Tibetan Foothold

by Dervla Murphy

In July 1963 Dervla Murphy arrived in a sweltering Delhi by bicycle. Deciding that the heat precluded further cycling until November, she worked in Tibetan refugee camps in Northern India. Using extracts from the diaries she kept at the time, Dervla describes the day-to-day life in the camps where hundreds of children are living in squalor while a handful of dedicated volunteers do their best to feed and care for them, attempting to keep disease at bay with limited resources. Quickly falling in love with the "Tiblets" - cheerful, uncomplaining, independent and affectionate children - she pitches in with a helping hand wherever it is needed (just about everywhere), and even finds time to meet the Dalai Lama and his entourage.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, India, Memoir, Asia, Autobiography

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Dervla Murphy’s first book, Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle, was published in 1965. Over twenty travel books followed including her highly acclaimed autobiography, Wheels Within Wheels.

Dervla won worldwide praise for her writing and many awards, including the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize, the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing and the Royal Geographical Award for the popularisation of geography.

Few of the epithets used to describe her – ‘travel legend’, ‘intrepid’ or ‘the first lady of Irish cycling’ – quite do justice to her extraordinary achievement.

She was born in 1931 and remained passionate about travel, writing, politics, Palestine, conservation, bicycling and beer until her death in 2022.

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who have read Dervla Murphy's Full Tilt will know that at the end of her journey she had reached Delhi, in India. Having travelled by bicycle from Ireland, in an amazing show of determination, she then volunteered to work (under the auspices of Save the Children) in a refugee camp for the many Tibetan children displaced by the Chinese actions. The refugee camp (one of many) was in Dharamsala, and it was no coincidence that that was also the home of the Dalai Lama in exile. It was the Dalai Lama's sister who ran the refugee camp.

Her second book, this is somewhat different to the many Dervla Murphy books I have read, in that the travel (some of which occurs in the latter part of the book) is secondary. She describes in great detail the trials and tribulations of the camp: the external politics, the internal politics, the personalities, the roles, the many hardships and shortages, the corruption and siphoning off of aid, the education and medical programmes, but most of all she paints an incredibly compassionate picture of the Tibetan people. At the time of her arrival, there were 1100 children in the camp, which she described as comfortably housing 300.

It is Dervla Murphy, after all, so the picture she paints is warts and all. She has never been one to pull a punch or keep herself quiet when she has an opinion to share, and I think this is what I like about reading her books. I expect she would drive me mad within 2 minutes in real life, should I be lucky enough to cross paths with her, but respect her for the honesty and robustness of her assessments.

Initially the camp was not only catering to children either separated from their parents or orphans, as you might expect. Also in the camp were children both voluntarily placed there by parents who found work (mostly on road building gangs), or involuntarily, children who were removed from their parents and placed in the camp. Over the period of four months that she was full time in the camp, there was a change and it was finally recognised that the children were better off left with the parents than in the overcrowded camp. Child numbers were reduced partly because of this.

There was a passage, which I can't locate now where Murphy was stating that she had no formal qualifications or experience to help - she had no medical training, little experience with children, no teacher training... but as usual she got stuck in. One thing did decided to make a concerted effort on was ear infections. A terribly disproportionate number of children suffered from ear infections, and she made it part of her routine to treat these, and reported excellent results when her time for departure came.

After her formal 4 month placement, she was determined to assist with some information gathering, and set out on her trusty bicycle to visit a number of the Tibetan camps set up for the road building crews in Himachal Pradesh, cycling from camp to camp, village to village, taking statistical counts of parents (approximately) and children (precisely), to build up a census of Tibetans in India. What uses or outcomes with the data are not divulged.

Interestingly Murphy meets the Dalia Lama (the 14th, and current) early in her time there (1963), and was not overly impressed - "though unfortunately he showed no sign of an intellectual ability equal to the enormous task of solving their present problems." Thankfully on meeting him again later she formed a much more positive view - "He seems to have matured a great deal in that brief time and to have gained in self-assurance, as though he has at last been able to come to terms with his strange situation. The impression I had today was of an astute young statesman in the making..."

4 stars

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading too much fun-but-silly fiction lately (and am currently listening to some fun-but-silly non-fiction, a history of Prog Rock called The Show That Never Ends), and so thought it was past time for some still-fun but brilliant travel writing - and so where better to turn than Dervla Murphy?

Inexcusably, this is only my second Murphy, having read and reread her third book, The Waiting Land, in connection with two earlier trips to Nepal. (Foothold is her second, with her first and most famous book being Full Tilt: Ireland to India With a Bicycle; altogether she's written over 25 such books, her latest being just published in 2015 at the age of 83!)

Both books are a mix of memoir and travelogue, devoting most of each story to her work with Tibetan refugees (first in Northern India and then in western Nepal), but then with smaller sections focusing on her "side trips" on her trusty bicycle Roz. I frankly preferred the latter sections - I basically like my travel writers when they're actually traveling - but I doubt Murphy could write a boring paragraph about anything, and so the whole book was just consistently excellent, with some parts just being even a little bit excellent-er!

The actual review stops here with an overall "5 stars, a must for fans of intrepid female adventurers!," and so what follows are just some random comments and quotes that I hope highlight the overall delightfulness of this book and its indestructible author:

* Murphy sets her tone with her very first sentence: "To arrive in Delhi during the early part of July constitutes gross mismanagement of an itinerary - especially if one arrives by bicycle." Two pages later she is trying to get a position with an isolated Tibetan relief group: "I explained my ambition, listing all the ways in which I could not be of the slightest assistance to anyone - but adding that I did have an infinite capacity for roughing it."

And indeed, Murphy is utterly unflappable - she eats anything, sleeps anywhere (sometimes with mice nesting in her hair) and is fascinated by the number of live worms found in the intestines of her first autopsy victim. So whenever she actually admits to being frightened, you know the shit has really turned serious: "During the next two and a half hours I struggled against the soft snow and preposterous gradient, and by nine o'clock I began to feel really scared...Since last winter's unfortunate encounter in Serbia, forest, snow and moonlight ring only one bell for me - wolves - and every time I heard a rustle I would have jumped a foot if I'd had the energy." Yet after finally crawling to an isolated mountaintop cottage and getting a few hours sleep, she is back on the road just two pages later she's back dragging her bike through fresh, knee-deep snow and "thoroughly enjoying the struggle: I was in no hurry and being alone amidst such surroundings is to me the quintessence of 'travellers' joy'."

* Murphy is wonderful at coining clever terms - she refers to her Tibetan pre-school charges throughout as "Tiblets," and (this being the early 60's hippy era) has pretty much nothing good to say about the "Fabs and Febs" (Female American Buddhists and Female European Buddhists) who constantly show up seeking encounters with the Dalai Lama but doing little to help the suffering refugees.

* "I awoke this morning with mumps - an infection taken no more seriously around here than is a head-cold in Ireland...Oliver also thinks I've got a touch of trachoma and has advised me not to read or write for a week, which fits in quite well with being mumpsical...Yet you can't really resent a disease called mumps - it's such a jolly word!"

* "This afternoon I had a most enjoyable row with Umadevi...She accused me of being bigoted, conceited and treacherous, and I accused her of being fanatical, jealous and totally incapable of seeing the realities of any situation. after two and three-quarters hours of such exchanges, we parted the best of friends..."

* Yet despite her light tone, tragedy and horror are never far away when dealing with the horrendous conditions in the refugee camps: "Two more have died - one in Lois' arms in a frantic jeep ride to Kangra - of worm-convulsions..."

Murphy's first eight books have been reprinted by Eland (including this edition), and at least this book contains a lengthy and valuable afterword added in 1999. Let's hope Eland continues this effort and releases other of her many books - and if so, I promise to read them (or at least some of them - sadly, I can't drum up much enthusiasm for Europe, Russia, the Middle East or most islands; I remain very much an Asia/South America/Africa guy).

ONE MINOR NOTE: Not once but twice, Murphy uses the jarring adjective "nigger-brown" in describing the color of a snake and...I dunno, something else. So a little surprising, but then in checking Wiktionary I learned this was a "once considered acceptable" (and uniquely British) description of a particular shade, and was pointed to multiple mid-20th examples from such benign sources as Interior Decoration Today and Homes and Gardens - so I guess it's just an example of different-times-different standards.

FOR MORE on this amazing woman, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dervla_... - or just start reading her books!!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read and enjoyed many of Murphy's books about her adventures on her bicycle but, though this was on my shelf for several years, I've just read it today. Part of the interest is reading her account of working in refugee camps in India shortly after the Dalai Lama and his entourage were forced to leave Tibet, followed by many Tibetans who could not tolerate living under Chinese rule. As this situation has continued since the early 1960's it's fascinating to read a contemporary account. Part of Murphy's concern for the Tibetans, who she admired greatly, was a belief and recognition that they would indeed never be able to return to Tibet; sadly this has proven to be accurate. Her account of meeting a very young Dalai Lama, and then meeting him again a few years later when she reports him to have greatly matured is fascinating. As her reaction to hearing about the death of President Kennedy. And there's just the plain fun of her travel writing and her relationship with her trusty bikeE

[Rogue Male · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[Jean]

Reading Dervla Murphy books is like eating potato chips - you can't read just one!
This is (I think) Dervla's second book and it's excellent. Dervla went to northern India, southern Tibet when she was 32, in 1963 (yes, she recounts the attention the Kennedy assassination received in this area). Her intention was to ride her bicycle through the Himalayas. Crazy woman!

The first part of the book is about her stay in a camp for refugee children from Tibet where she worked for several months during the rainy season. The camp was near Dharamsala, near the palace of the 14th Dalai Lama in exile. She did get to meet him several times. She helped care for the medical needs of these children and to come to love them.

The second part of the book is about a journey she took into the foothills of the Himalayas at the end of 1963. She stopped at Tibetan camps to deliver vaccines and give some minor medical help. She rode her bicycle and hiked and climbed through snow, through mountain passes and rough terrain. Someone should make a movie about this!

Dervla's writing is full of literary references and a wide vocabulary. Her comments on the Tibetan refugee problem is wise and understanding and her heart for these children is evident.

By the way, Murphy has a good analysis and history of Tibet in her introduction. It's worth reading if you are interested in this part of the world.

I will be reading more of her adventures and posting reviews here on Goodreads.

Read more about women like Dervla Murphy at my new series on Women Adventurers.

[Fiona Hurley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows immediately on from Murphy's epic journey described in Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle , and can be read almost as a sequel. It is 1963, and Tibetan refugees are flooding into Northern India. Murphy's love for the landscape and the people shines through, particularly for the children or "Tiblets" as she calls them.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This nonfiction book chronicles the state of squalid refugee camps for Tibetan children in the early 1960's, soon after the Chinese takeover of the Himalayan nation. It made me wonder what today's status is: have the Tibetans assimilated? If not, how have conditions improved? And finally, could an Englishwoman safely bicycle from London to India, as this author did? I think that bubble of privilege and invulnerability is long gone.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, loved the book, the author, her honesty and style of writing, her fearlessness and toughness, and her subject. I feel I have so much greater understanding of Tibetan culture and mindset from this read...including my husband and his origins. It is very much in alignment with what I have heard from him, as well.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written a long time ago, Murphy’s writing style was still developing so at time it was hard work to read. Having said that there were many enjoyable moments in this book although I do confess to skipping some sections. The ‘afterword’ written many years later put to original writing into a more modern context.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting account by a very intrepid woman.

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do enjoy Dervla Murphy's travels and this was no exception! Glad I read it so soon after it's predecessor, Full Tilt.

[Umbereen Beg-mirza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love the way Dervla Murphy writes- travel writing at its best.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, and all her other books. Incredible person.

[TT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book of Dervla Murphy and certainly inspires me to read her other books. A great summary of the history of Tibet in this one and she's absolutely a true traveler of her time!

[AB Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written travel memoir that transports the reader to early 1960s Dharamsala (and the southern part of the Himalayas), Tibetan Foothold follows Dervla Murphy’s volunteerism at a Tibetan refugee camp, highlighting the attendant disease, pain, struggle, and physical/emotional effort encountered during her time there. Her opinions of the efficacy of the administration of aid remain poignant, a picture of a specific place at a specific time, when conflicts between what was necessary butted up against what was politically expedient.

Murphy’s story presents significant context of the immediate struggle for Tibetan resiliency in the years immediately following the Annexation of Tibet. Additionally, her description of important events in the history of Tibet allows for a deeper understanding of the complicated relationship the region maintained with the China of the day. By presenting a clear representation of the challenges the new refugees faced (specifically in 1962/1963), she provides an informed and intimately engaged perspective on how the outside world might consider this tragedy. Sixty years onward, it remains a subtle narrative of the extreme disruption Tibetans experienced, a distinct nod to the early efforts made to recover their culture.

4 stars. A key component of the text is the Epilogue, written roughly 25 years later. In it, Murphy presents clear criticisms and historical context that helps the reader better understand the circumstances and struggles surrounding Tibet’s incorporation into the People’s Republic of China. A powerful memoir.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her second book continues the voyage from India. She ends up helping out at a camp sponsored by Save the Children. The place is grim but the kids are very happy and pleasant. But so very poor and ill. She met the Dali Lama. Learned a lot about the culture. I continue to be amazed at what she can withstand.

[Marije · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gisteren kwam Seven Years In Tibet op Netflix: Goede timing :)
Behalve dan het feit dat ik om m'n challenge te halen voor eind december nog zo'n 18 boeken moet lezen dan...

In iede geval, dit boek was best oke :) En ik wist eigenlijk vrijwel niets over de situatie in Tibet, oeps.

[Nella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written but didn't quite hold my attention as well as Full Tilt - probably as, for 3/4 of the book, Derwla is stationary in one location, working with Tibetan refugees.

That being said, it was still an important read as I knew little to nothing of the plight of the Tibetan people.

[Andrew White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough going. Less travel than her others

[Silvio111 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dervla Murphy, a 31-year-old Irish woman, arrived (by bicycle from Ireland) at Dharamsala at the refugee camp for Tibetan children located in India, where the Dalai Lama and many Tibetans had found refuge after the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1959.

Dervla met a woman named Jill by chance in India (some sort of aid worker at-large) who channeled her to work as a volunteer for six months at the camp, where she quickly made herself very useful and beloved to the small children in her care.

Besides all the interesting insights about life at this camp in 1963, where the poverty, disease, and squalid conditions were daily challenges for everyone, what fascinated me about Dervla were her opinionated comments about the bureaucracy of charitable aid from well-meaning countries, the culture of the Tibetans (she is unconstrained about voicing generalizations about their national character and temperament), and most of all, her upbeat and resilient ability to coexist with scabies, tapeworm, fleas, and other pestilences in an environment where she rarely got a hot shower and never had access to a washing machine. Her sleeping arrangements left her vulnerable to rodents, bugs, the cold, a leaking roof, and no privacy whatsoever. Amid all this, while seemingly not religious, she showed an admirable dedication to pitching in and sticking with her commitment.

In a previous book (which I have not yet read), she details how she rode her BICYCLE from Ireland to India (presumably taking boats or trains at some points.) She must have been in remarkable shape.

She seems to have been a rare and remarkable (and plucky) soul, and I want to read all her other books.

I just want to add that it was very timely that I discovered this author just now because it gave me a background for Dharamsala, the village to which the Dalai Lama led his exiled compatriots after the Chinese took over Tibet decades ago. With the current news that the Dalai Lama is now considering how to outwit the Communist Party's intentions to coopt his spiritual position after he dies with a puppet figure to prevent the next Dalai Lama being chosen in the traditional way, I am glad I was able to spend a little time there with the author to get acquainted with their situation.