Water Treasures of the Himalayas

A first of its kind, enhanced with 43 augmented reality videos, this volume offers a complete view of the great Himalayan mountain range by taking an itinerary which follows its waters and contrasts the two flanks of this formidable climatic barrier. A billion lives depend on the waters of the Himalayas; sixty million live in this mountain range, while the rest live in its foothills, on the plains of the Indian subcontinent. For them, the Himalayas are a providential water tower. Despite their astonishing diversity, all these peoples share the common belief that this is a 'Sacred Land' and this mountain range is, above all, the 'Abode of Snow' where pure water springs, rivers gush and lakes are crystal-clear. In this mosaic of peoples, languages, religions and lands, water plays a vital part in the geographical distribution of the various ethnic groups, their social organisation and the way they see themselves. With its stunning photographs and embedded videos, this volume offers an anthropological insight into the various bonds formed between man and water in the Himalayas. In doing so, it also stresses both the importance of this water tower of Asia, which provides for a thousand million people, and the scope of the current economic and ecologic issues that are at stake. AUTHORS: Serge Verliat is a Professor of geography in Reunion Island, France, and author of several research papers and documentary films on the Himalayas since 1980. Jean Philippe, a photographer, has exhibited at the Museum of Man in Paris in 1995 as part of the exhibition 'Reunion Island: Two Viewpoints'. He is also the author of two specialised works on the Cilaos Cirque in Reunion Island. 215 photographs with 43 augmented reality videos