pangti.com is not just a medium to share our views and experiences but an opportunity to search within and refine our own thoughts. It is also a means to initiate new inquiries and dialogue.
While I may be the primary contributor, many of the thoughts that I share would not have seen the light of the day without the active contribution and consultation of my friend and partner Deepti Bisht Pangti.
Talking about Deepti, she originally hails from Pauri Garhwal (Uttarakhand). After finishing her school and college from Dehradun, she served the Indian Army as a nursing officer for five years but discontinued her job after attaining motherhood. She has a deep interest in home remedies, traditional food, alternate medicine, nutrition, traditional farming, etc. She is an avid reader and adores the stories of Premchand. She loves the mountains. Most of her conversations about her childhood are the mountain memories of vacations spent in Thapliyalgaon (near Pauri) with her maternal grandmother. While she deeply loves and enjoys the culture and life of Uttarakhand Himalayas, a chilly winter night is something she still finds very hard to appreciate.
My name is Navin Pangti and I originally hail from the Johar valley (Milam-Munsiari) located in district Pithoragarh of Uttarakhand. After completing my schooling from Pithoragarh, Haldwani and Nainital, I joined Motilal Nehru Regional Engineering College (now MNNIT), Allahabad to become a mechanical engineer. Though I acquired the desired label, complete lack of interest towards an engineering job drove me towards writing advertisements. While writing ads, I realised that I needed to walk further ahead hence joined the Industrial Design centre (IDC) at IIT, Mumbai for higher education in visual design. Post studies, I experimented with a few jobs and then started a design firm along with some friends. After three years or so I left the firm and started working solo, from home, as an independent designer. Before we could realise, we had spent over 17 years in Delhi and Gurgaon.
As both of us were ‘job’less and homeschooling our children, all of us (we and our two daughters) were almost always at home. We were having a good time – feeling independent and free! But somehow that independence too was not fulfilling enough. The urban density started bothering us. We started getting nauseated with the pace of the city life. We were also getting disillusioned with the popular political, social and economic models littered all around. Eventually, when it became unbearable, we packed our bags and quit the city life, once and for all.
We now stay in a village near Almora in Uttarakhand and practice farming. We also run a farmstay. While I indulge in designing, writing, woodworking, storytelling, conducting workshops, etc., Deepti is busy with her plants, food processing, and other interests. Though she has no inclination towards writing, she has agreed to occasionally share her views and experiences.
After moving to the hills, I took some time off to pursue a degree in law. Now I am an LLB as well though I am not interested in practicing law. My only interest is simplification of legal language and its communication.
We are happy that we are able to give words to our journey and that these words enjoy your company. In this journey we are also accompanied by our two loving home-schooled daughters who. as adults, are exploring their passions.
The journey continues!
