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In this groundbreaking study, anthropologist Fisher analyses the external forces that impact this isolated and otherwise self-sufficent community in western Nepal.
James Fisher combines the strengths of technical anthropology, literary memoir, and striking photography in this telling study of rapid social change in Himalayan Nepal. The author first visited the Sherpas of Nepal when he accompanied Sir Edmund Hilary on the Himalayan Schoolhouse Expedition of 1964. Returning to the Everest region several times during the 1970s and 1980s, he discovered that the construction of the schools had far less impact than one of the by-products of their building: a short-take-off-and-landing airstrip. By reducing the time it took to travel between Kathmandu and the Everest region from a hike of several days to a 45-minute flight, the airstrip made a rapid increase in tourism possible. Beginning with his impressions of Sherpa society in pre-tourist days, Fisher traces the trajectory of contemporary Sherpa society reeling under the impact of modern education and mass tourism, and assesses the Sherpa's concerns for their future and how they believe these problems should be and eventually will be resolved.
Living Martyrs details the life histories of two important Nepalis, Tanka Prasad Acharya and his wife Rewanta Kumari. Tanka Prasad was the founder of the first Nepali political party, and was imprisoned for ten years for his complicity in a plot to overthrow the Ranas. This is his story of a crusade against the autocratic Rana regime: it is also the story of Rewanta Kumari's struggle to keep the family together during the years of oppression and to further her husband's efforts in bringing an end to the rule of the Ranas. The author presents the life experiences of the Archaryas as narrated to him, which makes the book an excellent interactive biography. The parallel narratives of Tanka Prasad and Rewanta Kumari illustrate the gendered nature of history. James Fisher highlights the importance of oral narratives in the reconstruction of a balanced account of the past. Living Martyrs presents an overview of the various theoretical positions in the study of resistance. This book is a rich source for Nepali culture and a view of Nepali history from the political underside.