Himalayan reading

Prashant.M

The Last Time I Saw Tibet by Bimal Dey. Translated from Bengali by Malobika Chaudhuri.

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kidsan

way of the white clouds by lama anagarika govinda is a classic account of the lama's search for truth in the mountains of tibet before the chinese invasion.

highly recommended

kullukid

Great book Kidsan, definitely in my top 20. i suppose you know he finally settled in Almora in his later years? KK

kidsan

no, i didnt and i was there 2 years ago! thanks for this info. He was a friend of my 'teacher' Sangharakshita, an englishman who was living in india after the war and found a kindred spirit in govinda.

kullukid

Here's his house in Almora KK
http://drikung3yearretreat.com/retreat.shtml

http://www.angelfire.com/realm/bodhisattva/govinda.html

kidsan

thanks KK...looks like a lovely place to do a retreat!

Dilliwala

Very glad I found this thread. Great idea - I'll be adding a few here by and by:

Ruskin Bond is a writer whose simple but clear style of writing I find enjoyable and easy to follow, especially his non-fiction stuff (really don't care for his fiction/ghost stuff, though). I specially enjoy his descriptions of his travels in the Himalaya/Garhwal. Two books which I highly recommend if u want to get a glimpse into the area are -

- 'Rain in the Mountains: Notes from the Himalayas' (1993, Penguin Books)
Basically a collection of short works/essays about life in the places he's lived in (Shimla, Mussoorie), nature, the hills, some poetry, and of course - rain in the mountains.

- 'Ganga Descends' (1992, English Book Depot,Dehradun)
A slim volume of short works again - wanderings in Garhwal, e. g. Gangotri, Nandprayag, Tungnath, Badrinath, in and around Mussoorie; trees, plant- and bird-life; walks, etc.


Another slim volume deals exclusively with the history of Mussoorie, the early part of settlement as a convalescent station, how it developed commercially and later became a party town for the British, a brief history of its schools, old houses, also the graveyards! It's written in collaboration with Ganesh Saili, who did the photography.
- 'Mussoorie and Landour: Days of Wine and Roses' (1992, Lustre Press,Delhi)

Ganesh Saili has also put together a book of short works or extracts by different writers, including British officers, on various aspects of Garhwal - its history, geography, the Gorkha War - after which the area passed into British control; travels to Roop Kund, Badrinath (Bond), (Nanda Devi (Aitken), Valley of Flowers (Smythe); and a hilarious true account by John Lang (Aussie journalist who lived in Muss in the 2nd half of 1800's) about a trip down the Tehri Road and beyond with a German baron, a Frenchman and their 150-strong retinue - complete with live fowl and geese, wine, port, tins of oyster and lobster, and a guitar!
- 'Glorious Garhwal', edited by Ganesh Saili (1995, Roli Books)

Some of these books are easier to find in Dehradun and Mussoorie. If anyone has trouble finding them in other parts of India, I can post the publishers' addresses.

shahronakm

Thanks Dilliwala for that list of books.

I am not able to find book Valley of flowers - by Frank Smythe in Mumbai. I have contacted 3 - 4 book shops but all have answered in negative. Any idea where can i get the same ?

Ronak.

machadinha

http://www.amazon.com/valley-flowers...6659412&sr=8-1

Note: I've never used their service, but I know friends, also in the "developing world" (cough), who say they deliver and they're cheap & good. They have several copies on sale btw, this is just one of them, so search their site for relevant keywords (title + author) and you'll find other copies and editions.

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spicetrekker

Greatt list

Where can I fine Wanderings in the Himalays in Mumbai- tried couple of stroes but not luck

shahronakm

Have checked it before also. But not sure about their service. Has any one on IM tried the service ? Any feedback.

Ronak.

machadinha

Hm. Those friends I mentioned live in Brazil, they're quite happy with it. Friends in San Francisco, ditto.

Me, I don't know. I have good bookshops here

shahronakm

Thanks for the feedback. Seems worth trying once.

Ronak.

Dilliwala

I don't know how foreign exchange issues are handled nowadays, especially with ordering online. But here's nyraghu's info from another thread - u cud check with him for more details.

nyraghu

Ronak, as Dilliwala has mentioned, there is some information in another thread about buying from Amazon in India. Briefly, in my experience, although shopping at Amazon was smooth, their shipping rates to India were too high to make it worthwhile. I've also said something in that posting about my experience of online bookshops based in India.

As for the specific book you mentioned --- Frank Smythe's `Valley of Flowers' --- I bought a copy in Allahabad a couple of years ago for Rs. 295 (minus 10% discount). This copy is a reissue dated 2001 by Natraj Publishers, Dehradun. I think you should be able to order it at a good bookshop in Mumbai, even if it is not readily available in their stock.

In case ordering the book locally does not work, you could try to buy it online from the English Book Depot (EBD), Dehradun. I once enquired at the EBD about ordering books online from them, and was told that online sales were quite important to them, so it may be a reasonable way to buy your book. Yet another alternative is to order it directly from Natraj Publishers; I think Dilliwala may be able to provide you their contact details.

Dilliwala, IIRC, the INR equivalent of the amount spent gets billed to one's credit card, and the transaction is recorded in the account statement as a foreign currency one.

Raghu.

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