help!
I am trying to find the paths of well-known 'epic' journeys
that people in history have taken around India - famous
explorers, writers, ethnographers, but I am drawing blanks
wherever I look. If you can suggest anyone, anything, in
fact anything at all please do...
thanks!
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There are 2 very famous Chinese travelers and chroniclers
that I can think of: Faxien in the 5th Century, and Huan
Tsang in the 7th Century.
Definitely the sort of thing you're looking for.
Marco Polo in India? Check it out.
Sinbad in 'Serendip'.
Good luck
ps--
the spellings for the Chinese travelers vary widely, and
I've found very little on the web. Library's your best bet.
If you find good web info on either of them, I'd appreciate
your posting it here.
Thanks
Pick just up a novel or autobiography by any figure from
Indian History and 9 times out of 10 they will have a
travelogue buried some where in it. Moving from place to
place and the specifics of place are such an important part
of any Indian epic.
Gandhi, Curzon, Tagore, Anita Desi, Rusdie or even "Nadia
Hunter Whalli" will do but its only fun if you find the
character interesting.
I've done a Kipling tour of HP (I even found the mad women
of Mantalai) and followed the footsteps of a scots guard
involved with the 1st war of independence.
What about a Newby or a Dalrymple?
have you heard of the victorian soldier Harry Flashman? he
is notorious as the bully from "Tom Brown's Schooldays".
He kept diaries throughout his life and these have now been
published after being discovered in a loft. The one that
would interest you most is "Flashman and the great game"
which is about his adventures in India at the time of the
mutiny. Very funny but extremely non-PC. It might be under
the name George Mcdonald Fraser in bookshops as he has
edited the diaries and added appropriate historical notes
enjoy!
Hi!
If you travel up the Spiti valley (Himachal Pradesh), you
you're on the trip that Heinrich Harrer and Peter
Aufschnaiter took to get away from British Prison.
There are a few other Austrian or German Explorers that
passed this region in the 19th century: for example the
brothers Schlagintweit (fascinating guys!). One of the
earliest pictures of the Dankhar Monastery is one of the
Schlagintweits (although they stated that it's in Ladakh).
Sven Hedin took the route from Srinagar to Leh and it took
him thirty days with loaded yaks - today it takes you two
on the bus. And - being interested in travellers in India:
don't forget about Aleksander Czsoma de K÷r÷s, a Hungarian
mad dog, who "left Hungary with nothing in his bag but a
bit of chees and 30 spoken languages".
I am going to Sri Lanka in August, and would like to
coincide my trip to Kandi, with the great festvial of
Buddha's tooth. DOes anyone know when this runs? Apparently
it is sometime late July beginning of August.
Any clues would be greatly appreciated.
Also, can anyone recommend a nice budget place to stay in
Khandi, that we can phone up to book, as I gather that they
all get quite very during the festivities.
Have you heard of the victorian soldier Harry Flashman? he
appears as the bully in "Tom Brown's schooldays". He kept
diaries throughout his life which have now been published.
The one of most interest to you would be "Flashman and the
great game" set during the Indian mutiny. Not very PC but
quite funny and surprisingly historically accurate. You
might find it listed under the editor George Mcdonald Fraser
enjoy!
Try reading 'Kim' by Rudyard Kipling, if you haven't
already. Not an historical person per se, but a fascinating
account of life in late 19th Century India. There's even
another book out called something like 'In Search of Kim',
in which the author tracks down Kipling's real life
inspirations for the characters and places he mentions in
the novel. In any case, it would be a hell of a trek from
Lahore to Varanasi with all kinds of side
scurries.....enjoy.
Hi...
forgot the name before. Herbert Tichy. First man on the Cho
Oyu (somehow this just happened to him...). Did incredible
things in northern India, Tibet, Nepal.. in the fifties.
Was probably the first guy on a motorcycle from Vienna to
Kathmandu.
:Dear Lucy
Try Peter Holt's In Clive's footsteps. (There is even a
picture in it of the nutter who frequents the Broadlands
guest house in Madras asking if you want a massage??). We
followed this route noth of Calcutta - very interesting and
sort of off the well troaden tracks.
Good luck
bc