Three books from the mountains

Between Worlds: Travels among mediums, shamans and healers
By Uma Singh
Penguin India
Price: Rs 225

Very often a travelogue entails much more than a journey through strangers. In understanding their world and their stories, the traveller finds herself re-examining all that she had taken for granted and as worthy. As Uma Singh studies the myths held dear among residents of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh, as she makes acquaintance with the shamans, oracles, exorcists and psychic healers among them, she finds herself glimpsing a rich tradition. And questioning her own black-and-white notions of rationality and modernity. And for the readers, the hills and folks of Himachal soon become intimate friends.

And for those worried about monoculture replacing diversity, here’s Singh’s cheerful conclusion: “Today though their culture may be under threat, I believe that the people of the Ravi river valley will, by virtue of an almost arrogant pride in their heritage, protect the rich and finely wrought cultural fibre that is their inheritance.”

Uttaranchal: Kumaon and Garhwal
HarperCollins Travel Guides
Price: Rs 199

Lodged in a Dehradun jail in the 1940s, Jawaharlal Nehru indicated agreement with countless travellers that Garhwal was by far more beautiful than Kumaon. His words, in a letter to Indira Gandhi, did not quite settle a raging debate between lovers of the Himalayas. Perhaps the best way to decide for oneself is to strike out on one’s own. Good guidebooks to the region are hard to come by, and this one too disappoints. It is bursting with helpful tips, but little things like room tariffs are not mentioned.