Yesterday evening I finished reading Peter Matthiessen’s ‘The Snow Leopard’, for the third time. No matter how many times I read it I always find something new in this wonderful book. TSL is about Matthiessen’s journey in the snowbound mountains of the Himalayas in search of the elusive Snow Leopard. I feel it is one of the few travel/adventure books that have been very well written and widely appreciated.
It is as much a spiritual journey as a physical one through difficult but beautiful terrain in the company of Dr. George Schaller and their porters. Matthiessen wrote the book so well that when I read it I felt I was with him trekking on treacherous ledges and paths of the mountains with a heavy load on my back and taking in the sights he so beautifully describes. There is much about Buddhism in the book and also about human nature. His poignant descriptions about his wife’s death and the nature of the porters who come along with him are done in a language I haven’t read before.
Incredibly enough, I found this 300 + pages book at Abids a couple of years ago for only ten rupees and I find it is worth several times what I paid for it. It is a priceless treasure. When I read it I feel like leaving everything behind and going on a similar trek to find out more about myself. Living in a city surrounded by family and luxuries dulls the sensitivities and it puts you in a complacent mood. Such journeys tend to put things in their proper perspective.
Peter Matthiessen’s ‘Snow Leopard’ is one book no person who loves adventure and travel as much as life itself, can afford not to read.
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