It’s an iconic fixture of comfort and hospitality right across the high Himalaya. I’ve drunk endless cups of hot water and salted tea from these sturdy flasks everywhere from western Ladakh to eastern Arunachal. The brands are Chinese but I always see them as a reassuring marker of the resilience of Tibet’s material culture. And I’ve often been tempted to take one home — but always resisted because they are almost too ubiquitous.

That resolve finally melted in the course of a chilly mid-November journey through Ladakh. Measure out enough time in butter-tea flasks and you have to own one. I did try to find a ‘Free Tibet’ (Made in China) specimen but settled on this prettily pink number for just Rs 320 at Moti Market in Leh.