Bells of Shangri-La: Scholars, Spies, Invaders in Tibet
By the nineteenth century's twilight, the Great Game had swept across the Himalayas as British and Russian powers jockeyed for dominion over vast territories. Yet one realm eluded every map, every compass, every curious eye: Tibet. Its borders stayed sealed, fiercely protected against foreign intrusion. London's solution? Send resourceful men disguised as holy wanderers, equipped with hidden instruments designed to measure mountains and uncover secrets. Kinthup arrived as a tailor-turned-monk's attendant, determined to solve a geographical puzzle about two rivers. Sarat Chandra Das, a schoolmaster with nerves of steel, returned laden with priceless manuscripts and ethnographic treasures. There was Eric Bailey too, a military figure caught in the turbulent 1903 invasion. Bhattacharya interweaves these remarkable lives with sweeping historical context and his own wanderings across those same forbidding landscapes. The result feels like something between biography and travelogue, reminiscent of Hopkirk's grand narratives and Matthiessen's immersive prose. This is a book that refuses to sit quietly on the shelf.
- Author: Parimal Bhattacharya
- Publisher: HarperCollins India
- Genre: Travel Writing & Guides
- ISBN: 978-9356290204
- Pages: 252 pages