If you love travelling, or love trekking, or love adventure, or different culture interests you, or you love to learn new things, or you feel thrilled to eat the food that is prepared in sand, or not afraid of not seeing any humans for many days, or you love not to give up, or your happiness doesn’t depend on money you have in your pocket, or you are not afraid of experimenting with life, or love to see the different world altogether, then “Seven Years in Tibet” is for you. Heinrich Harrer had passed through all these (and many more) challenges in his life.

When he visited India along with other German trekkers in 1939, with the ambition to fulfil long cherished dream of climbing the Himalayan mountains, he was unaware about what lies ahead. I suspect he wouldn’t have stopped even if he would have known about it. During the same time, World War II started and he was arrested by the Britishers considering him as German soldier and they kept him in India at camp for Prisoners of War. After some failed attempt, he was finally able to run away from the camp in 1942.

Then started the long journey of once in life-time experience. He wanted to climb Himalaya; which he could not, but what he concurred was far more thrilling than reaching to the top of Everest. In order to avoid arrest, he and his companion took another route which led them to unknown world of Tibet. It was a time when world was completely blank about tibet. He experienced the world of Tibet and explored their contemporary culture, customs, religion, beliefs, life style and many more. He got a chance to meet and spend almost seven years in Tibet and also became tutor and friend of Tenzin Gyasto - 14th Dalai lama. He also witnessed the invasion of Tibet by China. He introduced hidden world of Tibet to others.

He was “Heinrich Harrer” - an austrian mountaineer. Seven Years in Tibet is auto-biographical travel book written by Heinrich Harrer about how he reached and spent time in Tibet. Even if he was not a writer by profession, his writing is gripping and rich by expressions. It takes the reader into a ride of thrilling experience of Tibetan culture and heritage.

The book was published in 53 languages, became best seller in 1954 and sold 3 million copies world wide. A book worth to read at least once, and also teaches us important lesson of life if we are ready.

You can also read a book review of the same published at The Open Critic.

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Thus said Dinesh Gajjar
Published at 7:08 pm, Jan 3rd 2015