We were intrigued by Robert Twigger’s Top 10 books about the Himalayas (theguardian.com, 9 November), which consists almost entirely of books by foreign travellers and mountaineers. It reminded us of Edward Said’s reference, in Orientalism, to the western belief that “the Orient” cannot represent itself but must submit to understandings of itself drawn from the descriptions of others. As academics who teach and conduct research among the people and societies of the Himalaya in the only British university that offers such courses, we would like to offer an alternative list which, unlike Twigger’s, includes books by people from the region itself: Manjushree Thapa, The Tutor of History; Thomas Bell, Kathmandu; Chetan Raj Shrestha, The Kings Harvest; Michael Aris, The Raven Crown: the origins of Buddhist monarchy in Bhutan; Tsering Shakya, The Dragon in the Land of Snows; Kim Gutschow, Being a Buddhist Nun; Lil Bahadur Chettri, Mountains Painted With Turmeric; Martin Brauen, Dreamworld Tibet: Western Illusions; Prawin Adhikari, The Vanishing Act; Prajwal Parajuli, The Gurkha’s Daughter.
Michael Hutt
Professor of Nepali and Himalayan studies, Soas University of London
Stefanie Lotter
Teaching fellow in south Asian studies, Soas University of London
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