Shivaji Das

Shivaji Das

Travel writer

Shivaji Das is the author of four travel memoirs and photography books. His latest book is The ‘Other’ Shangri-La: Journey through the Sino-Tibetan Frontier in Sichuan by Konark Publishers (India, USA). Shivaji’s work has been featured in TIME, Economist, BBC, Asian Geographic, etc. He is the conceptualiser of the Global Migrant Festival and Migrant and Refugee Poetry Contests and is the managing director-APAC for Frost & Sullivan, a research and consulting company.

The Larung Gar, a community in Sertar County of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Sichuan, China.

The ‘other’ Shangri-La: A journey through western Sichuan

Shivaji Das, author of travelogue “The ‘Other’ Shangri-la: Journeys through the Sino-Tibetan Frontier in Sichuan”, captures vignettes of life in the picturesque mountains of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan. At the end of his journey, he asks: Would Shangri-La become indistinguishable from Disneyland? Would Han cultural hegemony obliterate every other peculiarity once a mesh of high-speed trains, all-weather roads, and Weibo accounts spread out in the region? Or would an environment of mutual trust, understanding, and accommodation be established?