03 November 2003

Bibliography: Books on the Western Himalayan regions of India

A selection of my readings on this region, which I visited four times beetween 2003 and 2010. They are divided according to the administrative division of India: Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarankhand and Himachal Pradesh. Click on the links to read my reviews and buy these books.

Guidebooks

"Indian Hymalaya by Footprint Guides", a great guide with good cultural and historical background and lots of details on itineraries.

Handa, O.: "Buddhist Monasteries in Himachal" (Delhi, Indus Publishing, 2004)

“Kumaon: Home of the Gods”, Nest and Wings, 2003 (vedi www.nestwing.com)

Sanan, Deepak e Dhanu Swadi: "Exploring Spiti and Kinnaur" (Delhi: Indus Publishing, 1998).

Pennell, T. “Things seen in Northern India”, 1912, of course out of print but can be found on www.bookfinder.com.

Vasta, Marco: “Ladakh: turismo e trekking”, la migliore pubblicazione in italiano. Vedi anche il suo sito web.

Travelogues

Alter, Stephen: “Sacred Waters”. Diario di uno studioso americano del M.I.T. di origine indiana che ha ripercorso, quasi sempre a piedi, gli antichi itinerari dei pellegrini, soffermandosi nei paesi e approfondendo i contatti con i locali. In Italia “Acque Sacre” è pubblicato da Ponte alle Grazie, 2002.


Crossette, barbara: “So Close to Heaven”, her stories from around Buddhisst Himalaya in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim, etc.

Harvey, Andrew: “A journey in Ladakh”, an interesting if not too deep travelogue.

Jivaka, Lobzang: “An Englishman in Rizong Monastery”, the story of an English scholar who spent a few months in the monastery in the 1960s.

Murphy, Dervla: “Where the Indus is young”, her travels in Baltistan, in Pakistan-controlled Himalaya.

Peissel, Michel: “Zanskar: The Hidden Kingdom” a diary from the 1970s of a Frenchman who writes in English!

Tucci, Giuseppe: “Il paese delle donne dai molti mariti”. Racconti incredibili di un italiano che esplorò la regione alla fine degli anni ’20 del novecento.

Tucci, Giuseppe: "Dei, Demoni e Oracoli". Resoconto di un viaggio in Spiti e Kinnaur dell'anteguerra (1933).



History, politics and culture

Aggarwal, Ravina: “Beyond the Lines of Control”, a politological discussion of divided Kashmir.

Garrone, Renzo: “Dal tetto del mondo all’esilio” breve panorama dell’esperienza dei tibetani in esilio dopo l’invasione cinese, molti dei quali vivono in Ladakh.

Norberg-Hodge, Helen: “Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh” (italiano: “Futuro arcaico” (tradotto anche come “Futuro nel passato”, Arianna Editrice in italiano).

Rizvi, Janet: “Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia” (Delhi: Oxford Univ Press, 2nd ed., 1996). Great historical narrative. A Good interdisciplinary approach.


Trekking

Sharma, K.P.: “Garhwal and Kumaon: A Trekker’s and Visitor’s Guide”, Cicerone, 1998.

Loram, Charlie: “Trekking in Ladakh”, (Hindhead, Surrey: Trailblazer publications, 2004).

“Ladakh” Harper Collins (trekking guide)

Weare, Garry: "Trekking in the Indian Himalaya", (Melbourne: Lonely Planet, 2002, 4th edition)

Maps

"India and Bangladesh Road Atlas”, Lonely Planet.

For trekking, see the maps published by the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, from whom you can order directly.

Maps by Leomann are also quite good, maybe the best, you gan get them on Amazon.

Film

“Samsara”, ispirato alla vita di Budda, girato nel monastero di Chemrey.

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