Stephen Alter

A Natural History of the Greatest Mountain Range on Earth

Wild Himalaya

While exploring the area around his grandfather's home Gil discovers a bottle that carries messages into the past, finds a genie in a letter, and three letters that were never delivered but would have changed the course of history.

Ghost letters

Stephen Alter was raised by American missionary parents in the hill station of Mussoorie, in the foothills of the Himalayas, where he and his wife, Ameeta, now live. Their idyllic existence was brutally interrupted when four armed intruders invaded their house and viciously attacked them, leaving them for dead. The violent assault and the trauma of almost dying left him questioning assumptions he had lived by since childhood. For the first time, he encountered the face of evil and the terror of the unknown. He felt like a foreigner in the land of his birth. This book is his account of a series of treks he took in the high Himalayas following his convalescence—to Bandar Punch (the monkey’s tail), Nanda Devi, the second highest mountain in India, and Mt. Kailash in Tibet. He set himself this goal to prove that he had healed mentally as well as physically and to re-knit his connection to his homeland. Undertaken out of sorrow, the treks become a moving soul journey, a way to rediscover mountains in his inner landscape. Weaving together observations of the natural world, Himalayan history, folklore and mythology, as well as encounters with other pilgrims along the way, Stephen Alter has given us a moving meditation on the solace of high places, and on the hidden meanings and enduring mystery of mountains.

Himalayan Journeys in Search of the Sacred and the Sublime

Becoming a Mountain

A Spiritual Journey Up India S Most Sacred River This Is An Account Of A Journey Taken In India. The Destination Is The Origin Of The Ganga, The Holiest And Most Famous Of Indian Rivers. It Is A Physical Journey, Involving Months Of Trekking Through Forested Valleys And Snow-Covered Mountains. It Is Also A Journey Of The Spirit, Taking A Man Deep Into The Heart And Soul Of India S Ancient Religion. Stephen Alter, Who Was Born In The Himalayan Foothills, Crosses Many Miles And Several Millennia, To Search For The Source Of Hindu Religion. Along The Way, As He Reaches One Holy Spot After Another, Meeting Grounds For Pilgrims, Remote Towns And Forgotten Temples He Delves Into The Myths And Traditions Of Ancient Temples. He Explores Tales From The Epics, The Intimate Connection Between Natural History And Mystical Experience, And The Sacred Wisdom That Animates The Religious Legacy Of India. As Every Pilgrim Learns, A Spiritual Search Involves Travel, But Ultimately Returns To The Inner Self. Sacred Waters Is A Richly Told, Compelling Narrative Of A Whole Civilization And Of A Man S Interior Journey.

A Pilgrimage to the Many Sources of the Ganga

Sacred Waters

On India's frontier with Tibet, peace is just a façade and security a myth. The sleepy Himalayan hill station of Mussoorie, near India's border with Tibet, is home to an eclectic mix of residents including Tibetan refugees and former guerrilla fighters, foreign missionaries, Indian military, tourists, and spies. Here, in a top secret facility facing the snow-clad Himalayas, India's legendary spymaster, Colonel Imtiaz Afridi, keeps a watchful eye on sensitive high-altitude borders. Having been a mountaineer in his youth, Afridi once climbed many of these peaks, including Rataban, a mountain with a treacherous history. When an American agent is shot dead in Mussoorie, both the CIA and India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), dispatch undercover agents to investigate. The American's death is quickly linked to the slayings of two Indo-Tibetan Border Police guards, suggesting possible Chinese infiltration. Working with Afridi is the brilliant junior analyst, Annapurna "Anna" Tagore, who helps him unravel these clues and other disturbing signs that something dangerous is brewing. When more violent acts shatter Mussoorie's calm, the CIA and RAW have no choice but to team up. Soon Afridi and the young Indian and American agents are piecing together a bloody conspiracy of revenge and murder that could shake the very foundations of world peace.

A Novel

The Rataban Betrayal

An “engaging international thriller” set on India's rugged Tibetan frontier (Kirkus Reviews). The sleepy Himalayan hill station of Mussoorie is home to everyone from Tibetan refugees and former guerrilla fighters to missionaries, tourists, and spies. It is there, in a top-secret facility, that Indian spymaster Colonel Imtiaz Afridi keeps a watchful eye on the high-altitude border. When an American agent is killed in Mussoorie, both the CIA and India’s Research and Analysis Wing dispatch their own agents to investigate. The American's death is quickly linked to the slayings of two Indo-Tibetan Border Police guards, suggesting possible Chinese involvement. Working with the brilliant junior analyst Anna Tagore, Afridi works to unravel a series of seemingly disparate clues. When more blood is shed, the CIA and RAW have no choice but to team up—and the experienced Afridi finds himself leading both Indian and American agents and piecing together a bloody conspiracy that goes far higher than any mountain.

Chronicles the author's journey up the Ganges River in search of the headwaters of this most sacred of Indian waterways, exploring ancient myths, remote towns, long-lost temples, and the way of the pilgrim.

A Pilgrimage Up the Ganges River to the Source of Hindu Culture

A spiritual journey up India's most sacred river This is an account of a journey taken in India. The destination is the origin of the Ganga, the holiest and most famous of Indian rivers. It is a physical journey, involving months of trekking through forested valleys and snow-covered mountains. It is also a journey of the spirit, taking a man deep into the heart and soul of India's ancient religion. Stephen Alter, who was born in the Himalayan foothills, crosses many miles and several millennia, to search for the source of Hindu religion. Along the way, as he reaches one holy spot after another, meeting grounds for pilgrims, remote towns and forgotten temples, he delves into the myths and traditions of ancient temples. He explores tales from the epics, the intimate connection between natural history and mystical experience, and the sacred wisdom that animates the religious legacy of India. As every pilgrim learns, a spiritual search involves travel, but ultimately returns to the inner self. Sacred Waters is a richly told, compelling narrative of a whole civilization and of a man's interior journey.

Lost in the jungle... surrounded by wildlife and magic! Welcome to the Secret Sanctuary A magical jungle where laughing thrushes brush against your cheek and barking deer stop to be petted; an enchanting wilderness where you can tug a monkey’s tail or share a den with a mountain bear. Or go in search of a rare mountain quail. Or listen to a concert at dawn. Or walk through a spider’s web as if it wasn’t there. Or follow a blood trail through the jungle. This idyllic world is a natural paradise. There is only one catch. Once you enter, you may never be able to go back.

The Secret Sanctuary

Twenty classic short stories from master writers across the country This superb collection contains some of the best Indian short stories written in the last fifty years, both in English and in the regional languages. Some of these stories – ‘We Have Arrived in Amritsar’ by Bhisham Sahni, ‘Companions’ by Raja Rao, ‘The Sky and the Cat’ by U.R. Anantha Murthy, ‘A Devoted Son’ by Anita Desai – have been widely anthologized and are well known. Others, like Premendra Mitra’s ‘The Discovery of Telenapota’, Gangadhar Gadgil’s ‘The Dog that Ran in Circles’, Mowni’s ‘A Loss of Identity’, O.V. Vijayan’s ‘The Wart’ and Devanuru Mahadeva’s ‘Amasa’, are less familiar to readers but are nevertheless classics of the art of the short story. This new and revised edition includes three additional classics: R.K. Narayan’s ‘Another Community’, Avinash Dolas’s ‘The Victim’ and Ismat Chughtai’s ‘The Wedding Shroud’. The Penguin Book of Modern Indian Short Stories is a marvellous and entertaining introduction to the rich diversity of pleasures that the Indian short story–a form that has produced masters in over a dozen languages–can offer.

The Penguin Book of Modern Indian Short Stories

When two modern-day kids discover a grotesque secret in an abandoned mailbox, they have no idea they are about to be drawn into a mystery that began on the other side of the world. Through the help of an English genie and a phantom postman, the two children begin to communicate with another boy, a young calligrapher's apprentice who lived 125 years ago in an Indian village. Writing back and forth, across continents and centuries, the three children eventually realize the possibility of changing history by delivering three letters that were never received. If they can make sure these lost letters reach those for whom they were intended, love may be restored, the life of a kidnapped child could be saved, and a secret agent might be able to prevent a pointless war.

Ghost Letters

A firsthand look inside the world's largest film industry examines the world of Bombay, India, films, following the making of a Bollywood version of Othello, examining the vast popularity of Hindi movies, detailing the unique rituals and culture of the Bollywood moviemaking industry, and profiling key actors, directors, musicians, and others. Original.

Stephen Alter

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