LIFE-TIBET-TRAVELOGUE A journey to Tibet : A peep into the past

New Delhi, June 3 (UNI) A new travelogue, which hit the shelfs recently, by a pioneer Indian traveller presents interesting insights into the life, customs, festivals and polity of the remote wonderland of Tibet of the seventeenth century.

Sharat Chandra Das visited Lhasa in 1881, a time when only a lucky few managed to reach Tibet, the ''roof of the world''.

Das, born in a Vaidya family of Chittagong, now in Bangladesh, was a student of Presidency College, Kolkata. His 'A Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet' is considered still cosidered a marvellous piece and a primary source of information about the Tibet of seventeenth century.

The travelogue details the funeral of Panchal Rinpoche, the then Prime Minister, a visit to Great Lamaserry of Samya to Yarlund and a critical analysis of social divisions, marriage, funerals, medicines and festivals of Tibet.

Though very little was known about this pioneering work of this great traveller but were first published on the order of Government of Bengal titled -- 'Narrative of a Journey to Lhasa and a Narative of a journey Round Lake Palti (Yamdok) and in Lhokha, Yarlung and Sakya". The ''report'' was kept as confidential for various reasons until 1890 and only excerpts were published in 'Contemporary Review'. Now the book edited by W W Rockhill in 1899 has been printed by Rupa and Co.

The journey in itself was a tall order lasting one-and-a-half years and Das used almost all modes of transport, including covering long distances on foot and pony and palanquin rides, cris crossing most difficult terrains of the remote country.

But it was not just enough. He had to avoid the prying eyes of the Chinese. Das travelled to Lhasa and Tibet with the help of his Tibetan teacher in Darjeeling who facilitated the visit. Armed with an invitation and a passport issued by the then Prime Minister, Panchal Rinpoche, showing him as a theology student to justify his presence in the country, Das escape the eyes of suspicious Lamas and the Chinese.

The work is a peep into the psyche of the Tibetans' policy of 'exclusiveness' during that time and the fear of the Chinese ''commercial interests'' in the region. Chinese felt that they stand to lose if there would be free exchange between Tibet and India by way of Darjeeling Railway. Most of the Chinese merchandise could be bought at very cheap rates in Calcutta (now Kolkata). Even the Tibetans who visited Darjeeling were full of praise for India for making Jelap la Road, the Indian visitor records. MORE UNI