A MOUNTAIN IN TIBET by CHARLES ALLEN

by Charles Allen

Throughout the East there runs a legend of a great mountain at the centre of the world, where four rivers have their source. Charles Allen traces this legend to Western Tibet where there stands Kailas, worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists alike as the home of their gods and the navel of the world."

Genres: Travel, History, Nonfiction, China, India, Geography

Paperback

About the author

Charles Allen is a British writer and historian. He was born in India, where several generations of his family served under the British Raj. His work focuses on India and South Asia in general. Allen's most notable work is Kipling Sahib, a biography of Rudyard Kipling. His most recent work, Ashoka: the Search for India's Lost Emperor, was published in February 2012.

Selected works:

Plain Tales from the Raj: Images of British India in the Twentieth Century (1975)
Raj: A Scrapbook of British India 1877–1947 (1977)
Tales from the Dark Continent: Images of British Colonial Africa in the Twentieth Century (1979)
A Mountain in Tibet: The Search for Mount Kailas and the Sources of the Great Rivers of India (1982)
Tales from the South China Seas: Images of the British in South-East Asia in the Twentieth Century (1983)
Lives of the Indian Princes, with co-author Sharada Dwivedi (1984)
Kipling's Kingdom: His Best Indian Stories (1987)
A Glimpse of the Burning Plain: Leaves from the Journals of Charlotte Canning (1986)
A Soldier of the Company: Life of an Indian Ensign 1833–43 (1988)
Architecture of the British Empire, Ed. R. Fermor-Hesketh (1989)
The Savage Wars of Peace: Soldiers' Voices 1945–1989 (1990)
Thunder and Lightning: The RAF in the Gulf War (1991)
The Search for Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History (1999)
India Through the Lens: Photography 1840–1911, Ed. Vidya Dehejia (2000)
Soldier Sahibs: The Men who Made the North-west Frontier (2000)
The Buddha and the Sahibs: The Men who Discovered India's Lost Religion (2002)
Duel in the Snows: The True Story of the Younghusband Mission to Lhasa (2004)
Maharajas: Resonance from the Past (2005)
God's Terrorists: The Wahhabi Cult and the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad (2006)
Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling (2007)
The Buddha and Dr Führer: An Archaeological Scandal (2008)
The Taj at Apollo Bunder: The History of the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, with co-author Sharada Dwivedi (2011)
Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor (2012)

Reviews

[Nick Davies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Undoubtedly well-researched, and at heart an interesting subject to discuss - but God (or Buddha, or Rishabhanatha, or Shenrab Miwo, or whichever Hindu deity you worship) this was rendered dry by the author. By focusing so much on the men who have undertaken expeditions in to this land so sacred to so many and the minutiae of their journals etc. this contained far less about the actual mountain and the astonishing area of the world than I would have liked. It lost my interest somewhat as a consequence and quickly became repetitive.

I was drawn naturally to compare and contract with 'The Snow Leopard' by Peter Matthiessen - set in a similar part of the world to this book, but that book was world away in terms of how much more immersive and well-rounded a read it made for. Though obviously Charles Allen knows his stuff, I would recommend this only to those specifically interested in the history of exploration of the region.

[Navneeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The history of the western exploration (British, mostly) of Tibet, with an emphasis on their tracing the sources of the four mighty rivers in that region -- Ganga, Indus, Sutlej and Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, wrapped up in a concise and readable narrative of about 300 pages.

Since some of these rivers originate or were traditioanlly thought to originate in and around the
Kailash-Manasarovar region, Allen begins by providing context in the form of a summary of Hindu and Tibetan mythology about the holy mountain and lake. Then come the stories of missionaries from Portugal and Italy who in the late 17th and early 18th centuries are lured into the mysterious place, having been (mis-)informed that it is home to a Christian people. So, as it turns out, the first westerners in this harsh and arid place weren't the typical adventurers or geographers. But we get the first treatise on Tibet from this time, which was found languishing in a library in Calcutta in the early 20th century and something that was apparently still unpublished at the time of the writing of this book (early 80s).

Then come one by one the members of the Survey of India and men of the East India Company. A wide variety of characters. Particularly interesting in this part were the stories of the Bhotias, traders by profession and one of the few people who could manage to get into Tibet, and some of whom, the so-called Pundits, were hired and trained by the Royal Geographical Society for clandestine explorations of Tibet. And they also served as inspiration for Rudyard Kipling's Kim. Also fascinating were the encounters between the British and the many tribes of present North-East India (which later led to a bloody war on the mountains).

Towards the end, we have a sort of mini character portraits. Of the archetypical Victorian explorer Henry Savage Landor, the Japanese monk Ekia Kawaguchi and the Swedish explorer Sven Hedin. The first two share a chapter, and I thought much of it was merely spent on ridiculing Savage Landor and his ways. I felt it could have been shorter (or reduced to a few paragraphs in another chapter), given that he seems to have not contributed much to the subject, although he gained some popularity through his books about his journeys. The last two chapters are devoted to the discoverer and mapper of much in Tibet, including the sources of three of the four rivers mentioned earlier. The polarising character of Sven Hedin and his love-then-hate relationship with the British is dealt with here. Curiously, Allen seems keen on indicating that Hedin in later life became a Nazi supporter (in references in the preface and in a chapter title), yet I remember only about a single sentence in the last chapter which actually says as much. This was all long after he had retired from exploration. Further reading on the web seems to suggest that he was not entirely supportive of Hitler and his ways; for example in condemning the persecution of the Jews. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven_Hed...)

Overall it was a nice read, with a few dull moments. I would have preferred slightly bigger maps with more routes shown than the select few. And although the title refers to Mount Kailash and there are few old photos included, in most of the journeys the mountain makes only a cameo appearance as the enigmatic and legendary abode of the gods towering in the distance.

[Deepayan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice narrative of Tibet and its history with the focus being discovering the route to kailas and finding the origins of four major rivers of north india. Mostly by Europeans and people of east india company. Its an account of self achievement of several explorers. An extensive read with lots of details. Could have covered more on the culture of Tibet per se. But overall a satisfying read. You will appreciate how difficult it was in the older times to navigate or chalk out a route unknown to others. The job of filling in the blanks on the world map sounds simple but in reality a heck of a difficult job. Hats off to the explorers who have done it against all odds.

[Pradosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing recounting of the stories of long-forgotten European adventurers, who wanted to travel to the last empty spaces on the map, following stories and legends

The book talks about exploration of not just Mount Kailash, but also Mansarovar Lake, the exploration of the headwaters of the Brahmaputra, Indus and Sutlej rivers, and the Tibet plateau in general

The amount of hardships faces by these explorers, with technology of 200 yrs before, seems almost impossible to imagine. Especially when we find ourselves so shivery and uncomfortable when the temperature goes into low teens.

[Prayash Giria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining read that describes key explorations of Tibet, and enables the reader to acquire a wealth of obscure geographical anecdotes. Where the book does fall short is poor editing (I found a handful of errors in spelling, grammar, and once in direction), and it’s rather loose association with what the cover says (around half of the book is devoted to explorations of Lhasa and the Brahmaputra Gorge instead). Nevertheless, a fun read if you enjoy the genre.

[Sahil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. A brilliant insight in to the mammoth geographical achievements during the British occupation of India.

[Asif · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is about the first Europeans in the 1830s, who explored and found the sources of four mighty rivers, Ganges, Indus, Sutlej, and Brahmaputra, and of course Mt Kailash.

One thing I liked about this author is he not only wrote historical aspects which are well-researched, but he also dived into mythological connections too.

[Santanu Dutta · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took quite a long time to finish this book.
It's not that the book is that slow or unworthy reading. rather on the contrary it's a good account of the explorations in the forbidden country of Tibet, separated from the outer world by high snow clad mountains, deserts, arid lands and mighty rivers flowing through steep gorges and the high Himalayas.
Starting from the early expeditions in Tibet in early 18th century by Jesuit Missionaries the book chronicles different journeys, the explorations and the surveys made by the British officers, the so called Pundits and ending with the expeditions by Sven Heddin.
A thoroughly enjoyable and good read. 

[RI · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really could have done with a few more maps - frequent references to places which were not on the maps in the book. Perhaps I should have read it with The Times Atlas or Google Maps - but that rather defeats the object of chilling with a good book.

[Ankur Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

NICE BOOK.....
ITS A BOOK TO BE TASTED..
FOR ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW ABOUT TIBET AND THE ROLE THAT GEOGRAPHY PLAYED IN SHAPING EARLY IMPERIALISM..