Submitted for publication.

Migration has been a pattern in the hills of Uttarakhand for decades. This region has seen men migrating to the cities in order to earn a livelihood for them and their families, but the pandemic forced them to reverse migrate to their homes. 

A year into the pandemic and deteriorating finances, the reverse migration was reversing in Kumaon, Uttarakhand. This study included a semi structured interview with men from our previous study who moved back to cities in search of jobs. 

An analysis of the interview showed that despite having a social and financial security at their homes these men move back to cities for only one reason: EMPLOYMENT.  The research also highlighted a few themes that focus on their lives in the city and hometown as well as how migration is the only means of survival for these men in Uttarakhand.