The ‘Other Shangri-La’ by Shivaji Das ; Published by Konark Publishers ; Pages 190 ; Price Rs.299/- ****************************** Who can forget “Shangri-La”, the fictional utopian lamasery in the mountains of Tibet created by James Hilton? As also the Hollywood movie based on the book-- directed by Frank Capra starring Ronald Colman?. James Hilton was a British novelist famous for two books—“Goodbye Mr.Chips” and “Lost Horizon”. Winner of the Hawthornden Prize, “Lost Horizon” is the first paper back book published. It was the book that inaugurated the paperback revolution. Hilton was inspired to create “Shangri-la” by reading articles in the National Geographic Magazine by Joseph Rock who explored the southwestern Chinese provinces and Tibetan borderlands. The name “Shangri-la” has become a byword for a mythical utopia, a permanently happy land, isolated from the world. President Roosevelt named his presidential retreat in Maryland “Shangri-La”. Zhongdian, a mountain region of Southwest China, has been renamed “Shangri-La” (Xianggelila), based on its claim to have inspired Hilton's book. This area in South China appear in the charming books of Shri.K.P.S.Menon “Delhi Chunking Diary” and “Many Worlds”. The book under review is on the “ The ‘Other’ Shangri-La”--Sichuan in the Sino-Tibetan frontier authored by Shivaji Das. Shivaji Das is the author of three travel memoirs—“Sacred Love: Erotic Arts in the temples of Nepal’; “Angels by the Murky River: Travels Off the Beaten Track” and “Journeys with the caterpillar: Travelling through the islands of Flores and Sumba, Indonesia” . The author was born in Assam and his articles have been published in TIME, Asian Geographic, Outlook Traveller and other journals. Shivaji has been interviewed on BBC, CNBC, The Economist, Travel Radio Australia, among others. His photographs, in collaboration with his wife Yolanda Yu (known as Lobo), have been exhibited in several world famous galleries and libraries. Shivaji is presently the Asia-Pacific Managing Director and Management consultant at Frost & Sullivan, Singapore. Shivaji Das was born and brought up in the north-eastern province of Assam. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, subsequent to which he completed his post-graduation from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta. Even though bit by the Travel-bug , Shivaji finds time to take an active interest in migrant issues and eradication of underage poverty . Shivaji’s writings and work with migrants have been published in many journals . He has close links with the Singapore based organisation “Transient Workers Count Too” . The book under review---The ‘Other’ Shangri-La is the result of a memorable journey made by the author and his wife across the SinoTibetan frontier land of western Sichuan. Sichuan prides on the fact that the world’s highest town is here. More to cherish it is the birthplace of major lamas; it boasts of the world s largest monastery . Rightly it is famous for its at once attractive women and noted for strength of mind. A few years ago it was the notorious hunting ground of ruthless bandit monks. We have vivid description of the forbidding terrain that is an amalgam of mountains 7000 metres high, deep gorges, immense grasslands and quite understandably the most dangerous roads in the world. The author provides a succinct history of the area along with clinical details of scattered settlements—some of which are listed below---: Litang—the world’s highest town that is also the birthplace of important lamas; Larung—the world’s largest monastery and highest slum; Danba—a ‘Beauty Valley’ famed since antiquity for its bewitching and strong-minded women; Yading—a pilgrim circuit once the terrain controlled by rabid bandit monks; and Kangding—a small town that gave birth to China’s favourite love song. The book is laced with interesting anecdotes of the author’s travels and adventures in this rugged area.Hilarious accounts are provided of the authors—staying with nomad families, debating with monks on revival in Communist China of Buddhism . Most fascinating is getting spooked by a bone-collector at a sky-burial site, as also the authors assuming the mantle of investigators in a love triangle in the ‘Beauty Valley’, and escaping from paparazzi tourists who believed the travellers to be participants in a local beauty contest. There is a wealth of detail on the lives and cultures of the people who live in these inhospitable places and currently under the sway of turbulent socio-economic factors over which they have no control. Sichuan is notorious for the troublesome connection between two communities---Hans and Tibetans and that too in what is the most restless of the Tibetan-inhabited areas in China. There is a morbid and macabre account of disposal of dead bodies. This is done through Vultures--of which there is good availability. The vultures eat the dead bodies and vivid details are given of cutting up bodies to make it convenient for the vultures.Wish the author had described a wedding or a birthday celebration! The book succeeds in bringing out in a remarkable way a distant land at once rugged and beautiful—a land beautiful to behold.It is travel writing ,in delectable limpid prose, of the highest quality reaching heights captured by Aurel Stein,Jan Morris,K. P. S .Menon and Paul Theroux. P.P.Ramachandran. 8/9/2020.