5 comments about A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush.

1. Unlike other critics, I had a hard time dealing with Newby's commitment to sticking to the facts and his telling the story free of any detours into what it meant to him or what he had learned about himself or his countrymen along the way. Perhaps an appreciation for his style comes after one has read enough travel books that he/she sees the kind of wistfulness for which I had hoped as useless, cliched BS. But, being a relative novice to the genre, I lacked that kind of cynicism and, consequently, did not enjoy the book as much as I had hoped to.
   
   Also, my lack of familiarity with central Asian geography and history hendered my enjoyment of the book. Newby usually relies on an assumed foreknowledge of the reader, so he doesn't spend much time explaining things. This made it hard for me as I oftentimes had to go back a few pages to figure out where he was or what particular tribe with which he was currently encountering.
   
   Furthermore, I personally have a hard time with large, Moslem names, so it was very hard to remember who all of the locals were, what their jobs were, what their personalities were like, and how they had already interacted with Newby. This may have been more due to my laziness than Newby's writing, though, so it's hard to fault him on that front.
   
   I was somewhat disappointed with this book; however, I can see why many people enjoy it and why it has garnered critical acclaim. For seasoned travel book readers or those with a high familiarity with central Asia (especially around the Pakistani-Afghan border), though, I think this book would be right up your alley.



2. "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush" by Eric Newby (1958) is a minor classic among travel books that was, recently for me, a true pleasure to read. It's new info, insightful, light but not shallow, humorous, yet apropos to current events. Its preface by one of my favorite 'snobs' (Evelyn Waugh) was enough recommendation for me. An amateur British mountain climber with his sidekick in the wild mountains of North-east Afghanistan. Very subtle, very English. Eric Newby died in 2006. I'm happy he was a writer.



3. I got this book on the recommendation from the book Afghanistan: A Companion and Guide, which described it as "among the best travel books ever written". Having read the book, I would have to agree.
   
   This book could be a humor book almost as much as a travel book. Newby's style of writing is, at times, felt like watching a Monty Python sketch in its dry British humor and the unexpected places that one constantly found it coming up.
   
   Eric Newby starts the book as a man working in the fashion industry after World War II, who realizes that he's in the wrong job. He calls up a friend who worked for the foreign service in Afghanistan and asks him if he wants to go to Nuristan in northeast Afghanistan. He quits he jobs, does four days of mountain climbing in Great Britian, and heads off.
   
   I will not spoil the adventures he has just in getting there but will say that they are amazing, unexpected and fascinating. You really get the sense of a seat-of-your-pants road trip in the way that he almost blindly goes into what would be anyone's trip of a lifetime.
   
   His description of Afghanistan and its people who he meets and who guide him is wonderful and accurate to everything I have seen in this country myself. To anyone who likes travel books or simply wants to read a fascinating adventure, you need to read this book.



4. I love this book, his humor and imagination, the descriptions. It's his best!
   Highly Recommended!



5. Ok, I have read the reviews about this book, most of which have "got it" and some of whom have not. Firstly get a map or even better a globe (a kind of round map) and see just how far London (England) is from Afghanistan. Now try and imagine driving there in a family car, not one of those road going ocean liners known I believe as "SUV's", through countries, some of which are considered too dangerous for westerners to enter.
   
   Remember that even at the time of writing, Britain was still recovering from the effects of WW2, indeed rationing continued until 1954, and those who had the money to travel might have considered a trip by train to Blackpool (a seaside resort in the north-west of England) quite an adventure. So the idea of on a whim jumping into the family jalopy and driving 2/3 of the way around the world might be considered a tad eccentric. The 2 adventurers are total amateurs, if I remember rightly; they are stuck on a glacier half way up the mountain, and have to refer to their mountain climbing textbook on how to get off it!
   
   Imagine 2 gentlemen after having a couple of gliding lessons deciding to build a rocket in their back garden and go into space? That's the sort of order of magnitude of adventure that Newby and Carless embarked on. Also one has to bear in mind that in the 50's, Afghanistan was to all intents and purposes cut off from the "modern" world and quite literally the back of beyond.
   
   As a Brit, I am aware of the issues of our colonial past, but I still retain a soft spot for the pith helmeted "gentleman adventurer", the sort of people who in the 20's might have climber Everest but turned back when they couldn't get the grand piano and rowing boat past the 5th base camp at 27,000 ft.
   
   It's hard to describe in these days of Google earth how large the world was in those days. Its been many years since I read this book, and I am writing this review because I have loaned it to a friend who is going to Kathmandu for a wedding and wanted to give to her a book to read on the plane that would make her laugh.
   
   This book is unlikely, and funny, and I feel the world is a little sadder for the loss of the generation of men who could attempt such whimsy.

5 comments about Parsis: The Zoroastrians of India: A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY.

1. I bought this book on a whim for a friend and it was one of the best decisions. Sooni's photos really capture a culture and moments in time and help narrate a wonderful experience of sorts. Having visited Bombay several times, I was very impressed by the manner in which she shows the Parsi culture through her simple yet poignant photos. I recommend this book highly!
   ps- I ended up not only gifting the book to my friend but also bought a copy for myself!!



2. This is a big book of street and interior photography in Bombay, India. (The author spells the city thus, rather than the official Mumbai.) The focus is on the religious minority the Parsis, who honor the ancient prophet Zoroaster or Zarathustra. Zoroaster was from somewhere in eastern Iran, as best as anyone can tell, and the Parsis in this book indeed look more Persian than they do like their Aryan/Dravidian compatriots, to this admittedly untrained eye. The author approvingly includes a neat quote by Friedrich Nietzsche in the introduction:
   
   "People have never asked me, as they should have done, what the name Zarathustra precisely means in my mouth, in the mouth of the first Immoralist; for what distinguishes that philosopher from all others in the past is the very fact that he was exactly the reverse of an immoralist. Zarathustra was the first to see in the struggle between good and evil the essential wheel in the working of things."
   
   The story of the author's family, temple, and home life is interesting enough, but the book is rewarding on sheerly photographic merits alone. The familiar urban India of crumbling concrete, colorful shutters, thronging streets, and hole in the wall shops is vividly reproduced here. It is oddly refreshing to not have India's poverty on display--we know it exists, but that's not the point of this book. The people herein range from the wealthy to the shopkeeper class. It is not, as similar books by non-Indians are prone to be, a cavalcade of exotica.
   
   Some of the uniformly excellent photos include these:
   
   A deaf, wizened grandfather shouting at a fountain pen repairman.
   
   An abandoned, one-room temple, still with its devotional portraits and wall clock, inhabited only by a crow on the ceiling fan.
   
   Middle-aged businessmen, most half in the bag already, crowding the bar at a celebration
   
   Young priests performing a rite over a ceremonial feast, on the floor in a daylight interior space.
   
   A wealthy art patron and wife, in their sumptuous living room.
   
   Several river scenes, with devotional activity such as reciting verses or praying in the water.
   
   A Parsi and a Nepalese seated together on the train--a contrast of ethnic types.
   
   A man with a distinctive face, such as Leonardo da Vinci collected in his sketchbooks, snapped with the telephoto lens while waiting for the bus.
   
   And plenty of home scenes, like one of mother, friend, and tots, enjoying a play date on the English-looking lawn. Except that it isn't grass, but some other wide-bladed carpet plant, instead.
   
   These scenes are all expertly and affectionately photographed, and presented with genuine warmth.



3. I have not read the book, but I'm willing to give it the benefit of doubt and give it a rating of "5".
   
   The purpose of my "review" is to put the term "Parsi" in its proper perspective. "Parsi" literally means "Persian", since "Pars" is the true name for Persia. If we are to follow this logic, then to all intents and purposes the Zoroastrians in Iran today are the true "Parsis". Therefore, only the second part of the title of this book "The Zoroastrians of India" is correct. The dichotomy can therefore be explained very simply - If you are Indian then you are not "Parsi" and vice versa. One cannot be Persian and Indian at the same time.
   
   The Zoroastrians of India have adopted Indian customs and ceremonies, do not speak a word of Persian and therefore do not understand the content of one-third of the Avesta, which is written in Persian. This is tantamount to completely losing their original identity as a people. Blending in with the country of adoption to the point of adopting the language and customs of that country and willingly losing all trace of their origins, and practicing a brand new identity is fine, if they would prefer to do that. However, by labeling themselves as Parsis, they are committing a travesty of justice to the true Parsis in Iran who have practiced the faith against insurmountable odds.
   
   And if the Zoroastrians of India are bent upon propagating and promoting their new identity, then they should not create their own sectarian institutions in India but should be willing to blend in with the rest of the Indian community. They cannot have it both ways. And as for not allowing intermarriages or conversions, well, study the Kalme-e-Din in the Avesta. It tells you that the Zoroastrian faith was "sent for the people" (baraye khalk ferestade). That perhaps is the single-most damning evidence against the proponents of non-conversion. But one needs to know the Persian language to understand that.
   
   And one last word on this: The Kisse-E-Sanjaan never happened. There is no documented evidence of such an event in the annals of "Parsi" history. And even if it did occur, then it's an affront to scribe a monument in its memory, in Gujerati. That's how far the "Parsis" of India have strayed from their true beginnings. Naming their children with meaningless Persian-"sounding" names will not make them Persians or should I say "Parsis". And as for preventing intermarriages to save the purity of "race", they should take a look in their mirrors and be honest with themselves.



4. The book is beautifully done, but to use it as a coffee table book I cannot display with broken corner. Advised them second time, but no reply. As I live in Mexico it is difficult getting mail in and out and also expensive. Very disappointed.



5. Parsis: The Zoroastrians of India: A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY is the best dipiction of the Parsis...

2 comments about Trekking in Ladakh, 3rd: India Trekking Guides (Trailblazer).

1. This is in fact the only detailed account, well illustrated, for a traveler to Ladakh (do you know where is it?), a small Buddhist-Islam country which still preserves many of the traditions already spoiled in Nepal & Sikkim.
   For a trekker, this is a precious vade mecum. For a learner, Charlie Loram is a most knowledgeable teacher on the subject.
   This book is worth your time and money.
   And, thank you Charlie for a superb book!



2. This is also a good guide book as is the Lonely Planet Guide to the Indian Himalayas. Both have very good information. Maps are better in LP.

No comments about Stones of Empire: The Buildings of the Raj.

5 comments about Not Yet Drown'd: A Novel.

1. 
   
   In 1822, newly-widowed Catherine MacDonald is settling with her stepdaughter, Grace, into her brother, Hector's Edinburgh home. Recovering from the accidental death of her husband, Catherine is also grieving for her twin brother, Sandy, drowned in the Indian monsoons of 1821. An accomplished bagpipe musician, Sandy's true calling was the cultivation of tea, her sibling convinced that tea could be grown not only in China, but in India. Unfortunately, Sandy runs afoul of his employers, the East India Company, and is assigned to the opium fields shortly before his death in the monsoon season. When Catherine receives a package, the address penned in her twin's hand, she begins to wonder why the body was never found and whether her brother could still be alive. The package contains a Kashmiri shawl, a sheaf of handwritten music for bagpipes, including one titled "Not Yet Drown'd" and an ornate box filled with what appears to be tea leaves.
   
   Before Catherine can pursue her thoughts about Sandy's fate, more serious events transpire that threaten her security and that of eight-year-old Grace. Having traveled all the way from America, a woman arrives on Hector's doorstep announcing her intention to deliver the child to blood relatives in Virginia. Catherine refuses, unleashing the stranger's wrath and a promise to return with the assistance of the law. Although Catherine prepares to flee, she seriously underestimates the perseverance of this woman, who manages a great coup, plucking the hapless Grace from the family. There ensues a dramatic chase and attempted rescue, Catherine suddenly on board ship with her brother, Hector, bound for India, where he intends to test the innovations he has made to the current methods of steamship travel. And Catherine isn't alone. Besides a trembling Grace, Catherine has added two more women to her party, the slave who accompanied the lady from Virginia and an enigmatic Indian maid, who has been trying to gain passage to India for her own reasons.
   
   One could get lost in the modernization of steamship design or the complicated pages of bagpipe music that Catherine diligently copies to send back to her sister-in-law in Edinburgh, or even the day to day trials of life aboard ship. But the real drama of this novel is Catherine's journey to the interior of India in search of information about her brother's fate, the romance she does her best to sabotage and the gradual unfolding of the ayah's shocking story, filled with tales of ritual and tradition and a great love gone astray. India is the jewel of this crown, all events conspiring to focus on a country still in the throes of Britain's imperialist agenda, the pampered English oblivious to the lives of those around them, save the administration of their creature comforts. Yet somehow Catherine manages to overcome every obstacle with the help of her Indian maid-turned-confidant, their friendship blooming as the weeks pass. From fog-shrouded Scotland to the dense jungles of India, the intricacies of tea plantations and steamboat races, Catherine has the adventure of a lifetime, her grieving heart restored by an awakening love and the restoration of all she holds dear. Luan Gaines/2007.



2. Richly detailed in historical color, takes you on journeys and adventures from Scotland to India and in between. Not only do you finish the story feeling like you have traveled around the world, but you enjoy learning about 19th Century history, art, politics, economics, different cultures, love and of course, tea!



3. A fascinating and compelling read. Great characters. Superb writing. Tremendous cultural and historical detail. This book deserves a large and enthusiastic readership.



4. Are you craving exquisitely crafted language, erudition, mystery and adventure; beautifully drawn characters that are completely engaging? This is the book for you. By turns it is wise, funny, thrilling and learned. I highly recommend it.
   
   This is a work of fiction that gets its facts right--you can learn a lot from it. I was drawn into the story and found it hard to put the book down. I enjoyed traveling with the main character through Scotland, India and back in time.



5. This book is slow. It presents lots of different, interesting, and unique information on a variety of different subjects that were of interest in the 1800's. The author obviously spent lots of time researching and adding these fine little details into the story at appropriate places. The story itself was well written and ended just as well. But it took forever to get to that end. The author just kept the book interesting enough to go on to the next chapter. I almost gave up on it several times, but decided to push on through. That's the only downside of the book and why I only give it three stars. It was just slow and added almost too much information in such a short book to give it the credit others reviewers have.

1 comments about Color of Serendipity: A Journey Through Sri Lanka, The.

1. I purchased this book as a present. I loved the pictures, the book is divided into 3 sections:
   Faces - amazing photos of Sri Lankan people in everyday life
   Places - includes famous places, farm houses, temples and Buddha statues
   Wilderness - mostly photos of animals
   The photos are all wonderful and interesting, and offer a good insight into the culture. Next to each photo is a little text with excerpt(s) from books or essays which usually fits the photo really well. Mostly used were Leonard Woolfs books (The Village in the Jungle, Growing: An Autobiography of the Years 1904-1911) and Christopher Oondaatje (Ceylon: An Account of the Island, Woolf in Ceylon) and others.
   It is lovelingly put together, but for my taste there could have been more pictures not of single animals but the "wider experience", like bits of jungle or other natural habitat.
   Beware of giving this as a present to a Sri Lankan Tamil. It contains a reference to forceful recruitment of children to fight for the Tamils and nearly all photos refer to Singhalese people or structures - lots of Buddhist places are shown, and there's only one photo of Tamil people included. That's why I gave it only 4 stars. Otherwise a great book!

2 comments about Portrait of India.

1. Portraits of India is a collection of essays and interviews that, when taken together, provide a rich picture of India and this century of its history. Mehta has access to many of India's national treasures, including Ali Akbar Khan and Mother Theresa (before she won the Nobel Prize). In addition, he is eloquent and opinionated on many of India's historical touchstones: Ghandi, the Muslim/Hindu partition (including some great historical background on Kashmir, relevant in light of the recent seperatist stirrings there), and religion. The book is easy to read. Each of the essays is self contained and absorbable in a sitting. They are grouped together coherently to form synergistic wholes that offer insight into this enormous country



2. Ved Mehta's a sharp, appealing guide to huge swaths of India c. 1965. He delivers deft portraits of politicians, saints, blast furnace workers, musicians, filmmakers, soldiers, economists and just about everyone in between in (mostly) perfectly-sized vignettes that straddle the line between journalism and I guess what we now call creative nonfiction. Mehta writes from the rare perspective of an Indian educated mostly abroad; he speaks the languages, but approaches Indian society with a tourist's distance and unflagging curiosity.
   
   At times I wished he'd step out from behind the impeccable prose to give us a more personal impression; a lot of the pieces pull up just shy of a moral or philosophical point to charge on to the next stop. It's only in the short preface to the second edition that he reveals he's been blind since childhood. I can see why he thought it would be a distraction to include that in the book, but it points to a kind of reserve or desire to hold something important back that keeps this I think from being a real classic. But as a portrait of a particular moment in India's history--and as an example of what literary journalism at its best can be--it's still an absorbing read.

No comments about India Chic (Chic Destination).

5 comments about Sadhus: India's Mystic Holy Men.

1. The men (and very occasionally women) portrayed in this inconspicuous volume are compelling in the extreme. It is only necessary to gaze at their faces and ash-dusted bodies to fully appreciate the gift of this work. But the author/photographer offers so much more.

   As a study in psychology in extremis, the wealth of behavioral detail and description is satisfying. And the diverse, often incredibly imaginative, rituals of self-abnegation are conveyed with tremedous sensitivty and scrupulous balance.

   The text is dense, and possibly impenetrable in places. It is academic in its emphasis on getting every possible relevant detail down. So one is met with an avalanche of esoterica upon delving in.

   Perhaps the writing assumes a bit of knowlege and sophistication in Eastern ways? But it really doesn't matter anyway. Somehow a sense of what is important filters through after a while. And the photo captions are well-written and fascinating.

   This is a picture of a society of devotees who have given it ALL up in order to stay exquisitely near to the timeless, pitiless cycle of death and regeneration that powers all life. The book itself is clearly an act of devotion to that extaordinay commitment.




2. This is a beautiful book about a bunch of morons. The basic fallacy of this book is that the people written about in this book are "mystic holy men" and that living a life of asceticism and renunciation and smearing your body with ashes and doing a bunch of rituals will bring enlightenment. Total hogwash.



3. I went to India twice, the first time for 4 months, and sadhus are definetly one of the most interesting people of the hindu world. Obviously their lifestyle is not comprehended by westerners and even less by closed-minded people who probably have never been to another continent with a different culture (as reviewer fro Hawaii); or if they have, they still have'nt learned to respect the differences and traditions among different societies. Since my first trip to India I saw this book on many bookstores there, and after comparing it to many others this is the one with the best pictures of the holly men. Incomprehension should not be a cause of disrespect; actually, this has caused wars, and still does.



4. This is one of my favorite books. Just by looking at the pictures I feel as though I am put in a higher state of consciousness. These men - and a few women - are fascinating. The pictures are beautifully done, and the text is very informative and provides information regarding the different groups of Sadhus and their - by our society's standards - unusual practices.

   Two things that I found interesting about this book were: the discussion of rituals done by the Sadhus with the intention of shedding light on the non-duality of life ("life is death, death is life"), and that to the Sadhu "rationality" is not the prime objective in life. The book says that what is considered rational is too grounded in the transient world of appearances to be of concern to the Sadhu. The goal of the Sadhu is to go beyond the world of appearances and duality, and that often means going beyond what the world would consider rational.

   This is a group of people that most of us will probably never be able to fully understand, and I certainly do not claim that I do. But I find them fascinating and very inspiring. This book is one of the best documentations of their life and world which, as the book mentions, may sadly be coming to an end due to the influence of the West.




5. If an ordinary worldly-minded person was to read this book, there would only be two extreme reactions. One would feel shocked and disgusted while the other would be filled with deep admiration for this class of human beings. I belong to the latter!
   
   While reading this book, I felt a great shift of my consciousness to a higher plane. It was as if most of the sadhus were blessing me and were aware that I was reading about their fascinating way of life. It is definitely light years away from the modern world! The pictures of these holy men were simply breath-taking and the authors objective view (filled with subtle humour) of these sadhus is amazingly filled with reverence and a deep understanding of Hindu philosophy.
   
   If one were to visit India, he/she must pay a visit to these holy men. That is the REAL India!

5 comments about Desert Places.

1. THIS BOOK IS A SPELLBINDING ACCOUNT OF THE ADVETURES OF ROBYN OF HER THAR DESERT SOJOURN. HER OBSERVATIONS ARE CHARACTERISED BY AN AMAZING CANDOUR AND DEPTH. SHE HAS ALSO EXPLORED DEEPLY THE PSYCHE OF THE PEOPLE OF THAR WHO ARE LIVING BY THE MYTH OF BEING CREATED BY SHIVA. THERE ARE STORIES ALSO TO THE ORIGINATION OF THIS NOMADIC RABARI TRIBE.



2. 'Nuff said. Ms. Davidson is a terrific adventurer and an astonishingly good writer.



3. I spent 2 years in India in the late 90s and this book began making its' way around the ex-pat crowd in the middle of my stay there. The word of mouth reviews were universally positive. While most of us didn't go through the extreme day to day challenges Ms. Davidson put herself through, we went through enough to completely empathize with her plights. Her eloquent descriptions of the often unending and unyielding discomforts imposed by India while, at the same time, it also offered the visitor delights and experiences you can't find anywhere else was simply spot-on. I recommend this book to anyone who truly enjoys travels and the self-reflection afforded through trips that take them out of their comfort zones.



4. I could not put this book down. Very thought provoking. An excellent read. A remarkable woman.



5. `Desert Places` (1996) is Australian adventurer Robyn Davidson's second major travel book, her first being the better known Tracks (1980). She repeats a camel journey through the desert, but this time in Western India in the company of a nomadic people known as the Rabari. As usual, Davidison is full of lovable contradictions, sweet one moment and ready to kill en masse the next. Likewise her approach to the book takes a consciously anti-travel literature track, just about everything we associate with travel literature Davidson turns the tables. Or, at least she tries, but in the end it is still fundamentally part of the genre. For most readers, who are not conversant with the recent scholarly debates about travel literature (in relation to post-colonialism, post-modernism), the overall effect may be a little off-putting, with one New York Times critic interpreting Davidson's irreverence as "bad faith" (see NYT, "Chasing After Nomads", February 16, 1997, online). In the end I think Davidson succeeded in writing a good travel narrative, updated with politically correct concerns about the fate of traditional nomadic people under the homogenizing assault of globalization - but her overall attempt at breaking out of the genre into something 'greater' probably did not succeed. Still it is a fascinating look into what life is like for the Rabari, stripped of romanticism and from the perspective of women, and that makes it an important, unique and worthwhile journey.