Octogenarian Tshering Dorjee Bhutia has been hand-crafting bows for five decades. A carpenter by profession, Dorjee earned his living by repairing furniture, but his inspiration comes from archery – deeply embedded in the culture of his native Sikkim.

Locals say Karthok village in Sikkim’s Pakyong district had more bowmakers once, but Tshering is now the only one left. He makes his bows with bamboo and they sell during the Buddhist festival of Losoong.

You can read more about him in: Tshering: straight-arrow bow maker of Pakyong

Watch video: Tshering Bhutia and his love of making bows

Jigyasa Mishra

Jigyasa Mishra is an independent journalist based in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh.

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Video Editing : Urja
urja@ruralindiaonline.org

Urja is a Video Editor and a documentary filmmaker at the People’s Archive of Rural India

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Text Editor : Vishaka George

Vishaka George is a Bengaluru-based Senior Reporter at the People’s Archive of Rural India and PARI’s Social Media Editor. She is also a member of the PARI Education team which works with schools and colleges to bring rural issues into the classroom and curriculum.

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