The Balti people of Turtuk

Turtuk is one of the northernmost villages of India where Balti people, an ethnic group of Central Asian descent, have lived for many centuries

Some 320 families live in Turtuk village, which was part of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-administered Kashmir from 1948 until December 1971, when Turtuk was annexed by India during the Bangladesh Liberation War

These days Turtuk is the administrative centre of Turtuk district in the Indian state of Ladakh, on the banks of the Shyok, the region's lifeline

Fertile soil churned by the Shyok and its glacial tributaries supports Turtuk's agrarian economy, with fields of buckwheat, tomatoes, orchards of apples and apricots, encircled by lofty mountains

While Ladakh has strong Buddhist and Tibetan influences, this little corner of Baltistan has a distinctive Balti Muslim culture

Understandably, the villagers of Turtuk are keen to preserve their distinctive culture and heritage

Mohammed Ali, whose family has lived in a sprawling wood-and-stone mansion for generations, has converted part of his ancestral house into a heritage museum showcasing traces of traditional Balti culture and lifestyle

The rocky surroundings have been ingeniously engineered to serve as community cold storage, preserving milk, meat and perishables during summer months

Ismail is one of the two remaining shawl-makers in the village, once famous for its cottage weaving industry

Although the nationality of Turtuk residents has changed over the last 75 years, thanks to regional shifts in geopolitics, the hamlet remains much the same with its cobbled alleys, fruit orchards, centuries-old houses and slow, unhurried pace of life

Despite its remote location, Turtuk's young people do have access to education. Most of them study in schools in the locality before moving on to colleges in Leh and Srinagar

Villagers' families are often separated by the Line of Control maintained by India and Pakistan, meaning they require a visa to visit their nearest and dearest