. - all from Delhi University - and a PhD in Egyptian archaeology from the University of California, Los Angeles. She acts as the founding director of HICHS. Originally, the institute was based in Katrain in the Kullu district, and was later shifted to Bigri village in Shimla district.

Activities
HICHS conducts free weekly online talks on diverse subjects related to the Himalayas. These include Himalayan history, art and architecture, geography, anthropology, conservation, documentation, tourism, and policy. Many notable persons associated with the Himalayas have spoken on this forum and interacted with the audience. These include Ian Baker, Ed Douglas, Kevin Bubriski, Manju Kak, Raaja Bhasin, Siddharth Pandey, and Stephen Alter, among many others. All these talks can be viewed on the Youtube channel of HICHS.

HICHS also offers periodic multi-day intensive courses on subjects related to the history and culture of the Himalayas, and sessions for healing through traditional therapies.