Himalayan Towers


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Himalayan Architecture


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This broad treatment of architecture throughout the region of the Himalaya mountains is the first book of its kind. The author has based this study on many years of research in Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam, and the Darjeeling area of northeast India, northern Pakistan, and Himachal Pradesh in India's northwest. These areas make up an artistic and, to some degree, a cultural unit. It is unique and definable for its design qualities as well as its use of materials. Dramatic and lofty structures rise as towering palaces and as temples dedicated to Hindu and Buddhist ideals. The impact of neighboring Tibet and India is often evident in the art, but other influences are found as well. The area has not been isolated, as some studies suggest, but was in fact always linked to the rest of Asia and to the West by means of the Silk Road, at least since the second century B.C. This study progresses from east to west, beginning in the foothills of India's Assam. It is richly illustrated with photographs, most of which are the author's or his wife's, and many of the photographs are published here for the first time. The archives of the Archaeological Survey of India and the Department of Archaeology of His Majesty's Government of Nepal are also used here.




Towers


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Big Phyl's Ashes


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Big Phyl's Ashes is a memoir channeled from mother to son a quarter century after death. It is rooted in the Highland Clearances and The Great Hunger, or Potato Famine, in Scotland and Ireland, and covers World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. It is Herstory set in Sudbury, Muskoka, and Toronto.




The Brunonian


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New York City


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Himalayan Bridge


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The centrality of the Himalayas as a connecting point or perhaps a sacred core for the Asian continent and its civilisations has captivated every explorer and scholar. The Himalaya is the meeting point of two geotectonic plates, three biogeographical realms, two ancient civilisations, two different language streams and six religions. This book is about the determinant factors which are at work in the Himalayas in the context of what it constitutes in terms of its spatiality, legends and myths, religious beliefs, rituals and traditions. The book suggests that there is no single way for understanding the Himalayas. There are layers of structures, imposition and superimposition of human history, religious traits and beliefs that continue to shape the Asian dynamics. An understanding of the ultimate union of the Himalayas, its confluences and its bridging role is essential for Asian balance. This book is a collaborative effort of an internationally acclaimed linguist, a diplomat-cum-geopolitician and a young Asianist. It provides countless themes that will be intellectually stimulating to scholars and students with varied interests. Please note: This title is co-published with KW Publishers, New Delhi. Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.




The Himalayan Bond


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The Himalayan Bond is about a fascinating journey through India taken by two young men one Indian, Dani, and one British, Roland to explore the conflicting issues of globalisation and sustainability that affect both urban and rural areas in modern-day India. They take in the hustle and bustle of Delhi before heading to the lower Himalayas and Danis childhood home. Dani introduces Roland to the charm and magic of India and leads him to his ancestral mountain landscape, revealing the treasures, simplicity and spirituality of Danis heritage. The themes that the author has tried to explore, and his observations, are thoughtful and compelling. The story takes place against the backdrop of the International Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen in 2009. The author has written a lot of the book from his own experience and feels very strongly about the issues discussed as they threaten his family home and the countryside he is so familiar with. He explains the nuances of everyday living and provides a rare insight into age-old values somehow untarnished by modernity. During their travels, they explore and discuss a variety of topics: the history of the area and what the British Empire meant to people in India; old skills and traditions that are disappearing; the importance of rituals and karma and the way they are passed down through generations; the caste system and arranged marriages; environmental problems; poverty; farming; the effects of building hydro dams; how large corporations are displacing villages; how age-old sustainable ways and skills are being lost in the race for a modern lifestyle in the Himalayas and around the world; and party politics, with power as an end in itself. Tales from Indias history, mythology and changing lifestyle are used to help explain Indias rich past and the challenges for its future. ...A good and informative read for anyone wanting to travel to the country. Devdan Sen (Co-author: Rough Guide to India)




Himalayan Journeys Along the Ancient Silk Roads


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In choosing this manuscript, you are entering into the realm of adventure, travel, synchronicity, and enlightenment. It is a rich read with stories of high altitude adventures and deep cultural immersion. It is the story of my journeys that unfolded in the Himalayas and the Asian landscapes of the Silk Roads over decades of travel which sculpted a complex worldview. It offers a looking glass into a serpentine and deeply philosophical world filled with the textures, tastes, and splendor of the Asian continent. It is an opportunity to visit this part of our human heritage, to hold a gem in your hand. The text is lined with maps and gorgeous photos that place the far flung cultures of Asia in context where they live, where they have evolved with the philosophies and the exchange of ideas along the trade routes that have reshaped my own worldview. It is an account of what it is possible to learn when you travel with purpose, describing encounters with shamans, hermits, and wise people. The book refers to how synchronicities flow with ease when deeply engaged in the world and as I set foot on the Buddhist path to compassion, understanding, and awakening. As I criss-crossed the Silk Roads, I photographed the cultures that I was moving through and gathered an understanding of life as it is lived in indigenous sustainable cultures. The beauty, the pageantry and the symbolism I have explained in detail intending to impart an understanding of the ancient cultures that so richly offer us a path back to ourselves, back to our true nature. It is a beautiful read and has been described as, “Stunning and gorgeous writing.”




Postcards from the Ledge


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* Reflections and humorous pieces, plus insights into some of mountaineering's more controversial events * Revealing portraits of other Himalayan climbers Peeling back the layers to reveal the gritty truth about the elite climbing world is Greg Child's specialty. With clever wit, sharp observations, and insightful reflections, Child's writing covers the full spectrum of the mountaineering experience. Entertaining even to those who have never been above sea level, Child's stories reveal climbing's other face. His description of the daily habits of mountaineers on expedition (who don't bathe for months) is both disgusting and horrifyingly funny. A post-climb fiasco in the offices of petty Pakistani bureaucrats proves that not all epics take place on high mountain faces. Falling of a rock climb in front of his mother is an exercise in humility. Child takes up climbing controversy with the same keen insight. His investigation of Tomo Cesen's claimed first ascent of Lhotse's south wall is considered the definitive report on this controversial event. A hard look at the media frenzy around the death of Alison Hargreaves on K2 evolves into a brilliant, impassioned defense of a friend. He also speaks out on the money- and media-driven expeditions that now crowd Everest. But Child never preaches. Whether contrasting his clumsy performance with Lynn Hill's elegant moves on a climb in the remote mountains of Kyrgyzstan or reflecting upon artifacts (from crucifixes to pink flamingos) that decorate the world's highest peaks, he writes it as he sees it, with a dose of wit. A true insider, Greg Child draws us deep into the world of climbing but never denies its dark side.