''The Himalayan Arc: Journeys East of South-east'' is an anthology of fiction and nonfiction

edited Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

Namita Gokhale Namita Gokhale (born 1956) is an Indian writer, editor, festival director, and publisher. Her debut novel, ''Paro: Dreams of Passion'' was released in 1984, and she has since written fiction and nonfiction, and edited nonfiction collections. She ...

, with contributions by authors from the region Gokhale has described as "the bend of the Himalayas, the East of South-east, including Nepal, Bhutan, north-east India, and Myanmar."

Background

This book, with more than thirty authors contributing to it, is an attempt to depict the sense of shared existence and cultural connectivity between the people residing in the

Himalayan region The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

. Along with photos, fables, and folk stories, it features articles on topics such as strategy and diplomacy, espionage, and the deep state.

List of contributors

Janice Pariat Janice Pariat is an Indian poet and writer. She was born in Assam and grew up in Shillong, Meghalaya.Rao Chaini, Sanjitha (15 October 2012)"A Tale Can Be Told In Many Ways", ''Business World. ''Retrieved 30 August 2013.Staff writer (31 August 2 ...

* Salil Tripathi *

Ma Thida Ma Thida (; born ) is a Burmese surgeon, writer, human rights activist and former prisoner of conscience. She has published under the pseudonym Suragamika which means "brave traveler". In Myanmar, Thida is best known as a leading intellectual, ...

Indra Bahadur Rai Indra Bahadur Rai (3 February 1927 – 6 March 2018) was an Indian Nepali language writer and literary critic from Darjeeling, India. He wrote multiple essays, short stories, novels and criticism in his lifetime. ''Kheer'' and ''Raat Bhari Huri ...

* Prajwal Parajuly * David Malone (independent filmmaker) * Chetan Raj Shrestha *

Kanak Mani Dixit Kanak Mani Dixit (born 27 January 1956) is a Nepali publisher, editor and writer. He is the founder of the magazine ''Himal Southasian'' and cofounder of Himal Media. Life Dixit was born in Lalitpur. He studied at the Tri Chandra College in K ...

* Sujeev Shakya *

Pushpesh Pant Pushpesh Pant (born 1946) is an Indian academic, food critic and historian. He retired as a Professor of International relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. He is one of India's leading experts on International Relations as well as ...

* John Elliott (historian) * Amish Raj Mulmi * Thomas Bell *

Sushma Joshi Sushma Joshi ( ne, सुष्मा जोशी) is a Nepali writer, filmmaker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. Her fiction and non-fiction deal with Nepal's civil conflict, as well as stories of globalization, migration and diaspora. ''End of the W ...

* Sanjoy Hazarika * Sudhindra Sharma *

Tsering Tashi Tsering Tashi (died 15 October 2020) was a BJP Indian Politician. Career He was elected as a Member of Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh from the Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) Constituency.The Arunachal Times http://www.arunachaltimes.in/m ...

* Abhay K. * Manoj Joshi (journalist) * Catherine Anderson * Andrew Duff * Binodini * Jacqueline Zote * Aruni Kashyap * Sameer Tanti * Nitoo Das * Lutfa Hanum Selima Begum * Uddipana Goswami * Robin Ngangom * Akhu Chingangbam *

Indira Goswami Indira Goswami (14 November 1942 – 29 November 2011), known by her pen name Mamoni Raisom Goswami and popularly as Mamoni Baideo, was an Indian writer, poet, professor, scholar and editor. She was the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award (1983 ...

* Andrew Selth * Tulsi Badrinath * Meghna Pant * Mamang Dai * Desmond Kharmawphlang

Reception

In his review for ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'', Bangladeshi journalist Abdus Salam writes, "The volume ticks all boxes, covering most of the region, opening with Nepal and going all the way to Myanmar. There’s even poetry and colonial-era photographs thrown in. But in the absence of an overarching theme other than geography, the information is discrete and unconnected, an assemblage of vignettes that doesn’t add up to a big picture." Prannay Pathak of the '' Hindustan Times'' writes, "The book is an unprecedented attempt to shed a geopolitical light on a stretch of land, a region that has so far been imagined as having a curiously singular identity, which ceases to exist beyond political borders. However, experiences from the arc transcend any sort of boundaries, and change of culture, practices, beliefs, and language is fluid." Writing for '' Outlook Traveller'', Vivek Mukherji in his review suggests that the book, "Despite the vastly different subcultures tucked within the folds of the Himalayan ranges, the book is a testament to the interconnectedness of its many warm communities." In a review published in '' The News Lens'', Omair Ahmad writes, "These histories have largely been forgotten in favor of the lines drawn on the map by the British Empire and its successors, but they have re-emerged, and have to be understood, if we are to understand the complex political geography of the region."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Himalayan Arc Books about Nepal Travel books Books about Bhutan Books about India Books about Myanmar 2018 anthologies Books about geopolitics Geography books