Kailash: Jewel of the Snows

Description

Jewel of the Snows is an enthralling account of a Delhi-based mountaineer, and creative entrepreneur, Rajinder Arora. This is one of the first few expeditions to Mt Kailash after the Chinese government permitted the entry of Indians to the sacred land of Lord Shiva, highly venerated in the Hindu-Buddhist scriptures. Extremely captivating narrative of a young atheist, Kailash sketches Rajinder’s journey to Mt Kailash and Lake Mansarovar, 4,600m above the sea level. Starting his sojourn in the Indian Himalayas, he crosses over the rugged Kumaon territory and enters the Tibetan terrain with a group of 16 individuals. Arora strays on the forbidden trail in the Tibetan wilderness. Along the perilous trail, he moves in search of faith and meaning in life and narrates, with awe-inspiring details and anecdotes, of survival in the high Himalayas, exploring the cultural diversity and saga of ancient travel along Silk Road. Having encountered the grand vision of Mt Kailash, completely awe-struck, he stumbles his way back home with a new-found reservoir of spirituality that had lain dormant during vagrant young years. Profusely illustrated, embellished with highly evocative accounts of fauna and flora, breathtaking landscape and enviable life style of the nomadic tribes, the book is a treasure to be preserved for posterity. A must for mountaineers, spiritual believers and non-believers alike including all those interested in keeping a true account of the fast changing Himalayan landscape and people struggling to keep it beautiful and sacred in the centuries to come. “Environmental degradation is wrecking havoc all around the world. We should follow his advice in preserving our beautiful planet. Mt Kailash and the Holy Lake Manasarovar is the abode of Lord Shiva – the Himalayas, with all their splendour and beauty are nothing short of God. Let us all join hands in protecting the Himalayas for generations to come.” –Padma Shri Capt MS Kohli, Everester