Sep 14 2025 to Sep 14 2025 6 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Sherpas in Darjeeling have long been at the heart of Himalayan mountaineering, yet their histories have rarely been told from their own perspective.

In this event, we bring together Nandini Purandare and Deepa Balsavar in conversation on their book The Sherpa Trail (Roli Books, 2024; international edition Headstrap, Mountaineers Books, Seattle). The discussion will be moderated by Vasumathi Srinivasan, and will explore how the book gathers the experiences of Sherpas across generations—guides, workers, climbers—whose lives shaped the history of high-altitude mountaineering.

The book has received wide recognition, including the Climbing Writing Award at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, Canada, 2024, the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature at Kendal Mountain Festival, UK 2024, the Kalinga Award for Non-Fiction, 2025, the Kekoo Naoroji Book Award for Mountain Writing, chosen by a panel of international mountaineers and writers, 2025, and the Indies Gold Medal in the Adventure Category, USA, 2025. It was also selected for the INDIES North America list of outstanding books by librarians and booksellers. Significantly, in its 42-year history, this is the first time the Boardman Tasker Award has honoured non-Western authors.

A Q&A with the audience will follow the discussion.

The Himalayan Club
The Himalayan Club, founded in 1928, is one of the earliest mountaineering clubs to have been established in the sub-continent for promotion of adventure and mountaineering. The club has presence across the country and outside too. The club’s objectives is not confined to just mountain climbing but to a much wider range of interest and activities related to mountain world like publications, awards, lectures, social activities, sponsorships and mountain film festivals. First published in 1928, The Himalayan Journal (THj) has achieved a world -wide recognition as the most reliable reference on the Himalaya, Karakoram and the Hindukush. Members of the club include some of the most famous and decorated mountaineers and explorers in India and abroad. The club would soon be celebrating its centenary year with a series of activities!

Speakers

Nandini Purandare
Economist & Writer
Nandini Purandare is an economist by training and a writer by choice. An avid trekker and traveller for over 45 years, she and her husband Dinesh introduced their children to the mountains at a very young age. As a natural extension of this love, Nandini became involved in the functioning of The Himalayan Club,

becoming co-editor of The Himalayan Journal in 2010 and taking on full responsibility for this prestigious publication in 2013. She continues to be the Hon editor of the journal and in 2024 was also chosen as President of The Himalayan Club, an institution that has enjoyed an uninterrupted existence

since it was first established in 1928 to promote knowledge, love and protection of the Himalaya.

Deepa Balsavar
Writer & Illustrator
Deepa Balsavar is a multi-award-winning writer and illustrator of children’s books. Her books have been translated into several languages and in 2019 she was honoured with Parag’s Big Little Book award for her contribution to the field of children’s illustration in India. She is currently an adjunct associate professor at IDC, The School of Design at IITB. Nandini and Deepa are dear friends who have known and worked together since the early 1990s developing teaching-learning material primarily for municipal schools in Mumbai as part of the path-breaking Avehi-Abacus Project. Nandini still works with the organisation.

Vasumathi Srinivasan
Senior Mountaineer & Trek Leader
Vasumathi Srinivasan is one of the senior women mountaineers from Karnataka. She recently completed the Fit at 50+ Trans-Himalayan expedition, where 15 women traversed 4,900 kilometres from Arunachal Pradesh to Drass in Ladakh under the leadership of legendary mountaineer Bachendri Pal.

She leads treks every year in the Himalayas and actively encourages others to take up climbing. A Lifetime Individual Member of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) and a Life Member of the Karnataka Mountaineering Association (KMA), Vasumathi has also participated in numerous climbing and trekking expeditions across the Himalaya.