As a person Native to the Uttarakhand Garhwal (Lansdowne), Kumaon has been mysterious. As a native of Uttarakhand with so much beauty and places in the dev Bhoomi around you, even making an odd overnight journey to the other side of the state never entered my dreams. You ventured on to other areas when the job of family and relatives invited you. My trips to Mukhteshwar and a few to Almora (the deepest in the state I have ventured) kindled an interest in the Himalayan ranges. The interest very much centres around Kanchenjunga, OM Parvat, Kailash and Nanda devi. This book is a brilliant piece that somewhat satiated my desire.
NANDA DEVI- THE DAUGHTER OF HIMALAYAS.
The book is a treasure trove of trivia, history, mythology, folklore, mountain expeditions, and other items. The photographs are brilliant and add a lot to the whole experience. Manjit and Harry Sahi have done considerable research and treks to bring the book alive. The book gives you a close, comfortable teaser of Nanda Devi in your drawing room.
In the Uttarakhand Himalayas stands Nanda Devi. The manifestation of Parvati, the Goddess Peak, the daughter of the Himalayas, and Shiva’s consort. ‘Nanda Devi—Daughter of the Himalayas,’ celebrates her divine presence, ecological significance, and cultural impact on the hearts of Uttarakhand and people who dare to scale her heights.
Ok, You will in the book get an unmatched photographic view of the Himalayas range in and around. Read of the covert missions by the intelligence agencies. The story of the tragic loss of Nanda Devi Unsoeld.Oone of India’s greatest explorers- Nain Singh. Our county’s original computer who helped map our country – Radhanath Sikdar. And of the world of explorers and mountaineers of Nanda Devi and many more.
NANDI DEVI- A SEGMENTAL APPROACH.
The book is divided into 11 sections that cover an introduction and mythology of Nanda Devi and the formation of the Himalayas, take you through the geography of Uttarakhand, the Nanda Devi Barrier Ring (something I was unaware of) and the biosphere park- a UNESCO heritage site. In the process, it introduces other significant surrounding peaks and the Raj Jat yatra- which is not for the faint-hearted. The brief history of Uttarakhand, as captured in the section devoted to it, including trade with Tibet, is relatively short. Still, one may not complain, as the focus has been Nanda Devi. One of the most exciting segments for me was the Great Trigonometric Survey (GTS) and the contribution of various people from Uttarakhand to it. And so was the section on Mountaineering expeditions on Nanda devi, including the now not-so-secret mission to place a nuclear tracking device on the peak.
NET NET.
How much, I ask you, I don’t think you will spend 1,499 on coffee table books. I also did not invest that money. The book ‘NANDA DEVI- The Daughter of the Himalayas’ was presented to me by the writers Manjit and Harry Sahi. Somewhere, the coffee table book seems good on a coffee table or placed in the often-unused library. They are costly, and the reader cannot justify the cost and reading experience trade-off. I hope this book is available in e-format for people to read. To bring costs down, maybe re-release it in a non-glossy, non-art paper format for broader appeal. But, if you have the interest, inclination, and funds to encourage such efforts, please buy the book.
BARAMASA, the YouTube channel by award-winning journalist Rahul Kotiyal that celebrates life, culture, and news around the Himalayas, should cover it in one of their episodes.
I congratulate Manjit and Harry for investing time and effort in bringing out such a good book. I wish them success in all they do for Uttarakhand.
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