5 comments about River of Colour the India of Raghubir Singh.

1. India is a difficult country to understand and even more difficult to explain, in words or pictures! Rughubir Singh has captured the chaos of India which take you right into the bylanes of Varanasi/Banaras. This is my favourite(infact the only picture book) gift to a lot of my western friends, most of whom have visited India before. The pictures are simply too powerful. If you have any facination for that land, you cant afford not to have a look at Mr. Singh's pictures.



2. I first bought this book in its paperback edition... I was so taken by the photographs that on learning that Phaidon was re-releasing the book, I gave my pbk copy to an Indian friend of mine (who loves it, as it reminds him of home). Looking forward to the re-release of this book, I was eagerly looking for it to become available.
   
   The re-release arrived just the other day. I can say that the photos are just as moving, heart-melting, and colorful as the original copy. HOWEVER, Amazon's "shrink-wraping process" ruined the cover of the book, and many of the pages of the book.
   
   So, I paid full Amazon price for the book, but were I to try to re-sell it, it would be "damaged."
   
   To say that I'm a little piss#d is an understatement.
   
   It _is_ a beautiful book, with a wonderful overview of Singh's work - my favorites are the boys diving from the tops of submerged temples on a flooded Ganges, and a pic of a muscician from Tamil Nadu...
   
   I just wish the condition of the book were better.



3. Raghubir Singh was born in India and began his photography career in 1965 - but until this collection, very few of his works reached audiences outside the country. RIVER OF COLOUR: THE INDIA OF RAGHUBIR SINGH uses a wide-angle panoramic layout which will prove a shelving challenge to most art library collections - but a delight to any who seek fine display materials. It's the only retrospective of Singh's works and by choosing an elongated, oversized display format, the color photos of Indian topics come to life and nearly spring off the page. RIVER OF COLOUR is recommended not just for art photography libraries, but for any collection strong on India history or culture.



4. Raghubir Singh's River of Colour is a book that beautiful in many ways. Not only was he a very talented photographer, he also brings out a tremendous sense of patriotism with his book. His photographs capture the essence of Indian culture.



5. I was given this book (softcover edition) by a friend some years ago, and it has resonated with me as one of the finest compilations of documentary photography on India. Raghubir Singh's photograph captures moments in the lives of ordinary Indians, in a way that is without a doubt timeless. This book is a collection of his best works from his many years of photography in India and it's simply a marvel, especially for anyone who has a special interest in India or comes from India, who can really appreciate the imagery.
   
   I hands down recommend this book to anyone and everyone and always show it off to friends. Try and get some of his other works as well - Bombay, The Grand Trunk Road, Kerala, Banares, Kashmir, if you can find them. You will be equally impressed.

1 comments about The Ganges.

1. The Ganges is the fascinating and informative personal story of one man's pilgrimage along the famous and revered river Ganges, ranging from it's sources in the Himalaya mountains to its ultimate destination in the Bay of Bengal. 123 impressive, unforgettable color photographs enhance a deeply engaging text by contemporary photographer Raghubir Singh. Both image and commentary blend to document Singh's undeniable eye for detail, and fill the 192-pages this remarkable travelogue and memorable tribute to a timeless and sacred river.

5 comments about Himalaya: Personal Stories of Grandeur, Challenge, and Hope.

1. This book would be worth buying for the photographs alone. There are well over 100 of them and nearly every one (as is appropriate for a National Geographic Society book) is of salon quality. But you shouldn't just look at the pictures. They are accompanied by 40 short pieces by a wide variety of people, each with a story to tell, either of how their life has been changed by their Himalayan experience, or how what they do is changing the life there. These are by leading Himalayan authorities in the climbing world (today's and yesterday's),in conservation, research, art restoration, human rights, development, and Buddhism. Among the authors are a former American president (Jimmy Carter) and a current US senator (Diane Feinstein), as well as leading Buddhist figures (including the Dalai Lama, who wrote one of the three introductory essays). You don't have to read all of these essays and yet, as you leaf through the book, you may find yourself doing just that. For one thing, they are short - two to three pages each. For another, these are personal stories, which means that in each case, the author connects himself with the subject he is describing, giving it an immediacy that it might otherwise lack. And for still another, they are talking about really interesting things - things like the region's problems, its wildlife, its earthquakes, its politics (a little bit), and - of course - their own experience there. The book has been produced by the National Geographic Society with the American Himalayan Foundation, and many of that organization's projects have been described. It is introduced by Richard Blum, who is its head and (with Erica Stone and Broughton Coburn) one of the book's three editors. He quotes the instructions of Lama Govinda, a 20th century holy man, on how to see a mountain: "To see the greatness of a mountain, one must keep one's distance. To understand its form, one must move around it. To experience the moods, one must see it at sunrise and sunset, at noon and at midnight, in sun and in rain, in snow and in storm, in summer and in winter and in all other seasons. He who can see the mountain like this comes near to the life of the mountain, a life that is as intense and varied as that of a human being."
   
   If you are not in a position to do all this for the Himalaya, just read this book. It will get you close to an intense and varied experience of the world's most famous mountains and the people who live among them.



2. My Himalayan book shelf and coffee tables already groan, but I ordered this National Geographic beauty immediately. All at once I was reminded of the depth of love and anxiety I have about these young mountains and these very old people. I learned a lot, even considering that I'm privileged to spend at least a month in Nepal and nearby countries once a year over the last decade. Photographs of masters, spiritual seekers, and people lovers lead the way to understanding the powerful impact of just being in the magic presence of the peaks. They soar beyond the clouds; the people strive for spiritual peaks and life goals too. In editing a series of short contemporary, highly relevant, but personal articles, Richard Blum, Erica Stone, and Brot Coburn show readers what can be seen and what can be done to reach out to help ease burdens there. Mountaineers, trekkers, and couch climbers, helpers and those looking for a cause, travelers, pilgrims, and all of us seeking greater human understanding will relish the guiding words of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, Sir Edmund and Peter Hillary, and Lodi Gyalsten Gyari. Everyone who loves the Himalayas or wants to get to know them MUST HAVE this well rounded easy to read, glorious to see, summary of current times in and under the mountains of the Gods.
   Joyce Tapper
   Los Angeles



3. This is a wonderful essay book with stunning photography. The essays are from a diverse group - from world leaders to refugees, to mountain climbing legends. Together they tell the story of the Himalayas - its beauty, its culture, its challenges and the hope that so many people help to bring to this part of the world. I gave this book as a gift to many people for the holidays and everyone has mentioned to me that they have enjoyed reading it and it is often a conversation piece when people see it on the coffee table. I recommend it highly.



4. This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves the great places of the world like the Himalaya. This is a great collection of stories by people who have fallen in love with the region, the people and the mountains. The basis for the book is to protect places, cultures and the people of an endangered region. A must have book for your collection.



5. Himalaya is a collection of essays and photographs depicting the Himalayan peaks, the people living in the shadows of these peaks, and the needs and plights of these people. All the contributors have been very closely linked with the Himalayas. These include monks and native hillmen who were either born and brought up there, and then were typically forced to seek asylum in other countries, hardy mountaineers like Jim Whittaker, Ian Baker and the Hillary father and son pair, and famed Himalayaholics like Stan Armington and Matthieu Ricard.
   
   The book invokes strong nostalgia if you have been to the Himalayas before, and wonderstruck awe if you haven't been there. Through the three sections titled Grandeur, Challenge and Hope, you will find yourself in a world of simple hard-working villagers, troubled by malicious forces beyond their powers, and in a world of wild blue sheep, fat and honest eyed yaks, and majestic snow leopards. Pioneering climbers describe how they realized their dreams of climbing the loftiest peaks in the Himalayas, and how these ascents turned them into altogether different humans. We get interesting accounts from famous wildlife conservationists as to what made them turn to the Himalayas, and how have they been carrying out their efforts in these extreme terrains for decades.
   
   Many of the tales point out that the Himalayas are different from other mountain ranges not just because of their stupendous heights, but also due to the simplicity and genuineness of the people who have been living in its valleys and snow-covered meadows for thousands of years. Some of the views in the book are so orthodox that you might laugh them off at first, for instance, consider opposition to building roads in undeveloped regions in the mountains. But authors like Jigme Bista will explain to you that how development comes at the hefty cost of cultural degradation and decay of environmental harmony.
   
   Frankly, a few of the essays focus entirely on Buddhist philosophy, Tibetan's educational needs or on healthcare issues. Indeed these are important and relevant, and are connected with the central theme of the book, but some essays sadly do feel like space-filling digressions. Related to this is the shortcoming that the book makes Himalayas sound synonymous to the Nepal and Tibet Himalayas. Almost no mention is made of the high deserts of Ladakh Himalayas or of the vast Garhwal Himalayas.
   
   The lack of an index in such a hefty volume is also conspicuous. The book is no doubt a good collection of essays and photographs, but somehow fails to be up to the perfectionist standards of the National Geographic Society.
   
   Nevertheless, the thought which would linger in your mind for long after you finish this beautiful book, is the justifiability of human imposed geographical boundaries, if such boundaries have led to millions of torturous deaths over the years.
   
   http://readsafe.blogspot.com

1 comments about On a Shoestring to Coorg: A Travel Memoir of India.

1. I had this author recommended to me by a friend who knew of my interest in other cultures, so I found this book in a local library and started reading. I find it to be amazing, especially for a journal of her travel experiences. She uses language which gives the book almost a flavor of fiction (I find that many nonfiction authors use very simple and often dry language, making such books harder to read). Occasionally she seems to have the perspective of a stereotypical European, but in general she manages to have a neutral viewpoint and tries to explain Indian customs from the point of view of Indians, as well as her reactions and those of her five year old daughter.

   As far as I'm concerned, one of the best parts of this book is the way that it describes various parts of India in amazing detail, as well as giving some background on the area. Unlike many tourists, Murphy is not content merely to wander around seeing usual sites; instead, she tries to get to out-of-the-way places, and to experience life as much like an Indian as she can (while acknowledging that this can never be fully accomplished). This is perhaps one of the best "outsider" descriptions that I have read, as she really makes and effort to understand her new surroundings.

3 comments about River Dog: A Journey Down the Brahmaputra.

1. I found 'River Dog' to be a touching moving and at times quite funny travelouge. It could be easily argued that the main focus of the book is not shand himself but rather his adorable companion, bhaiti , the hunting dog. This loveable mutt, which amazingly turns out to be an ancient pedigree breed is initially rescued from the back streets of india and is then launched on an amazing journey with shand both hiking and sailing down the mighty brahmaputra river. The dog repays shand by literally saving him from a horned viper. shand then has an extensive opium fuelled conversation with bhaiti which the author notes, quite rightly, as being....really weird!

   Shand is an effortless travel writer, transporting your imagination to bamboo forests, sacred mountains and gentle currents with consumate ease. The various characters that he introduces soon feel like your best friends. Gamma the permanently stoned captain of the riverboat is a real stand out, and the entire journey comes across as a boys own adventure. You can actually find yourself reminiscing about the epic trek even though you weren't really there.

   And finally does anyone know where I can buy one of those indian hunting dogs. I really want one. you will too after you read 'river dog'




2. I found the main observations in this book fairly interestering. But overall I found his attitude to the locals fairly arrongant unless they happened to help his journey. If you read the book them you will otice a few pieces of information don't check out e.g. the first cane bridge that he walks on and falls through he describes the pieces of wood being 30 cm apart, however in the picture in the book you can clearly see in the photos taken by himself that the only space close to that is the hole he fell done the rest were closer to 10 cm. To be honest this book has stirred an interest in this genre but I will be looking for books by a open minded writer, unlike Mark Shand.



3. I had high hopes for 'River Dog' as the Brahmaputra is a unique wonder of a river, but this is more of a personal diary than a travel log. We get to know a bit about the adventurous Mr. Shands and his new dog Bhaiti. Hints of the troubled history of India's eastern states peek through, but there's disappointingly little that describes the role the river played. And Mr. Shands is admittedly not taken with Bangladesh, so while it's almost half of the distance he traveled, the Bangladesh part of his journey gets about 10% of the pages.
   
   It's far from a waste of time, though. It's a fast read and it opened my eyes to this incredible river. The first part of his adventure as he joins a hunt for Shangri La is edgy and exciting, and we get a great feel for the roots of this river at the top of the world.
   
   But after that we need to wade through altogether too much material about his new pooch. Clearly, the dog had a great time on this trip. As for us, we do get glimpses of the river and snippets of quotes from some early British explorers. And we have several detailed descriptions on how to deal with government administrators. But while we learn that eastern India is a disputed area, we don't get a lot of insight beyond that. He mentions in passing, for example, that the Chinese army had made its way far into what is now India. This must have some kind of residual impact on the people who live there now. But we wouldn't know that through this work. We also get bits of Hindu culture that flow throughout as he occasionally mentions a religious foundation to what is driving actions for his fellow travelers and himself. It's hard to tell for this novice, though, how much of this is real and how much is just for fun. When he, for example, encourages his friend to help him find a pet by envoking a heritage of dog worship. Sure this was funny. But it's hard to tell if there was any real foundation.
   
   So River Dog is a fun fast read, and it relays a touch of cultural insight while you learn a bit about this incredible river as it roams through eastern India. Just don't pick it up if you're looking to learn anything about Bangladesh.

No comments about Passage Through India: An Expanded and Illustrated Edition.

1 comments about Cool Hotels: India, Maldives, Sri Lanka.

1. Students of architecture, hotel and commercial building design, and travel will all find much to attract in Cool Hotels: India, Maldives, Sri Lanka: it features the best hotels of the region, from rustic to big city, and discusses craftsmanship, artistic d‚cor, and landscaping qualities which make each hotel exceptional. The meat of Cool Hotels lies in its full-page color photos of both interior and exteriors of featured hotels.

5 comments about Arousing the Goddess: Sex and Love in the Buddhist Ruins of India.

1. Wow, what a great novel! It is insightful and skillfully weaves together a spiritual journey through India with an unplanned, but welcomed love story. Arousing the Goddess is an easy-to-read novel which holds the reader's attention from the first to the last page. Tim is very open about his experiences, but he is also able to interject the right amount of humor and wit into the storyline.

   As Tim and Sabina's relationship evolves, the reader is constantly left wondering what will happen next as they journey together. What makes this a great novel is that as the story unfolds, the reader can't help but get caught up in the different emotions (passion, frustration, disappointment, heartbreak) that Tim and Sabina experience both individually and as a couple. Additionally, the reader can relate to the different levels of their relationship and can share in their pain and joy. Tim is able to engage the reader throughout his story even to the end where he leaves the reader with a thought provoking question.




2. Arousing the Goddess: Sex and Love in the Buddhist Ruins of India is the personal memoir of one man's sexual and spiritual awakening in India. Author Tim Ward traveled throughout India and the far east for two years, and fell in love with a beautiful Austrian Indologist on her own search for knowledge. The energy harnessed the power of tantric sex to achieve a sublime plateau of bliss, color, sensation, and awakened truths amid their passion. Their journey is one that pursues enlightenment as well as spiritual wisdom, and the heat of their unions recalls echoes of the ancient sex practices of the mysterious Tantrics. An enthralling true story of physical, carnal, and spiritual exploration as witnessed, lived, and recorded by Tim Ward.



3. A mystical philosopher engaged upon an autobiographical journey into the East, "searching for the inexplicable, something to crack open [his] metaphysical prejudices." Arousing the Goddess introduces us to a true traveler, an intrepid spiritual pilgrim looking for that elusive point wherein the hand of heaven touches earth. Yet in the early naïveté of the journey, the sexual and the spiritual get fused and confused under the banner of Tantric allure. Though even in this, the author is honest, perhaps too honest. For painfully prolific are the pages sticky with the seedy recollections of one seeking to uncover the metaphysical nature of sex. All the while, this novice exploration into the ruins of Tantric lore proves something of a bust. And thus the spiritual journey must continue, as this bona fide pilgrim yearns for a greater glimpse into the mysteries of reality. And as such, he challenges each of us to overcome our confusions and our delusions and travel onwards into What the Buddha Never Taught.



4. This is a fun read...Sabrina is a "tireless" Goddess
   
   Sudden Warm Shower
   opening
   entirely
   
   [...]



5. Would highly recommend this book to all those interested in travel and sex. For it provides a wonderful account of travelling through India and then goes very deeply into the experience of falling in love, and making love. I have studied the anthropology of sexuality at Cambridge University and the University of Hawaii, and this book deserves to be on every syllabus - I believe it is already on the syllabus of Claremont University in California. Even that doesn't justify this book for it also a deeply spiritual study of one young man's quest for meaning when he studies Buddhism. Not only that but is an easy to read account, that is absolutely gripping - and Tim's emotional honesty is breathtaking. I quoted extensively from on my book on travelling with your intuition Travelling Magically: How to Turn Your Journey into a Life-Changing Experience I read an enormous amount of travel books for it and quoted from some. But this book - I originally found from an amazon list - is way up there with the very best. Really, I wish I had come across it years ago. I can't recommend it more highly.

No comments about Footprint Handbook 2009 India (Footprint India Handbook).

1 comments about Begums, Thugs, and White Mughals: The Journals of Fanny Parkes.

1. A rare and delightful travelogue......
   
   Fanny Parkes should be ever grateful to William Dalrymple for rediscovering and bringing out her 'unique and wonderful' travelogue on India - the long-titled " Wanderings of a Pilgrim in search of the Pictureseque, During four and twenty years in the East; with revelations of Life in the Zenana" originally published in 1850 by Pelham Richardson.....yet once again to the world at large.
   
   It is 'unique' because Fanny Parkes is at once an observant, fluent, compassionate, intelligent and fairly without prejudice as a travel writer in the mid 19th century when British arrogance on the colonised peoples colored almost all printed material written in the english language. This book is one rare exception. Its 'wonderful', because the writing style of Parkes is amazingly contemporary and unless one is reminded, it would be impossible to guess that these journals were written almost 175 years ago. Her observations cover almost all aspects of a European living and travelling in 1820's in India.
   
   Her journal is like a rare encyclopedia on all things Indian and peppered with thousands of anecdotes on all the nuances and nuggets of daily life.
   
   One of the most enjoyable and priceless books....