Karavansara

East of Constantinople, West of Shanghai

Tag Archives: India


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Hobson-Jobson

Sir Henry Yule was a Scottish gentleman and an army man who – among other things – translated in English Il Milione, Marco Polo’s travelogue and indispensable Silk Road narrative.
Arthur Coke Burnell (yes, his middle name was really Coke) was an expert in the Sanskrit language, but he was also handy with Tibetan, Arabic, Kawi, Javanese and Coptic.5746976-M A well-rounded scholar, so to speak.

These two fine gentlemen got together and in 1886 published a wonderful book which is called Hobson-Jobson or, to be more precise and wonderfully Victorian, Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive.
And no kidding.

So, yes, the Hobson-Jobson had nothing to do with any gentleman ever named Hobson, or, for that matter, Jobson.
Sure, a guy called William Crooke also did some later work on it, but no Jobsons, or Hobsons, at all.
What gives? Continue reading →


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Himalaya

cover39953-mediumI’ve just had the opportunity of browsing a copy of Philip Parker’s Himalaya, and I’m absolutely impressed.
The subtitle – The Exploration & Conquest of the Greatest Mountains on Earth – gives a good idea of what’s to be expected.
But the quality of the volume is surprising.

The book, published by Conway, is an absolutely gorgeous, one-stop reference on the geography and history of the Himalayan chain, featuring concise but nicely varied chapters on the major topics and a selection of great images.

Mountain climbers provide extra contents by remiscing on their experiences, while specialist authors cover geology, geography, politics and related topics.
The foreword is by Peter Hilary.

Himalaya is available both in hard-copy and in digital format – but I guess a color-able ereader or a tablet are indispensable to appreciate the graphic contents of this book.

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