South Asia Book World

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	South Asia Book World A Free Email Newsletter sent only to subscribers from PILGRIMS BOOK HOUSE Asia's #1 Bookstore in Three Locations: Kathmandu, Patan & Varanasi International Edition. March 2001 Editor: Paul Wagner

IN THIS ISSUE

(1) Welcome
(2) Win a Free Sun Colouring Book
(3) Last Month's Contest Winners
(4) Festivals of India & Nepal
(5) Thomas Manning: Eccentric or Extraordinary?
(6) New Releases: Alternative Medicine
(7) Quotable Quotes on Animals
(8) Rare Books
(9) Free Quarterly Newsletter: Pilgrims News
(10) Publishing Opportunities
(11) Pilgrims Contact Details
(12) Subscription & Cancellation Information

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(1) WELCOME
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Every twelve years the world's largest gathering of people occurs on the
occasion of the Maha Kumbh Mela. This great Hindu religious festival
takes place on the banks of the Ganges in the northern Indian city of
Allahabad. Read more about this festival below in our article, "Festivals
of India & Nepal".

Thomas Manning was the first Englishman to visit the Tibetan capital of
Lhasa. Yet before this achievement many people regarded him as a brilliant
but hopeless eccentric with as much hope of reaching Lhasa as of travelling
to the moon. You'll find out more about Thomas Manning in our article
below.

Alternative medicine (such as Bach flower remedies; music as therapy; and
healing with foods, minerals and colours) are just some of the subjects
featured in the Pilgrims Pocket Series. See the "New Releases" section
below.

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(2) WIN A MAGNIFICENT SUN COLOURING BOOK
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Pilgrims is giving away THREE copies of "Surya, the Sun Colouring Book",
a beautiful colouring book which both adults and children will enjoy. Surya,
meaning "the sun", is a Sanskrit name. In ancient India, Surya was the sun god,
the great source of light and warmth, a manifestation of the divine light of heaven.

The twelve posters in this colouring book show many aspects of Surya in ancient India,
along with depictions of sun gods in Mayan Mexico and ancient Egypt. The designs in
this colouring book are printed on high quality cartridge for lasting results. Colour them
using crayons, pencil, pastel, acrylic, poster or water colour. Frame them, keep them, gift them!

Entries close on March 31 and winners will be announced on the website on April 15 and in the
next issue of this newsletter. Take a moment to visit the Pilgrims website at
http://www.pilgrimsbooks.com and enter this great contest.

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(3) CONTEST WINNERS
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Congratulations to the following people who were winners our January
contest (they have each been sent a copy of the book, "Princess Bhrikuti
Devi"):

-- Richard Brandt (United States);
-- Rosemarie Maziar (United States); and
-- Sudhir Kumar Singh (India)

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(4) FESTIVALS OF INDIA AND NEPAL
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Last month newspapers reported on that millions of Hindu pilgrims from far
and wide poured into the Allahabad in northern India to take part in the
famous Maha Kumbh Mela (Great Pitcher Festival).

The pilgrims, rich and poor, educated and illiterate, old and young, have
come to take a holy dip in the Ganges River at the "sangam" or confluence
of the three rivers -- the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mystical Saraswati.

The festival is a sea of humanity with up to twenty million people
attending the festival over a period of several weeks, making it the
world's largest gathering according to the Guiness Book of Records.

It is the sheer scale of the event with a spiritual communion of masses of
people that is so mind-boggling to witness.

The Maha Kumbh Mela is a spectacular show where different religious orders
stage processions to mark their arrival. Holy men in saffron robes sit on
gold thrones marching bands and loud speakers emit a never-ending refrain
troupes of "nagas" or holy men naked except for ash smeared on their bodies

Ordinary people in attitudes of silent prayer marigolds floating on the
river smoking incense sticks on the sand banks

According to Hindu myth, the gods were at war with the demon king, Bali.
Jayanta, son of Lord Indra, took some of the nectar of immortality in a
pitcher (kumbh). Jayanta was transformed into a large bird and tried to
take the pitcher safely to heaven, the abode of the gods. Chased by the
demons, he dropped some of the nectar at four places -- Nasik, Ujjain,
Haridwar, and Allahabad -- sanctifying those places forever.

The flight took 12 days (which is 12 years in human time). For this reason
Maha Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 12 years.

Like to read more about this famous festival and view dozens of spectacular
photographs of this amazing festival? Then obtain your copy of:

Kumbh Mela
by Raghubir Singh
Perennial Press, Hong Kong
ISBN: N000005632
Price $14.25
Shipping: Air $8.00, Sea $3.00
We can ship this book to you quickly!
To order, visit: http://www.pilgrimsbooks.com/ordering.html

Here are a few more worthwhile books on the festivals of India and Nepal:

*** Folk Festivals of Mithila
by Dr Ram Dayal Rakesh

*** Guide to Enjoying Nepalese Festivals: An Introduction Survey of
Religious Celebration in the Kathmandu Valley
by Jim Goodman

*** Rhythms of a Himalayan Village
by Hugh R Downs

To learn more, visit: http://www.pilgrimsbooks.com/festivals.html

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(5) THOMAS MANNING: ECCENTRIC OR EXTRAORDINARY?
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Thomas Manning was the first Englishman to visit the Tibetan capital of
Lhasa. Yet before this achievement many regarded him as a hopeless
eccentric with as much hope of reaching Lhasa as of travelling to the moon.

Manning was a brilliant academic and a friend of the essayist Charles Lamb
and the poets Wordsworth and Coleridge. He was a classical scholar versed
in Latin and Greek and taught mathematics and algebra at the university
level. While studying at Cambridge University he began to brood over the
mysterious empire of China and studied the language and arts of that
country. He resolved at all costs to enter China, at that time a country
firmly closed to foreigners.

Thomas Manning

He studied Chinese in Paris, then the European centre of Oriental studies.
When war broke out between France and England in 1803, such was the esteem
in which Manning was held among French orientalists and mathematicians that
he was the only Englishman to be allowed to leave France -- with a passport
personally signed by Napoleon.

With a letter of recommendation from the great scientific patron, Sir
Joseph Banks, in 1806 Manning sailed for Asia, where he resided first in
the East India Company trading outpost on the outskirts of Canton and later
in Calcutta. In Canton he immersed himself in Chinese culture, wrestling
with "veiled mysteries of the Chinese language" and even adopting Chinese
dress to the dismay of other expatriates. He also wore a full and flowing
beard.

Frustrated in his objective of entering China from Canton, he proceeded to
Calcutta in 1810 where he appealed for assistance from Lord Minto, the
Governor General of India. Unfortunately, he was ignored by the government
and was given no recognition of any kind. The result was that Manning
decided to undertake on his own and in disguise a journey to Tibet and
hopefully from there to Peking. Amazingly he succeeded in reaching Lhasa,
where he resided for several months and where he had interviews with the
Dalai Lama. Though he did not succeed in the rest of his plans, what he
actually did achieve places him in the first rank of English travellers.

Manning left a diary of his journey which was discovered and published 26
years after his death.

>>>>> Like to read the diary of Thomas Manning?
To find out more about this book and to place an order, visit:

http://www.pilgrimsbooks.com/travel_accounts_tibet.html

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(6) NEW RELEASES
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*** Scientific Healing With Foods, Minerals And Colors
by Ariel Gordon

The acquisition of a radiantly healthy body and an enlightened mind is
undoubtedly one of the greatest of human accomplishments. During recent
years many radical changes have been made in the realm of healing.
Progressive physicians everywhere are devoting their attention more and
more to natural therapies; cures are now being performed which were
impossible with the old drug system.
This book tells you how you can eat your fill and diet at the same time. It
also tells you very emphatically that drugless therapy is the best form of
treatment in the modern world, and that Nature is the perfect doctor.

33 pages. Paperback.
$US0.95. ISBN: 81-7769-017-5. Shipping: Sea/Air: $US 1.00 / $US 1.50

*** The Therapeutic Value Of Music
by Manly P Hall

Music therapy is still in an experimental stage, but data is fast
accumulating on this ancient art and it is gradually acquiring the status
of a modern science. Manly P Hall gives the background to how the ancients
discovered the cure for the ills from which we suffer today. He shows us
how music protects present-day tribal people all over the world from the
stress-related ailments now most common in modern society.

In this booklet you will also find how rhythm is used by a yogi to regulate
his body, and how music is linked with several aspects of the ancient
philosophies. It will also show you why the influence of music is more
powerful and continuous than that of other arts.

39 pages. Paperback.
$US 0.75. ISBN: 81-7769-020-5. Shipping: Sea/Air $US 1.00 / $US 1.50.

*** The Twelve Healers and Other Remedies
by Edward Bach

Bach believes that it is our own fears, anxieties and idiosyncracies that
give to diseases in us. "Let us seek these out and heal them, and with the
healing of them will go the diseases from which we suffer," exhorts the
author. He goes to prescribe the herbs which he thinks are "given unto us
by the Grace of the Creator of all." With simple and harmless remedies
prescribed by this staunch advocate of "Back-to-Nature", even the layman
may give emergency treatment, which can often be lifesaving.
The author, Dr Edward Bach, was a famous British doctor who discovered the
unique Bach Flower Remedies, which are 38 homeopathically-formulated plant
and flower-based remedies used to heal our fears, anxieties, worries,
faults and failings. Each remedy is used to treat a specific emotion. The
remedies help restore balance and overcome negative feelings which, if
untreated, can lead to bodily illness.
"To a physician guided by such principles as are enunciated by Dr Bach...
this book will be of inestimable value, as also to those sufferers who
search after the pure gold of self-knowledge and health." -- S Vasu

23 pages. Paperback.

$US0.50. ISBN: 81-7769-023-X. Shipping: Sea/Air $US 1.00 / $US 1.50.

>>>>> For more details on these new releases and to make an order, visit:
http://www.pilgrimsbooks.com/health_medicine.html

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(7) QUOTABLE QUOTES ON ANIMALS
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"To the ant a few drops of rain are a flood" (Japan)

"Buddha can be found even in the cat" (China)

"A vain dog barks every evening" (Nepal)

"Donkey races are held where there are no horses." (Tibet)

"One swallow does not make a summer." (England)

>>>>> These quotes taken from:
The Pilgrims Proverbs from the Animal Kingdom
Compiled by Kesar Lall

See: http://www.pilgrimsbooks.com/proverbs_quotations.html

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(8) RARE BOOKS
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Pilgrims Book House stocks over 30,000 volumes of old & rare books: on
many subjects and in a number of languages, including English, French,
German, Sanskrit, Hindi and Nepali. If you are a collector, email us at
mailto:rarebooks@pilgrims.wlink.com.np for title searches and book lists.

"The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading old
ones." --Joseph Joubert (1754-1824)

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(9) FREE NEWSLETTER
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Keep up-to-date with the latest book news from India and Nepal, including
news of recent Pilgrims publications. Each fully illustrated, 8-page issue
of PILGRIMS NEWS is full of interesting articles and reviews by Indian,
Nepali and foreign writers and critics. PILGRIMS NEWS is mailed every 3
months. For a free subscription, send an email with your full name and
address in the message field with the word "Subscribe" in the subject field
to: mailto:pn@pilgrims.wlink.com.np
.
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(10) PUBLISHING OPPORTUNITIES
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PILGRIMS PUBLISHING (together with its predecessor companies, Pilgrims
Book House (Publishing), Book Faith India and Pilgrims Books Pvt. Ltd.) has
published over 350 quality titles on Nepal, Tibet and India. If you are an
author and have interest in publishing or co-publishing a new work,
especially on a topic relating to Nepal, Tibet and India, please email your
inquiry to: mailto:pilgrims@satyam.net.in .

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(11) PILGRIMS CONTACT DETAILS
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PILGRIMS BOOK HOUSE / PILGRIMS PUBLISHING
Thamel, P.O. Box 3872, Kathmandu, Nepal

Business Office: +977-1-425919
Book Shop: + 977-1-424942
24-Hour Fax: +977-1-424943

Mail Order: mailto:mailorder@pilgrims.wlink.com.np
General Business Office: mailto:pilgrims@wlink.com.np

Visit us Online: http://www.pilgrimsbooks.com

Member of the Nepal Booksellers and Publishers Association
Honorary Member of the Federation of Educational Publishers in India
Participant American Express 'Guarantee of Satisfaction' Program

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(12) SUBSCRIPTION & CANCELLATION INFORMATION
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Copyright (C) 2001
Pilgrims Publishing Nepal Pvt. Ltd.
All Rights Reserved
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