Himalayan Playground – Braham

HIMALAYAN PLAYGROUND. Adventure on The Roof of the World, 1942-72. By Trevor Braham. Pp. 107, paperback, 29 colour and 12 b/w photos, maps, 2008. (The Inn Pin, Glasgow, £ 9.99).

“ there is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows… we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.”

Trevor Braham has led a energetic life, covering mountains in the Alps and the higher ranges. His first book, Himalayan Odyssey covered his journeys in great detail. He has been visiting the lesser known areas, no high mountain climbing for him. Garhwal, Sikkim, Spiti, Karakoram, Swat and Kohistan and Kaghan are some of places where he has trekked much before others went there. He covers the area now with fresh perspectives than the first work and relives some of the pleasures. Braham lived in India and Pakistan for long time and this gave him the opportunity to visit these areas. is Braham’s final memoir of period of mountain exploration that will never be seen again. Doug Scott sums up the book well in his Foreword; ‘He looks back to those times 60 years later with deep appreciation for all that mountain has given him’. And true the quote Braham has given in his Introduction, he has taken ‘tide of affairs’ well and not lost his ventures.

HARISH KAPADIA