Himalayan Rivers and four books by Negi

LAHAUL-SPITI. A Forbidden Land in the Himalayas. By S.C. Bajpai. Pp. 164, 10 b/w illustrations, 1 map, 1992. (Indus Publishing Co., New Delhi, Rs. 200).

KINNAUR. A Restricted Land in the Himalaya. By S.C. Bajpai. Pp. 240, 13 b/w illustrations, 1 map, 1991. (Indus Publishing Co., New Delhi, Rs. 250.)

A HANDBOOK OF THE HIMALAYA. By Dr. S. S. Negi, Pp. 350, 34 b/w illustrations, 18 maps and sketches, 1990. (Indus Publishing Co., New Delhi, Rs. 400).

HIMALAYAN RIVERS, LAKES ANJD GLACIERS. By S. S. Negi, Pp. 182, 8 sketches, 1991. (Indus Publishing Co., New Delhi, Rs. 200).

The Britishers, during their rule in India, compiled information about each district. These were published in the District Gazeteers and covered each area in great details. The details generally covered location, geography, social attitudes and political events, economy and revenue matters. These gazeteers were an invaluable reference to the areas, its history and administration. They were periodically updated. In recent decades these gazeteers are not published regularly.

The above books, particularly the first two, cover their respective areas in similar details. They cover most of the items of the early gazeteers and update it till the present day. These books will be a good source of reference about these areas. The title ‘LahauP is not in conformity of the accepted spelling ‘Lahul’ on the maps. And it must be the ‘Himalaya’ (not s), particularly for an Indian author.

The last two books covers the entire Himalayan range systematically regionwise at first. Then all the subjects like forests, geology, wild-life, environmental problems, etc., are covered. Rivers of India, Bhutan and Nepal with some of the lakes and glaciers are covered in the last book. The style of all these books are more suited for reference.

These books also represent a sample of mountain-related literature now being published in India by Indian authors and Indian publishers. The photographs are of rather poor quality, but the information makes up for it. For those interested in these areas and the range of the Himalaya, more than just climbing mountains, the titles will prove useful.

Harish Kapadia