A collection of true stories written by an American woman living in a remote village in Pauri Garhwal, India. A colorful cast of characters takes readers beyond the superficial glimpse of conventional travel narratives, lending humanity to the otherwise nameless faces outside tour bus windows, while giving readers a profound, multifaceted introduction into the unique character and traditions of the Garhwali people: Their deep faith in god, primitive village conditions, the family, Hindu worship ceremonies, tantra-mantra rituals, small-terraced farming, humility, animal husbandry, focus on the group (as opposed to the individual), elaborate weddings, patience, a strong work ethic, ghosts, poverty, complex funerary rites, animal sacrifice, curses, the caste system, adherence to custom, restricted education & employment opportunities, soothsayers, god possessions, an intimate relationship with nature, fortitude, friendliness and immense respect for elders, ancestors & guests.

A deep dive into understanding India-China relations Why did India and China go to war in 1962? What propelled Jawaharlal Nehru's 'vision' of China? Why is it necessary to understand the trans-Himalayan power play of India and China in the formative period of their nationhoods? The past shadows the present in this relationship and shapes current policy options, strongly influencing public debate in India to this day. Nirupama Rao, a former Foreign Secretary of India, unknots this intensely complex saga of the early years of the India-China relationship. As a diplomat-practitioner, Rao's telling is based not only on archival material from India, China, Britain and the United States, but also on a deep personal knowledge of China, where she served as India's Ambassador. In addition, she brings a practitioner's keen eye to the labyrinth of negotiations and official interactions that took place between the two countries from 1949 to 1962. The Fractured Himalaya looks at the inflection points when the trajectory of diplomacy between these two nations could have course-corrected but did not. Importantly, it dwells on the strategic dilemma posed by Tibet in relations between India and China-a dilemma that is far from being resolved. The question of Tibet is closely interwoven into the fabric of this history. It also turns the searchlight on the key personalities involved-Jawaharlal Nehru, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and the 14th Dalai Lama-and their interactions as the tournament of those years was played out, moving step by closer step to the conflict of 1962.

Following his vivid account of traveling with one of the last camel caravans on earth in Men of Salt, Michael Benanav now brings us along on a journey with a tribe of forest-dwelling nomads in India. Welcomed into a family of nomadic water buffalo herders, he joins them on their annual spring migration into the Himalayas, a superb adventure that explores the relationship between humankind and wild lands, and the dubious effect of environmental conservation on peoples whose lives are inseparably intertwined with the natural world.The migration Benanav embarked upon was plagued with problems, as government officials threatened to ban this nomadic family—and others in the Van Gujjar tribe—from the high alpine meadows where they had summered for centuries. Faced with the possibility that their beloved buffaloes would starve to death, and that their age-old way of life was doomed, the family charted a risky new course, which would culminating in an astonishing mountain rescue. And Benanav was arrested for documenting the story of their plight.Intimate and enthralling, Himalaya Bound paints a sublime picture of a rarely-seen world, revealing the hopes and fears, hardships and joys, of a people who wonder if there is still a place for them on this planet.

Beyond the hill stations, the mall roads and the 'points' is the 'other Himalaya'. A Himalaya where flowers bloom in the green rolling meadows, the streams are bubbly, no pedal boats ply in the lakes, the glaciers can be felt and the passes crossed to more magical lands (where you might find flying lamas too). It's the real Himalaya and it's the real stories from the travels of people like you and me in this Himalaya that make this book. The grand plan is that the next time you are looking for a family vacation or an adventure trek or a soul-searching solo trip, these stories from different regions of Indian Himalaya will provide you a few more options to choose from. There is also a special chapter by Rujuta Diwekar, India's top fitness professional, on why you must trek, the physiological benefits for your body and what to eat to get the best out of your Himalayan trek.

Recent developments in Science and Technology have removed the boundaries betwe~n the so-called 'fundamental' and 'applied' fields of research. This has been particularly evident in the rapidly expanding geophysical sciences with their far reaching applications. Fundamental geophysical studies of surface, subsurface and crustal structures where gravity investigations play an important role, are of immediate potential importance in defining major structural features or geological units which may control or influence the development of metallogenic provinces, petroleum potential areas or coal fields. Gravity studies in India have a long history and tradition. The earliest gravity measurements were made with two brass pendulums loaned by the Royal Society of England, when Basevi and Heaviside established 30 gravity pendulum stations between Cape Comorin and Ladakh during 1865 to 1873. Over the subsequent years, large areas of the country have been systematically covered through gravimeters and a number of regional and detailed studies have been undertaken by various agencies like Survey of India, Geological Survey of India (GSI), Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and a number of universities. Assistance was provided by late Prof. G. P. Woollard and his former students Muckenfuss, Bonini, Shankaranarayan and Murali Manghnani, who have connected India to the international gravity net work. Gravity studies carried out by the Survey of India have been of great value in geodetic studies.

'Magnificent ... this book is unlikely to be surpassed' Telegraph This is the first major history of the Himalaya: an epic story of peoples, cultures and adventures among the world's highest mountains. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 DUFF COOPER PRIZE An epic story of peoples, cultures and adventures among the world's highest mountains: here Jesuit missionaries exchanged technologies with Tibetan Lamas, Mongol Khans employed Nepali craftsmen, Armenian merchants exchanged musk and gold with Mughals. Featuring scholars and tyrants, bandits and CIA agents, go-betweens and revolutionaries, Himalaya is a panoramic, character-driven history on the grandest but also the most human scale, by far the most comprehensive yet written, encompassing geology and genetics, botany and art, and bursting with stories of courage and resourcefulness. 'Magisterial' The Times 'His observations are sharp...his writing glows' New York Review of Books SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 BOARDMAN TASKER AWARD FOR MOUNTAIN LITERATURE

The crash of the Indian plate into Asia is the biggest known collision in geological history, and it continues today. The result is the Himalaya and Karakoram - one of the largest mountain ranges on Earth. The Karakoram has half of the world's highest mountains and a reputation as being one of the most remote and savage ranges of all. In this beautifully illustrated book, Mike Searle, a geologist at the University of Oxford and one of the most experienced field geologists of our time, presents a rich account of the geological forces that were involved in creating these mountain ranges. Using his personal accounts of extreme mountaineering and research in the region, he pieces together the geological processes that formed such impressive peaks.