Frank Kingdon-Ward By Kenneth Cox

FRANK KINGDON WARD’S RIDDLE OF THE TSANGPO GORGES. Edited by Kenneth Cox. Pp. 319, many colour and b/e illustrations, maps and sketches, 2001. (The Antique Collector’s Club, Suffolk, GBP 35).

The eastern Himalaya, east of Bhutan, which was earlier known as the Assam Himalaya or NEFA (North East Frontier Agency) have always remained closed to travellers even today. These thickly forested areas were difficult to travel and were inhabited by hostile tribes. Yet they were a botanical paradise. There were many mysteries in these lands. The remote Tawang, the Tsangpo gorge and the tri-junction of China, Myanmar and India.

One person among others who took keen interest in these areas was F. Kingdon Ward, the botanist who wrote several books to encompass his travels for what he called ‘Plant Hunting on the Edge of the World’. In 1950s he travelled extensively to gather plants and bring back knowledge of the wealth of these places. His books, rare to find today in print, narrate all the journeys.

He paid special attention to the Tsangpo gorge. The Tsangpo, originating near Manasarovar Lake traverses across the Tibetan plateau to the east. It meets the gigantic walls of Namcha Barwa, and after making a huge southerly turn the Tsangpo rivers falls steeply to cut through the Himalayan chain and enter the Indian territories as the Lohit river. It forms a magnificent gorge with several waterfalls. This river, the fall, and the gorge were a mystery, which were sought to be solved by Pandit Kinthup, of Survey of India. Today, though modern map making has solved many mysteries, the fall of Tsangpo was visited only in late 1990s.

The Riddle of the Tsangpo Gorges, published in 1926, describes what was undoubtedly Frank Kingdon Ward’s most ambitious and successful expedition of the many he made in the course of a long career as a plant-hunter. Several of Kingdon Ward books have been reprinted but for some reason this one remained out of print for many years, and few copies which have changed hands have commanded a very high prices. Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in the Tsangpo Gorge area, from Chinese scientists, foreign explorers, plant hunters , canoeists and mountaineers.
So writes Kenneth Cox in introduction to this book. This is a reprint with many additional information, photos and references. This book narrates that journey to the fall, recalls the travels of F. Kingdon Ward in detail. Lavishly produced in a large format, it contains historic pictures and is well edited with interesting present day narratives added. Though expensively priced, for those interested in Arunachal Pradesh (as NEFA is now known as a state of India) it is an invaluable guide and a book to possess.

The area of Tsangpo gorge is still unexplored and due to political and military considerations, remains out of bound to most. Charles Allen ending the chapter on the Tsangpo Gorge states:

Since Kingdon Ward’s day there have been no significant advances. The Tsangpo gorge still guards its secrets, and will continue to do so until the last great Asian adventure – a journey all the way up the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra from the Assam valley to the Tibetan plateau – a undertaken.

(A Mountain in Tibet, by Charles Allen)

As this book recalls it is a paradise for botanical researches, plant hunters and hopefully, someday soon for explorers.

Harish Kapadia

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