‘The ‘Other’ Shangri-La: Journeys through the Sino-Tibetan frontier in Sichuan’ is a narrative travelogue based on author Shivaji Das and his wife’s journey which explores the region’s history and the lives and cultures of the people inhabiting these remote lands in detail.
In this episode of India Booked, Shivaji Das and Yolanda Yu recount their journey to Tibet as writers and more significantly as travellers, embellishing it with quirky incidents and fascinating anecdotes.
The travel enthusiasts and companions share with Ayushi Mona the highlight of their trip with surprisingly different approaches, one recounting how they got entangled in the unfolding of a love triangle, while the other underlines the realities of them travelling on rugged roads fraught with danger.
The podcast narrates the adventures of travelling into lands far away, the edge of touring as a couple, the culture and habits of migration amongst the Tibetans and the dangerous journeys they undertake that “make men out of boys”, as Shivaji puts it.
Tune in to hear them discuss elements of nature that are worth going back to and draw parallels between the two diverse cultures of India and China. This episode is for writers and travellers alike, as it explores the routines they follow as writers and the thrills they experience as travellers on a journey!
The India Booked podcast uses literature as a lever to bring multiple facets of the country alive. It's perfect for not just bibliophiles and trivia junkies but also people interested in learning more about India. Each episode focuses on a different theme, ranging from business and food, to history and politics, geography and spirituality. It unfolds as a 40-45 minute conversation between the host and a celebrated author to talk about everything India.
Writer, traveller, and photographer; Shivaji Das is the author of ‘Off the Beaten Track: Collecting Stories of Unheard Lives,’ Yoda Press (under publication), ‘Journeys with the caterpillar: Travelling through the islands of Flores and Sumba, Indonesia,’ and ‘Sacred Love: Erotic art in the temples of Nepal,’ Mandala Publications/ Adarsh Books. Shivaji is the conceptualizer and lead organizer for the acclaimed Migrant and Refugee Poetry Contests in Singapore and Malaysia and for the Global Migrant Festival.
Shivaji’s writings and work with migrants have been published in journals and shows such as TIME, The Economist, BBC, South China Morning Post, Reuters, Asian Geographic, Venture Mag, Jakarta Post, The Straits Times, Daily Nation (Kenya), Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Conscious Magazine, PanaJournal, Freethinker, etc. He has been featured in literary festivals in Botswana, Japan, Singapore, Georgetown (Malaysia), Cebu (The Philippines), and Hyderabad (India). He has given talks on topics ranging from Travel Writing, Humour, and Migrant issues. His photographs in collaboration with his wife, Yolanda Yu, have been exhibited in the Darkroom Gallery, Vermont (USA), Kuala Lumpur International Photography Festival (Malaysia), the Arts House (Singapore), and the National Library (Singapore).
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