Becoming a Mountain: Himalayan Journeys in Search of the Sacred and the Sublime

by Stephen Alter

Stephen Alter is the author of fifteen works of fiction and non-fiction. His honours include a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright award. He was writer-in-residence for ten years at MIT and directed the writing program at the American University in Cairo. He is founding director of the Mussoorie Writers’ Mountain Festival. He lives with his wife in Mussoorie.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, Mountaineering, Adventure, Memoir

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

STEPHEN ALTER is the son of American missionaries to the Himalayas, and was raised in India. The author of seven books for adults, he is the former Writer-in-Residence at MIT, and a recipient of a Fulbright grant. He currently lives in India with his wife, where he is researching his newest book for adults—a behind the scenes look at the world of Bollywood.

Reviews

[Neeraj Mishra · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is nothing special in this book that one would want to derive, learn or muse about.. Infact this is about 3 hikes the author took.. Most of the time he is just being overtly poetic and dragging the chapters with no clear indication of what he intends to convey..

He is not ritualistic but he comes across as a bigot and maybe Hindu hater.. At one point on his Kailash journey he says.. it was a welcome change to hear Tashi Delek instead of Om Namah Shivay.. without understanding that the essence of both the verses is the same.. He tries to give religious colors to hinduism which is inherently spiritual.. somehow the west inclination to Buddhism without fully understanding oriental philosophies and religions is clearly visible..

just another white mans burden to write a superficial book (and push around rhetorics)with no real love for mountains visible.. as well..

A drag of a book.. Didn't abandon just to ensure I complete books which I take up reading.. it was excruciating

[Krishna Sruthi Srivalsan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for quiet and deep contemplation. I've been working on reading it since July last year, and I savoured each page, ruminating on the might of the mountains. I spent my childhood in the hills, and though I've been away for a very long time, they will always be home for me, in some inexplicable way. Mountains, due to their solid, unwavering presence, have always been a source of solace, an oasis of tranquility in a stormy mind. It was for precisely this reason that I picked up Stephen Alter's memoir of sorts on the mountains.

Some of us will remember the gruesome headlines from 2008 - AMERICAN WRITER AND WIFE STABBED IN MUSSOORIE. Alter and his wife were attacked at their home in the early hours of a crisp July morning. The men were probably after money to buy drugs; Alter and his wife were left bleeding profusely. They were taken to the hospital by some Good Samaritans, trying hard to grasp the brutal reality of what just happened to them. It was followed by a long and painful process of recovering. Alter turned to the mountains, believing it would heal him. In the years that followed, he focuses on three peaks - Nanda Devi, Kailash, and Bandarpunch.

The book is replete with stories as old as the hills themselves, adding on to its charm. The first part, dedicated to Nanda Devi and the goddess it is named after, walks us through Auli and the region known as Rishi Ganga. Alter is a keen observer of the sacred surroundings and is quick to knit connections between the mythology of the goddess and the ecology of the region. He writes:
As she escapes from the buffalo demon and takes refuge in the forest, Nanda curses the turmeric and potato plants that offer no protective shade, banishing them underground. When she trips on the stubble of a wheat field, her tears of sorrow and anger leave the soil barren. Nanda also curses the pines, because their needles fail to hide her from the demon. Their branches will never regenerate themselves after they are cut. If Nanda is shown to be a vengeful goddess of wrath here, she also has a benevolent side to her, protecting the faithful, and bestowing bliss or ananda on those who seek her.

The second part of the book devotes itself to the wonders of Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash, buried deep in Tibet. Finding himself in a group of devotees from India, Alter writes about the surreal experience of doing a pradakshina around the mountain, sacred to Hindus and Buddhists alike. What I find remarkable about the book is that even though Alter identifies as an atheist, there is no mockery or scoffing of religious beliefs and customs. Instead, there is an inherent respect for faith; Alter even goes on to quote the physicist Alan Lightman:
'Faith, in its broadest sense, is far more than belief in the existence of God or the disregard of scientific evidence. Faith is the willingness to give ourselves over, at times, to things we do not fully understand. Faith is the belief in things larger than ourselves.’

The third portion of the book revolves around Flag Hill and Bandarpunch, both closer home to Mussoorie. Bandarpunch is close to Alter's heart; he was preparing for his first expedition to that peak when he receives the news of his father's death, forcing him to abandon the trek. Years later, after the attack, he decides to climb it a second time, and writes poignantly that he now sees the mountain through his father's eyes. Unfortunately, it is not to be, and the merciless rains lashing across the northern Indian landscape play spoilsport, forcing Hanuman to "hide his tail" as a member of Alter's expedition remarks ruefully. His comment is a reference to a story from the Ramayana - Hanuman is sent to the Himalayas to bring back the miraculous sanjeevani booti to cure a deeply wounded Lakshmana. Hanuman lifts the whole mountain and takes it to Lanka. After the defeat of Ravana, Hanuman comes back to these mountains, where 'he plunges his burning tail in the icy balm of eternal snows'. The river that flows from these glaciers thus come to be known as the Hanuman Ganga.

Alter is a prolific writer - his writing is laced with wry humour and irony, and provides immense food for thought. For example, he writes about the "pious squalor of religious tourism: guesthouses with sanctimonious names and quilts that are laundered every two or three years." He also remarks on the nascent right wing fundamentalism that has alarmingly sprung up: "Young men with saffron headscarves and fluttering pendants, racing up to the Gangotri to bathe in the seminal waters of the Ganga, absolving themselves of every sin except religious chauvinism. " He writes about the ephemeral nature of objects and why it would be useless to harbour a sense of deep attachment to things - this is reflected in the passage where he writes about losing his HMT Quartz watch somewhere on Slaughter Road, and how after finding it days later, he realises the futility of attachment.

Alter's deep love for the mountains is reflected in this wonderful book. One can perceive the sense of calm and solitude that is so characteristic of them, and for me, I went back to my beloved hills (although vicariously). These would be my favourite lines from the book:
To the east, I can see only blackness except where the sky contrasts faintly with the farthest mountains beyond Nali and Surkanda Devi. Scattered constellations of electricity mark distant villages while the Dehradun valley to the south is a shimmering galaxy of lights. There is no sign of daybreak, but the birds have already sensed the morning.

This is a book to be treasured and read from time to time, for it makes us realise that we, with our egos and sense of enlightenment, are not insurmountable. In Alter's words, we "see ourselves in the mountains, and feel a part of their immensity, as well as a greater wholeness that contain us all in the infinite, intimate bonds of eternity".

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Muir would have loved Stephen Alter’s newest book,"Becoming a Mountain" and its lyrical exploration of the question: Can mountains heal the human soul?

Alter was born and raised in the Himalayan hill station of Landour, India, and many of the excellent books he has written over the years convey his deep love of this land. This bond was tested in 2008 when thieves broke into his home in Landour and attacked him and his wife Ameeta, leaving them both critically wounded. As he recovered, Mr. Alter determined to re-connect both physically and spiritually with his homeland by trekking to four sacred mountains of the Himalayas: Flag Hill nearest his home in Landour and made sacred by local Tibetans; Nanda Devi, one of the highest and most sacred of the Indian snow peaks; Mount Kailās in Tibet; and Bandarpunch in the Garhwal range. "Becoming a Mountain" is a beautifully written account of these expeditions. It describes in poetic detail the landscape, culture and mysteries of each region, recounts stories of previous expeditions and references the similar journeys of fellow naturalists. Every page of this book, like Alter’s previous book "Sacred Waters", allows the reader to share in the sanctity and beauty of the Himalayas.

[Avinash Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very beautiful and powerful book on personal tragedy and redemption by Stephen Alter. Stephen is born in India to his American missionary parents who lived in the hill town of Mussoorie in Northern India. He has managed to blend adventure and poetry to give us an account of the dreadful day when the robbers broke into his house and fatally injured both him and his wife. As most writers do, he overcame the stress of that day by not only writing about it, but also tried to search the sacred and divine in the mountains of Himalayas. After recovering from his injuries, he decided to scale the mountains to test and challenge both his physical and mental strength.

Along with these journeys to Nanda Devi, Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet, he also gave back stories on these trails- from its mystic past to the unheard legends from these mountain. Stephen Allen’s book is one of the most brilliant book on the mountains.

Full review on my blog: https://avirandom.com/2017/05/13/the-...

[Bindesh Dahal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written.

[Nathan Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

An awesomely wise, thoughtful, revelatory consideration of the high places, what they mean to such insignificant creatures as humans, and how we might consider them and approach them. Large parts of the book are travelogue, but it's all interspersed with beautifully-written reflections on spirituality (a word I would normally encase in inverted commas, but Alter gets a pass for how well he writes about it), faith (Alter is an atheist) and philosophy. This was an instance of reading the right book at the right time for me. A necessary read for anyone who is tired of the adrenaline-soaked, summit-obsessed accounts of the modern alpinists and who would prefer an introspective take on why we, especially we of no faith, are compelled to undertake journeys to mountains. Can't recommend enough.

[Audrija Choudhury · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Frank Wesley's painting surrounds me with layered shades of indigo. Wet ferns brush my legs and the mountains wash away into darkness. Solitude is accompanied by the whisper of prayer flags on the breeze, bodhisattvas dissolving into clouds, wind horses chasing a storm, conch shells echoing silent tides of the Tethys sea... I find the rock I always sit on, cushioned by moist grass. The sky to the northeast is a fraction brighter than it was a moment ago and the clouds are tinged with silver and bronze. Mountains stand like unread myths upon a bookshelf. My pupils contract with the dawn. And itch runs up my arm from the scar of my wrist. I breath in light and air... as our teacher's paintbrush rinses out the the night."

The book has been a blissful journey for me in the lockdown. It starts with the horrible experience that the author and his wife had in their residence in Mussoorie. The book deals with the healing process that the author goes through by coming in contact with the mountains. The descriptions of the landscape, greens, wildlife, the lifestyle of the locals, etc. are awesome. Looking forward to more of such sorts.

[Pranav Saxena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a title that would immediately attract any mountain/hiking/trekking enthusiast, which was the case with me as well.

Overall the book is an easy but underwhelming read. Whilst taking nothing away from the author and from the experiences he has recounted, it appeared to be a forced narration, with the author attempting to link a life event (where he and his wife were stabbed during a robbery) to an experience of redemption and of trying to find himself in the mountains on the 3 trips that he completes.

Piggybacking on a description of the hikes, he has also tried to capture the emotions that one experiences on being "one with the mountains" during these trips. Whilst these emotions are no doubt overwhelming and thought altering (can vouch from personal experience as well) for the individual, he has failed to translate these emotions for someone not actually undertaking these trips, and thus without that context falls short of trying to convey the depth of these feelings and emotions.

An easy read but not highly recommended.

[Parish Vernekar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book, “Becoming the mountain” provides an insight across the life experiences of the author which are well scripted but gets overwhelming as it progresses.
There are many events where you feel that you are present at that location especially while reading the author’s journey to Manasarovar and Bandarpunch. The personal life experiences with his family gives an emotional touch to the narration.
What stops this book from becoming an excellent version of author’s life experience is that the author tries too hard to justify his points, questioning people’s beliefs in many instances. I felt annoyed at times while reading his opinions especially towards the end when the author tries too hard to touch upon climate issues and its impact on us. The whole essence of climbing the mountain gets lost.
Overall the book gives an insight on authors journey to the Himalayas which could had been far better with a tighter edit. I personally felt the book did not make justice to its title.

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much of the book, at least in the first chapter - after having described explicitly, in gory detail, a horrendous and murderous attack against himself and wife by intruders demanding money - author attempts to reconcile his feelings about mountains he sees from Flag Hill, with those of India in her reverence and love for Himaalaya, and at its extreme opposite, with his atheist stance, that's really a compromise he found - between his conversionist ancestry from missionaries and his birthplace, India, with a cultural treasure as rich as the landscape of Himaalaya and its rivers enriching Indian land.

The parts about his surgical reconstruction are vaguely familiar, and after a while one recalls having read them in another work, on Himalaya, by the author.

Strangely enough, or perhaps aptly, for all that, the most gripping account isn't where he strives to convince West that he hasn't 'gone native', but still sticks to Macaulay - on the contrary, it's his personal account, not so much of the assault against the couple but that of his attempted climb, told at the very end. This, despite all the pull exerted by Kailash, regardless of his attempts to render it devoid thereof.

The climb account jolts one with an electric shock, furthermore, because he isn't providing dates. It segues into the storm-flood-landslides horrendous events of 2013 in upper Ganga regions.

But his efforts to go on a high gear offensive against mainstream India are not easy to ignore.

"Stepping over plastic bags and empty juice packets, I find myself getting angry and frustrated. Like everything else on this journey, it seems symbolic of something greater, a paradox that defines the contradictions of human nature. ... "

He forgets, plumbing is only a couple of centuries old even in West, and it was far more filthy then than India; but as to the garbage litter, a large part of the problem is industrial era and its packaging. Even in the cleanest of societies West, garbage collected has the disposal problem not quite solved, merely pushed away out of sight. US has a mountain of it in Eastern coastal states, and Pacific ocean has an island of it due to US litter disposed, but that's without counting the scrap US sends to Asia for disposal at a cost - paid by US in currency and by Asia in environmental erosion.

" ... The high peaks of Garhwal and Kumaon are some of the most regulated ranges in the world, with all kinds of restrictions, especially for foreigners like me. The Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card, which allows me to stay in India without a visa, states clearly that it isn’t valid for ‘missionary activities, mountaineering and research’. Somehow, I feel as if they’ve singled me out but after making inquires, Rimo tell me that Bandarpunch is an ‘open peak’ for which special permission can be granted on payment of exorbitant climbing fees."

"The Bhagirathi tributary, full of silt washed down from the mountains, is the same colour as the strong, thick tea brewed at roadside stalls. Just above Uttarkashi, we pass Gangori, where the traditional route to Bandarpunch cuts off and climbs to Dodital. A year ago, flash floods on the Assi Ganga washed away the bridge and a dozen buildings. The military Border Roads Organization has replaced the bridge but Gangori still looks like a disaster zone. Hundreds of people died in last year’s floods, many of them undocumented labourers working on a hydro-electric project along the Assi Ganga, trying to harness the power of the river, which turns lethal in the monsoon. Five weeks ago, training for my climb to Bandarpunch, I trekked up this route to Dodital and the Darwa Pass."

" ... Many of the newer buildings stand well below the high-water mark of earlier floods, inviting disaster. The Ganga View Hotel on the outskirts of Uttarkashi has its foundation in the riverbed. The town of Bhatwari is sliding into the Bhagirathi and may disappear within a couple of years. ... "

Alter speaks of "religious chauvinism" of Hindus, without mentioning the word Hindu. He gets downright abusive. It's easy and cheap, when mouthing off is only against India and against Hindus.

"The Himalayas are often depicted as the pristine seat of spiritual enlightenment, the fountainhead of Hindu tradition, the reclusive retreat of sages and sadhus. But along these valleys, where an increasing number of pilgrims travel in a continuous caravan of zealous fundamentalism, the politicized face of Hinduism has evolved into a grotesque visage spouting dogma, prejudice and venal theologies. The mountains themselves rise above the Ganga, which flows resolutely on, washing away the filth of millions who pollute its waters, even as they chant her praises and call her ‘mother’. Natural phenomena are turned into religious metaphors and then debased by the tawdry embellishments of faith. Even ancient myths lose resonance here."

Inquisition, anyone remember, wasn't an institution of India, or of Hinduism. Nor is the concept of 'convert or kill', used for ethnic cleansing in Kashmir in January 1990.
***



"Just below Dolma La is another pond, slightly larger than the Mirror of Yama but no more than 9 metres across. Hindus call this Gauri Kund and Buddhists refer to it as the Lake of Compassion. For much of the year it remains frozen but in summer the water melts to a chalky green colour. The snow-capped ridge above is reflected in the surface. Being several hundred feet below the pass and surrounded by steep cliffs and rocky slopes, the lake is seldom visited by pilgrims, who follow a trail that circles above Gauri Kund. Some yatris brave the difficult descent to bathe in the water but most take darshan from a distance, allowing their prayers to reflect upon the jade-like surface of the pool."

Alter gives here story of birth and a bit more of Ganapati, presumably for purposes of entertainment of non-Indians, non-Hindus.

" ... This myth is a familiar episode in Hindu mythology and I have visited more than one place that is said to be the setting for this story. Here in Tibet, well above the range of any elephants, ... "

Alter forgets that the legend belongs to before Himaalaya was quite so high, and that Kailash is far older, geologically; that there's no reason to presume that at the time of the legend coming into being, everything was as is now, and elephants avoided the surroundings for some mysterious reason despite its being completely accessible! He doesn't say why that would have been so, even though elephants are natural from Assam to Kerala, and were natural to most of ancient Indian land. Tibet hadn't been lifted quite so high then. And if China hadn't finished off everything in sight by eating, elephants might have existed in Tibet, China, even Mongolia. But then, China finished off even cattle, something so vital and essential to an agricultural land in tropics. Chinese cuisine, unlike India or Europe, has no dairy product component.
***

"Brown trout are not a native species of the Himalayas. Salmo trutta were brought to Garhwal from Scotland a century ago. Aaron has researched their genealogy and DNA testing traces the fish back to Loch Leven, one of the primary sources of trout for stocking throughout the British Empire. Though forest department records confirm brown trout have been swimming in these waters for a century or more, the exact process by which they arrived is still unclear. Whether eggs or fingerlings were carried by ship to India, a journey of several months, including the slow riverboat passage up the Ganga, and then transported by mules or porters into these mountains, it is hard to imagine how the translocation of this species was accomplished. One theory is that brown trout were brought here by the Himalayan entrepreneur and adventurer, Frederick ‘Pahari’ Wilson. After deserting the East India Company army, he supported himself by hunting musk deer in Garhwal and later cut a deal with the Maharaja of Tehri to fell timber in these mountains and float it down the Ganga. He is also credited with building the first bridge across the Bhairon Ghatti Gorge so that pilgrims could reach Gangotri (after paying him toll). Wilson spent part of the year in Mussoorie, where he acquired several properties by extending mortgages to British officers and then foreclosing on their loans. Kipling modelled his title character in ‘The Man Who Would be King’, on Pahari Wilson. It seems likely that the trout in Dodital and rivers downstream may have been brought here from Scotland by this imperial renegade, considered ‘beyond the pale’ of colonial society, because he married not just one, but two Garhwali women."

What other evidence does anyone need of the British and European caste system, far more rigid than anything of India?

This man who caused major environmental damage that only snowballed as time went by, and robbed not only India but British too, was branded only for adapting to the land they colonised, in marrying locally - instead of ordering a British bride, or picking one from the shiploads that arrived on each boat, tells quite enough about British caste system!
***

"FLOODED MOUNTAINS


"Within twenty-four hours the rain becomes a torrential monsoon storm that lasts for three days and three nights without cessation, dumping four times the normal rainfall, almost 400 mm of precipitation every twenty-four hours, setting records for the month of June. Rivers rise more than 15 metres, gouging out long sections of the road. A huge reservoir in the sky has burst its banks, inundating the Central Himalayas in a sudden onslaught of moisture. Homes collapse and fields are washed away. Villagers flee to higher ground, only to find the ridges above them sinking into the valleys. Hotels built along the banks of the Ganga are torn from their moorings and swallowed by the flood. Statues of Hindu gods made out of reinforced concrete are swept away in the relentless current. Billboards fall like playing cards and whole sections of riverside towns disappear into the Ganga. For some it must seem like the end of the world. Others never know what hit them, killed instantly beneath mud slides or drowned in their sleep. ... Roofs collapse, walls implode and foundations drop away into whirlpools. Ninety-three bridges, some of which have stood for more than a century, are consumed by the rivers they span. Water rises so high that pylons on either side are ripped free from the rocks. Buses and cars are carried away in the flood, tossed about as lightly as flotsam. Power lines and telephone cables snap and communication towers fall. Trees are torn from the earth and whole sections of the mountains slough off, avalanches of earth and forest."

"Unaware of what is coming, Titu and I hire a jeep from Sukhi and drive downriver through heavy rain for most of the night, escaping only a few hours ahead of the flood. By the time we reach Mussoorie, much of the Bhagirathi Valley is cut off. If we had continued with our attempt on Bandarpunch, we would have been stuck on the mountain in the storm. Suddenly, our expedition and adventure becomes meaningless, set against the cataclysm of the flood. All of the four main sources of the Ganga and their temples, visited by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year, have become totally inaccessible. The worst damage is at Kedarnath, where a glacial lake bursts several kilometres above the temple, sending a deadly slurry of mud and rock streaming into the heart of the pilgrim complex, burying resthouses where yatris lay asleep, filling rooms to the ceiling with dirt and debris. The main temple, made of stone, remains undamaged, though all around it every other structure is flattened.
***

"INVOKING TRAGEDY


"The devastation in Uttarakhand was headlined as a ‘Himalayan Tsunami’ by journalists and politicians hard-pressed to describe the scale of destruction. The comparison is not far-fetched, for huge waves of water poured down the valleys. Narrow gorges added to the velocity and force of the current, which had nowhere else to go. Though the violent storms took everyone by surprise, there was nothing new about these floods. Only last year, the Assi Ganga overflowed and washed out sections of Uttarkashi. Similar catastrophes have occurred in the past. In 1978, a landslide near Gangnani blocked the river for a couple of days before it burst and swept away parts of the towns and settlements downstream. Hundreds died and survivors were said to be picking fish out of trees as if they were fruit. In 1880, Pahari Wilson, who built his palatial home in Harsil and floated deodar logs down the Ganga, was rumoured to have drowned in a similar flash flood on the Bhagirathi. Presumed dead, his obituaries appeared in the papers. A week later, however, Wilson came sauntering down the Mall Road in Mussoorie, just as his two wives had gone into mourning."

" ... In hindsight, a great deal might have been done to limit the damage and suffering, but the flood itself was as inevitable as earthquakes, a violent process of erosion that has, over countless epochs, created these valleys and sculpted the mountains.

"Of course, none of this mitigates the loss of life and property that occurred during the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, but as I read or listened to news reports and heard helicopters flying over our house in Mussoorie, I couldn’t help but think of the bones at Roopkund. Five hundred years ago, an anonymous party of pilgrims died in the Himalayas, seeking a path to god. Since then, many others have lost their lives, including victims of altitude sickness at Mount Kailash, their spiritual quest ending in physical anguish and mortal finality. ... "

Alter expounds on mistakes here, but doesn't compare the disaster with say, houses on California coastal areas being brought down due to landslides.
***

"We climb toward Taktsang, the Tiger’s Nest, in Bhutan. ... This cliff-top monastery is built around a cave where Guru Padmasambhava meditated, after flying here from Tibet. His consort turned herself into an airborne tigress so that she could transport him over the Himalayas. Prayer flags are draped across a precipice, fluttering shreds of sacred texts that mark the trajectory of the guru’s flight."

In addition to his other shortcomings, in Alter there's an unfortunate manifestation of racism and a need to distance himself from anything that might provide anyone to hang an illusion that this person could be seen as belonging or even attached to India or her ancient culture - which manifests in a strange and repeated copy, sometimes exact, of the last scene of a European film about Hungary one recalls having seen some time in early to mid eighties, a good film completely marred by that last scene, strangely alike a post-impressionist artist's work in a NY city museum one saw later, in 1983.

Amusing to notice that Alter treats Buddhist lores with far more respect, never branding them as myth, while he never faults doing so several times per paragraph about lores and legends of ancient Indian culture by any name, as if terrified thst he might be accused of having lost caste - racial, that's caste by caste system of West, of course - and 'gone native', the most supreme sin for anyone of ancestry from Europe.

But then, Buddha was of India in every way possible, and merely one of a long tradition of Divine descent on earth in a live girl, recognized as such; also, he didn't convert to anything abrahmic, although he did of course precede the later abrahmic faiths which are conversionist.

So why does the disdain bordering on open, compulsory disrespect for India that's routine from writers of West, not extend to Buddhism?

Is it because Buddhism is seen in context, not of its very Indian teaching and roots, but the military prowess of its far more numerous followers in East Asia?

Of course, West respects brutal force, however idiotic and ignorant, overcoming and destroying other, however far more advanced, cultures.

"My flags won’t pray for a better life next time round or forgiveness for sins I don’t regret—evil thoughts, perhaps, but not the daily transgressions that I’m supposed to confess. ... "

Does Alter realise this is a choice, a freedom India gives, but abrahmic creeds don't, and in saying this more than in anything else, he's unconsciously proved himself true, not to his ancestral distance from ancient culture of India, but to his birth and early years, his growing years, of India?

"For close to fifty years, I haven’t prayed. Others have performed the task on my behalf. But on this walk the wind and trees seem to tug words from my soul. At Taktsang, I watch a Bhutanese family prostrating themselves in front of the guru’s image. A girl of four or five mimics her parents, flattening herself to the floor, as if doing calisthenics. The teenaged monk who unlocks the sanctuary for us trickles holy water into my palm from a silver vessel adorned with peacock feathers. I baptize my face and head, wondering what these rituals mean."

If that's not bring foreign, what is?

Was he kept away, assiduously, from possible contamination of Indian thought, by family?
***

"BURNT OFFERINGS

"This morning, before breakfast, Phurbu begins building a cairn of ten large rocks placed one on top of the other. The uppermost stone is tapered like an arrow, pointing toward the mountains. In front of this, he constructs a small stone altar, where he stacks a pile of dry twigs collected from around our camp. The shape of the cairn is similar to a Tibetan chorten, a tiered spire that also serves as an emblem of the peak we hope to climb.

"Once Phurbu is ready, he calls us together for a pooja. Soop Singh has brought a tray on which are placed a husked coconut, an apple and a pomegranate, along with cashew nuts and raisins. Each of the men has decorated the cairn with wildflowers—yellow buttercups, saffron potentilla and white anemones. The fire is lit with birch bark tinder and white smoke begins to billow up in loose strands, braiding itself around the cairn.

"Phurbu settles himself in front of the altar. He props up a pocketsized triptych of Buddhist deities, at the centre of which is a photograph of the Dalai Lama. Opening a well-thumbed prayer book, he begins chanting softly in a low voice, as steady and muffled as the stream that flows nearby. I sit beside him, listening and watching without comprehension and yet in complete awareness of the purpose of this ritual. We celebrate a simple harmony of elements—earth and fire, water and air—the stones, the flames, the burbling stream and the clean, white smoke that makes the wind visible. During the ceremony, each member of the team assumes an attitude of devotion, though there is no formality. ....

[Aravind · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the account of Stephen Alter's journeys in the Himalayas following a personal tragedy that left him emotionally shaken. He tries to narrate how these journeys helped him cope with the emotional stress. His descriptions of his treks and expeditions are engaging, aided by the many references to the great deeds and words of renowned mountaineers, interspersed with local lore. I especially loved the portion about Mount Nanda Devi, the second highest peak in India, and a highly venerated goddess of the Himalayas. What did not work for me in this book was the philosophical discourse - I found it pretty tedious and meandering.
I enjoyed the travelogue part of it a lot more than I did the philosophical one.

[Anuradha Goyal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed Review http://www.anureviews.com/becoming-mo...

[Diane Prokop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! My review will be posted on March 16th at dianeprokop.com.

[Kevin Bheda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Until I go to himalayas myself, I live and die in my dreams reading books like these.

[Ajay Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review by Ajay Raj

Becoming a Mountain by Stephen Alter is an extraordinary memoir that beautifully intertwines personal healing with the majestic allure of the Himalayas. The author takes readers on a deeply emotional journey, reflecting on life, loss, and recovery after a traumatic attack in his Himalayan home.

What struck me most about this book is its vivid depiction of nature. Alter's writing makes you feel as if you are standing amidst the towering peaks, breathing in the mountain air. His treks through places like Gangotri and Kedarnath are not just physical adventures but also metaphorical explorations of strength and resilience.

This book is more than a memoir; it’s a meditation on the bond between humans and nature. Alter’s profound connection with the Himalayas becomes a source of solace and inspiration, showing how nature can heal even the deepest wounds.

I found Becoming a Mountain to be both moving and inspiring. It reminded me of the power of perseverance and the tranquility one can find in the wilderness. For anyone who loves mountains or stories of overcoming life's challenges, this book is a must-read. It stays with you long after you’ve turned the last page.

[Arpita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished reading this book in late winters when I was missing the Himalayas. In recent treks done in the Himalayas, I have felt that there is a rush to conquer the peaks and summits. Fellow trekkers often ask questions like how many, how fast, what altitude etc. have I trekked. People are often loud about what they achieved and conquered in this mighty mountain range.
Reading this book was quite opposite and comforting, where the Mr Alter talked about walking in Himalayan jungles, the leaves in the trees, type of rocks, the infinite testimonial of time that Himalayas stood for. I was often getting transported to campsites with views of unobstructed peaks. I paused many times to dream about places in the mountains. The pace of the book is good and the experiences are slow and thoughtful.
However, I did feel that the author doesn't connect with the spirituality of the mountains, though he tries hard to convey that. Well, spirituality has different meanings for different people. I would leave that to the readers to decide.

[Nad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book mostly because of the title and am elated that I did! This is a personal reflection by an intelligent man and a superb author who finds the right words to narrate his experiences on the Himalayan peaks (Nanda Devi, Kailash & Bandarpunch). His notes on healing, faith, walking, nature and of course mountains are brilliantly echoed by astute observations and a genuine love for writing. Time heals all wounds but some remain so deeply entrenched that they require something else as well - solace, silence, epiphany? The subtle pains are the worst, as they have a way of surfacing back in our memory to torment our minds and bodies. The author strives to come face to face with these inner struggles by taking upon challenges that are external. My favorite quote from the book which will stay with me for a long time: "To lose something, or everything, sharpens our vision and gives us an acute awareness of what remains."

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite like this book, on several levels. While the writing style can be seen to be somewhat bland, it does indeed suit the book.

Stephen starts by writing about a horrific incident at his home, and the somewhat sparse style suits this perfectly. If he had become too emotional, the book would have started on a weepy note and this would have prevented me from going ahead. He struck a good balance.
This section is critical, as it set the stage for the rest of the book - the journeys.

The journeys themselves are more temporal than spiritual. They, to me, tend to reflect who we are, and how we respond to places and things. We are not all mystical by nature.

In his writings, I think he shows great respect for the traditions of the places he visits, and the mountains.

In all, the only wish I have is for a longer epilogue.

[Sushma Karra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book at a slow pace savouring and living each page.

Though I am a firm believer of god, I found the authors views on religion and faith liberating.

I completely agree with the fact that faith has caused more dirt and filth in the sacred waters of Ganga and pilgrimages and ‘retreats’ the reason behind unplanned and risky constructions. True and real faith is in keeping the sacred waters and mountains clean.

I also found the authors unpopular view on Roopkund hilarious. The way he looked and experienced Roopkund is so different from scores of people who take up the trek with much zest

This book is definitely worth a read.

[Kanika Sud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though it's a prolonged narrative, the book leaves you with a strange charm, as if you've been in the company of nature for a long time... unspoken, poetic, and deeply personal. I did not like the references that the author gives from other books. They were simply not needed.

The most beautiful aspect of the book is how the author explains the concept of Darshan. For so many of us in India, Darshan means one hard earned gaze at the idol in one of those temples, with crowded queues. And here is an American author who finds the same peace in absorbing the nature he beholds, in complete reverence - with a will to describe it, understand it, and become one with it.

[Nitin Bhandarkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eloquent and tedious in patches - is how I can best sum up this book. Stephen is so vivid in describing the details and experiences of his Himalayan treks, it is most impressive. It reads like prose. But there are patches when he strays off into topics and gets into details that seem needless and tedious. Despite my love for literature that is rich in describing the beauty and essence of nature, I found my interest flagging a number of times when reading this book and was tempted to switch off. A case of travel writing that has been stretched too much.

[Ambica Gulati · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a man who spent his life traversing the forests and the mountains of Mussoorie, Alter offers an inspiring view of Nature and the magnificence it offers us. His journey to the Kailash is not rooted in religion, but in deep love for the discoveries that travel brings. He enjoys mountaineering for the sake of it and conquering peaks is not the goal. He turns the Himalayas into a human affair, bringing to light the many tales and myths that lie hidden beneath the rocks, untrodden paths and snow.

[poeticpeep · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Atler's Becoming a mountain is his account of trekking and climbing significant places in Himalayan range. He is not a mountaineer but a narrator who is good at what he narrates.
The book may sound ordinary but it is not. I'd say it's a fantastic book. 5/5.
Although I found the conclusion is ambiguous on healing, (maybe it's not as he overcomes his fear in the end) I enjoyed reading it and connecting with it.
The author was honest with his words and didn't embellish them. I'd definitely give a read to other books from him. I found the book informative as well as entertaining.

[Arjun V · Rating 3 out of 5]

The philosophical meanderings often dilute the impact of the physical journeys, which themselves lack any real spiritual depth. What could have been a meaningful Himalayan exploration instead feels weighed down by ideas that never fully connect. On top of that, the forcibly introduced and strongly anti-Indian religion attitude strips away whatever sense of sacredness Stephen seems to be reaching for. The result is a book that struggles to convey the very spirituality it sets out to explore.

[Debasmita Rath · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great description on Indian Himalayas, loved it how he lived his life after the attack. What I didn't like much about the book is he had copied other author's line( though he had given credits to them) especially while describing about Nanda Devi. Overall it's another best book on Indian Himalayas. 😊

[Rishi Kumar Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked up the book mainly due to its alluring title. Its a long and a winding read, the chapters are disconnected and some of the musings of the author tad too judgemental. Enjoyed the bits and pieces here and there, but by and large, its a collection of authors experiences and impressions of three different hikes in the Himalaya and do not really offer anything more than that.

[Aman Raj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just a travelogue....

Just as the name suggests, the book is more about attaining the state of peace with self and loosing the false identity tags. It's sublime, it's spiritual, it's about becoming a mountain.
Loved the author's selfless style of story-telling.

[Sayan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first account of the mount Kailash journey I have read. Great descriptions of the Roopkund and Bandarpunch treks. Describes a state (Uttarakhand) which I personally think is the second most beautiful state in India.

[Vijay Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book indeed. Although I find a few chapters a bit boring but overall it keeps the flow going. I particularly liked the authors journey to Mount Kailash and his unsuccessful attempt of Banderpunch.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book with vivid descriptions of the Himalays. The account of the landscapes and moods of nature at mountains is blissful. The book also makes one feel that the author is trying to link his life's hapless event to an experience of redemption.
Overall, an easy read.