I recently read Vikram Seth's "From Heaven's Lake - Travels through Sinkiang and Tibet" and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Being an ardent fan of his, it is natural for me to go ga-ga over any book of his ,but I intend to also explain why I liked this book!
Seth was a Stanford exchange student in Nanjing University when he wrote this book (1983) and the origins of his unconventional journey back to his home in Delhi for the summer vacation was a rather impromptu one – when he, tired of the limiting insights through a conducted tour, broke away from the school party to undertake this extraordinary detour on his own. It is From Heaven's Lake which is a pristine lake in North western province of Sinkiang that Seth, deserting his school troop, retraces his path all the way back to Nanjing and then to Beijing in eastern China in order to obtain his passport, money, and a Nepalese Visa (which he didn’t eventually need, being an Indian citizen), thus completing a circuitous loop all the way back to Liuyuan, from where he continues further south to Lhasa, then Kathmandu and home to Delhi.
This book is delightful-for there are charming observations and also (as any good travellogue should) gives the reader a beautiful account of the places visited.I particularly like the descriptions of Potola -seat of Tibetian Buddhism and of Lhasa.He devotes a chapter to how the Tibetians deal with their dead which was informative. His interactions with Chinese and Tibetians - Norbu and Sui are particularly engaging. The various modes of transport and the uncertatinity of his next meal/destination adds a certain thrill to the book. In parts he compares life in China with that of India and he too like Pallavi Iyer in 'Smokes and Mirrors' gives the answer that if he were poor he would like to be in China, but if he were well off or even the middle class he prefers to be in India.
From the author of "A Suitable Boy" ,"An Equal Music" and "Two Lives" , this is yet another memorable book although it is of a different genre.
Seth was a Stanford exchange student in Nanjing University when he wrote this book (1983) and the origins of his unconventional journey back to his home in Delhi for the summer vacation was a rather impromptu one – when he, tired of the limiting insights through a conducted tour, broke away from the school party to undertake this extraordinary detour on his own. It is From Heaven's Lake which is a pristine lake in North western province of Sinkiang that Seth, deserting his school troop, retraces his path all the way back to Nanjing and then to Beijing in eastern China in order to obtain his passport, money, and a Nepalese Visa (which he didn’t eventually need, being an Indian citizen), thus completing a circuitous loop all the way back to Liuyuan, from where he continues further south to Lhasa, then Kathmandu and home to Delhi.
This book is delightful-for there are charming observations and also (as any good travellogue should) gives the reader a beautiful account of the places visited.I particularly like the descriptions of Potola -seat of Tibetian Buddhism and of Lhasa.He devotes a chapter to how the Tibetians deal with their dead which was informative. His interactions with Chinese and Tibetians - Norbu and Sui are particularly engaging. The various modes of transport and the uncertatinity of his next meal/destination adds a certain thrill to the book. In parts he compares life in China with that of India and he too like Pallavi Iyer in 'Smokes and Mirrors' gives the answer that if he were poor he would like to be in China, but if he were well off or even the middle class he prefers to be in India.
From the author of "A Suitable Boy" ,"An Equal Music" and "Two Lives" , this is yet another memorable book although it is of a different genre.
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