For ten years, Austrian architect Carl Pruscha was stationed in Shangri-la, or as close as you can get to it. The UNESCO consultant for regional planning in Nepal from 1964 to 1974, he presided over the opening of Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet to the rest of the world, and in this passionate Pruscha manifesto, illustrated with his own photographs, argues for preservation of vernacular architecture.

Himalayan Voices provides admirers of Nepal and lovers of literature with their first glimpse of the vibrant literary scene in Nepal today. An introduction to the two most developed genres of modern Nepali literature-poetry and the short story-this work profiles eleven of Nepal`s most distinguished poets and offers translations of more than eighty poems written from 1916 to 1986. Twenty of the most interesting and best-known examples of the Nepali short story are translated into English for the first time by Michael Hutt. All provide vivid descriptions of Life in twentieth-century Nepal. This book should appeal not only to admires of Nepal, but to all readers with an interest in non-Western literatures.

The region of the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan plateau is known for its unique and characteristic vernacular architecture and housing culture which is slowly but surely disappearing. The first part of the book analyses 19 traditional houses in the region that respond in diverse ways to the specifics of their location and local climate. The second part presents a comparative study of the construction elements – walls, roof and façades – using photographs and hand-drawn construction details. The newly produced scale drawings provide an excellent basis for comparative review. Detailed plans, atmospheric photographs and informative texts take the reader on a journey through a fascinating building culture.

From this study of Mark Twain, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ana Castillo arises a new model for analyzing American literature that highlights commonalities - one in which colloquial and lyrical style and content speak out against oppression.

This broad treatment of architecture throughout the region of the Himalaya mountains is the first book of its kind. The author has based this study on many years of research in Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Assam, and the Darjeeling area of northeast India, northern Pakistan, and Himachal Pradesh in India's northwest. These areas make up an artistic and, to some degree, a cultural unit. It is unique and definable for its design qualities as well as its use of materials. Dramatic and lofty structures rise as towering palaces and as temples dedicated to Hindu and Buddhist ideals. The impact of neighboring Tibet and India is often evident in the art, but other influences are found as well. The area has not been isolated, as some studies suggest, but was in fact always linked to the rest of Asia and to the West by means of the Silk Road, at least since the second century B.C. This study progresses from east to west, beginning in the foothills of India's Assam. It is richly illustrated with photographs, most of which are the author's or his wife's, and many of the photographs are published here for the first time. The archives of the Archaeological Survey of India and the Department of Archaeology of His Majesty's Government of Nepal are also used here.

Hidden Lands in Himalayan Myth and History showcases recent scholarship, photo essays, maps, and translations about hidden lands (sbas yul) across the Himalaya, from historical and contemporary perspectives.

First published in 2002. Following twenty-five years in the Himalayas tirelessly documenting different forms of vernacular architecture and different local customs and beliefs as reflected in material objects, this book is the result. The arrangement of the works selected for the present show and for the accompanying catalogue is by region in a rough chronological order. The plates within carry inscribed a local traditional universe, for the better understanding of which the expert remarks have been added.

This book celebrates the heritage of the distinctive Apatani community of the north-eastern Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. It explores the fascinating indigenous knowledge of field and forest and a uniquely sustainable and enduring way of life that continues to evolve in the modern context. The book tells the story of how a material culture was shaped around bamboo and cane resources and nurtured by a strong community spirit and spirituality that transcended the human world and maintained an unbroken ethos of conservation through time. It highlights the eco-sensitive lifestyle of this unique community and presents an in-depth analysis of the Apatani tradition of the exemplary use of natural resources. Through this engrossing detailed study, the author observes how bamboo houses are built in three days, fish cultivated in a rice field and a single river used for millennia to feed an entire community. She highlights the triumph of the human spirit in engineering a cultural landscape out of a swamp, and how peaceful co-existence with nature can withstand the trials of time. Part autobiographical and powerfully personal, this book is a primer on sustainable living as practice. It will be of interest to researchers and students of tribal and Himalayan vernacular architecture, traditional bamboo-cane craft, urban ecology and geography, cultural studies, and sustainability. It will also attract general readership while being academically useful for anthropologists, sociologists, botanists, ecologists and environmentalists.

This monograph is a grammar of Thangmi, an endangered Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the districts of Dolakha and Sindhupalcok in central-eastern Nepal. The language is spoken by upwards of 30,000 people belonging to an ethnic group of the same name. The Thangmi are one of Nepal’s least documented communities. These two volumes include a grammatical description of the Dolakha dialect of Thangmi, a collection of glossed oral texts and a comprehensive lexicon with relevant examples. In addition, the reader will find an extensive ethnolinguistic introduction to the speakers and their culture. For students and scholars of anthropology and linguistics, this study is a compelling illustration of the interweaving of these disciplines in the context of Himalayan studies. With financial support of the International Institute for Asian Studies (www.iias.nl).