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Indiens Tibet - Tibet Indien: Das kulturelle Vermächtnis des West-Himalaja
The west-Himalaya is one of the most fascinating areas of the world. In no other region is the Tibetan culture preserved in such pristine shape. Illustrated with excellent new photos, this volume gives an insight into more than 1200 years of heritage and 100 years of exploration of this landscape. The Tibet of today is a virtually destroyed country. One can only experience Tibetan culture that approximates its original state in the Indian border regions, especially the western Himalayas, where the forced exile of tens of thousands of Tibetans who used to make up principalities and kingdoms have brought about an unexpected cultural renaissance. The year 1909 saw the first research expedition devoted entirely to the western Himalayas.
Over the last 20 years, the author and photographer Peter van Ham has made several expeditions in the footsteps of the early Himalayan researchers and has found the cultural heritage and the spectacular scenery of the Western Himalayas largely unchanged. His own fascinating work is complemented by the historic photographic work of Samuel Bourne, Babu Lal Pindi and Heinrich Harrer. German text.
Over the last 20 years, the author and photographer Peter van Ham has made several expeditions in the footsteps of the early Himalayan researchers and has found the cultural heritage and the spectacular scenery of the Western Himalayas largely unchanged. His own fascinating work is complemented by the historic photographic work of Samuel Bourne, Babu Lal Pindi and Heinrich Harrer. German text.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Peter van Ham
13 books1 followerPeter van Ham is an educator and producer of musical and visual media in Frankfurt. He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic and the Royal Geographical Societies, London, as well as of the prestigious Explorers Club in New York City. Peter van Ham has written several books and articles on regions of the Himalayas and is active in curating exhibitions on the subjects of his research.
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January 18, 2016
An Enjoyable Read for the Explorers Visiting Western Himalayan Region or Indo-Tibetan Valleys
In book "Indian Tibet Tibetan India: The Cultural Legacy of the Western Himalayas" German author and photographer Peter Van Ham takes an ethnographic journey alongside the Western Himalayas covering a vast range of high-altitude valleys in Indo-Tibetan region covering districts or valleys namely Shimla, Kinnaur, Lahaul, Spiti, Zanskar, Rupshu, Ladakh, Nubra, and Dah-Hanu. The author has been exploring these places for more than two decades. The author's series of discrete journeys took more than twenty years between 1993 and 2014 to discover the picturesque valleys and natural beauties across the Western Himalayan region. Many-a-times, he visited the region for researching on local festivals, cultural traditions, and cultural continuity. Thus, in this book Van Ham elaborates both the intangible and tangible cultural heritage assets available in plenty across the region. Those heritage assets are earnestly protected or preserved by the local Tibetan community. In the process his journeys, the author discovered the communities worshiping Mother Nature, wonderful floras, and faunas in the region. This book contains twelve chapters. I found most of the chapters are very interesting and captivating. The author elaborates the concept of Indian Tibet vis-à-vis Tibetan India in chapter two. He makes a comprehensive analysis of distinctive cultural heritage assets available in different Indo-Tibetan valleys in various named chapters, namely, Shimla and Kinnaur: The Britons and the Fairy Land (chapter four), Spiti: Buddha’s Mountain Dessert (chapter five), Lahaul: Meeting Place of the Sun and Moon (chapter six); Zanskar: Valley of the White Copper (chapter eight); Rupshu: Lakes and Nomads (chapter nine); Ladakh: Little Tibet of Passes (chapter ten); Nubra: Dunes to Central Asia (chapter eleven); and Dah-Hanu: Refuge of the Last Aryans (chapter twelve). Other informative chapters include The Exploration of the Western Himalayas (chapter three), and Western Himalayan Buddhist Art: Influences, Styles, Developments (chapter seven). This book includes a foreword by Michel Peissel and a learned message from the His Holiness Dalai Lama.
The book offers a photo-documentation style of presentation with many anecdotes and the author’s insightful observations on Tibetan people, their religious practices and Buddhist art. This book is an enjoyable read for the explorers visiting Western Himalayan region or Indo-Tibetan valleys, and the researchers doing research on the South Asian art, architecture & culture.
In book "Indian Tibet Tibetan India: The Cultural Legacy of the Western Himalayas" German author and photographer Peter Van Ham takes an ethnographic journey alongside the Western Himalayas covering a vast range of high-altitude valleys in Indo-Tibetan region covering districts or valleys namely Shimla, Kinnaur, Lahaul, Spiti, Zanskar, Rupshu, Ladakh, Nubra, and Dah-Hanu. The author has been exploring these places for more than two decades. The author's series of discrete journeys took more than twenty years between 1993 and 2014 to discover the picturesque valleys and natural beauties across the Western Himalayan region. Many-a-times, he visited the region for researching on local festivals, cultural traditions, and cultural continuity. Thus, in this book Van Ham elaborates both the intangible and tangible cultural heritage assets available in plenty across the region. Those heritage assets are earnestly protected or preserved by the local Tibetan community. In the process his journeys, the author discovered the communities worshiping Mother Nature, wonderful floras, and faunas in the region. This book contains twelve chapters. I found most of the chapters are very interesting and captivating. The author elaborates the concept of Indian Tibet vis-à-vis Tibetan India in chapter two. He makes a comprehensive analysis of distinctive cultural heritage assets available in different Indo-Tibetan valleys in various named chapters, namely, Shimla and Kinnaur: The Britons and the Fairy Land (chapter four), Spiti: Buddha’s Mountain Dessert (chapter five), Lahaul: Meeting Place of the Sun and Moon (chapter six); Zanskar: Valley of the White Copper (chapter eight); Rupshu: Lakes and Nomads (chapter nine); Ladakh: Little Tibet of Passes (chapter ten); Nubra: Dunes to Central Asia (chapter eleven); and Dah-Hanu: Refuge of the Last Aryans (chapter twelve). Other informative chapters include The Exploration of the Western Himalayas (chapter three), and Western Himalayan Buddhist Art: Influences, Styles, Developments (chapter seven). This book includes a foreword by Michel Peissel and a learned message from the His Holiness Dalai Lama.
The book offers a photo-documentation style of presentation with many anecdotes and the author’s insightful observations on Tibetan people, their religious practices and Buddhist art. This book is an enjoyable read for the explorers visiting Western Himalayan region or Indo-Tibetan valleys, and the researchers doing research on the South Asian art, architecture & culture.
Displaying 1 of 1 review