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Last Time I Saw Tibet, The
by Dey, Bimal; Malobika Chaudhuri
About This Book
Bitten by wanderlust at a young age, Bimal Dey has travelled the world, including the Arctic and Antarctica. But it's his journey across Tibet, from Gangtok to Lhasa and Mansarovar when he was a teenager, that holds a special place in his heart. The Last Time I Saw Tibet recounts his adventures during this trip in 1956: a time when Sikkim was not yet part of India, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama still ruled in Tibet although Chinese presence was marked, and Indians were not banned from travelling there.
Dey trekked across the Nathu La pass, Chumbi valley and the Sangpo river along with an intrepid band of lamas, before reaching Lhasa, or Hla-Sa ('abode of the gods'). He visited the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka, the summer palace, and witnessed the grandeur of the Potala royal palace where the Dalai Lama resided, and even had an audience with His Holiness. From Lhasa, the author trekked on his own to Kailashnath and Mansarovar, the holiest of pilgrimages for any Hindu. During his journey, he encountered the deep generosity of the local people, made friends among ascetics and mendicants, and the awe-inspiring majesty of the Himalayas brought with it a true understanding of spirituality and faith.
This book was first published in Bengali in 1982. This translated edition contains the author's thoughts about the July 2006 reopening of the Nathu La Pass, which had been closed since 1962.
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