Author: Helena Norberg-Hodge
Publishers: Oxford University Press
Pages: 224
Ancient Futures is a book on Ladakh’s cultural and social atmosphere, its environment and changing face of Ladakhi civilization with the influence of modern world.
Hodge, director of International Society of Ecology and Culture, and founder of Women’s Alliance of Ladakh is an long time visitor to Ladakh. She has been vocal about sustainable development and preserving cultural values in the region. In this book, she writes about her own experiences of spending many years in Ladakh, the change she has been seeing since the time Indian Army built a major presence in the region and tourists thronged in large numbers.
The book has a good preview of Ladakhi culture, their way of living, the attitude of the people and their economic system. It is rich with personal experiences of the author from the days when Ladakh was still a secluded place to the times of modernization. Sometimes the book appears as though the author is working with a one pointed agenda to say that everything Ladakhi was good and the onslaught of ‘bad’ modernization has made irrecoverable damages. But nevertheless, it is hard to deny the facts she puts forward about the problems that come in with change. It is a well written, readable book and is worth picking up, for anyone who is interested in the life, culture and geography of Trans-Himalayan regions of India.
Author: Ruskin Bond
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 251
Rain in the mountains is a collection of Ruskin Bond’s short works such as essays, stories and poems related to the mountains. Most of the stories, previously published in newspapers and magazines, are related to his wanderings, experiences and observations around Landour near Mussoorie, where he lives.
The collection of essays brings the mountains alive, and makes the reader yearn for those streams, grasslands, hills and the natural locales Bond lives in. He makes nature come alive and stand right in front of his readers, effectively conveying his feeling and making the beauty of the mountains stand out.
The book, at times, has a feel of his own brief autobiography. He writes about his days in the mountains, the people he lived and interacted with, and describes his everyday life in the mountains. A brilliant collection and a must read for any mountain lover.
Author: Janet Rizvi
Publishers: Oxford University Press
Pages: 264
Janet Rizvi’s book on Ladakh provides comprehensive information on every aspect of Ladakh – the life of it’s people, history, geography, religion, culture and economy. It is meant for people with serious interest in knowing about the region and understand the local culture and way of life, or to the non-casual traveller who is keen to get a detailed understanding of his or her destination before travelling. It can even serve as a guide, not in terms of where to stay and what to see, but giving in depth knowledge of every place visited.
The book is divided into chapters related to geography, history, culture, present day Ladakh and religious affiliations. Each chapter can be read independently and it should be easy to skip sections that the reader may not be interested in. How-ever, names from history are repeated in many chapters, making reading the chapters on history worthwhile. If a good introduction to everything related to Ladakh is what you are looking for, look no further than this book.