Paradise Found, Paradise Lost
I read 'The Lost Horizon' for the first time when I was in 9th standard. I was going through a very rough phase at that time (as most teenagers do). And the book had a huge impact on me. Shangri-La was just what my troubled mind and heart really needed at that time!The beginning of the book is intriguing enough. Some colonial friends meet up for dinner and reminisce about an old friend, 'Glory' Conway, who was one of the victims of a hush-hush hijack case and was never heard of again. However as it turns out, one of the guys, Rutherford, had met Conway after the hijack and had written a manuscript about Conway's adventures and he hands over the manuscript to the author, who in turn recounts it to us.
During a political evacuation, a special plane carrying a diplomat (Hugh Conway), his assistant (Mallinson), a Christian evangelist (Miss Brinklow) and an American, traveling incognito, (Barnard) is flown off the course by a pilot who, initially, seems to have lost his sanity. However as time progresses and with certain events it becomes clear that it is not an accident but a case of hijacking and a planned one at that. Eventually when the pilot crashes the plane and dies in the crash, the foursome are stranded in deep Himalayas, miles away from civilization. To their surprise, a rescue party approaches them soon after their crash landing and they are taken to Shangri-La, a lamasery with its limited habitation. Its in the middle of nowhere and access to civilization is extremely difficult and not encouraged. And so the four rescuees become unwilling prisoners of the lamasery and thus begin their adventures at Shangri-La...
The author has built the whole atmosphere in the 'Valley of the Blue Moon' beautifully. You get awed by the Blue Mountain, fall in love with the beautiful valley on a full moon night. Chang gives you the creeps every time he smiles his benign smile. Every minute with the High Lama is so peaceful. Lo-Tsen's fragile beauty makes your heart ache. Shangri-La definitely has more to it than meets the eye. And the four different personalities of the main characters lend different dimensions and perspectives to the experience they all share at Shangri-La.
The lamas' philosophy of 'moderation in everything, including moderation' and the longevity of the monks at the lamasery, redefined the concept of Time for me. Shangri-La gives you the time to just BE. And I think everybody wants that at some point in time. On a personal front, I could totally empathize with Conway. His stoic state was what I was trying to achieve at that time and was almost there. But at the same time, I could understand Mallinson's insecurity about the unknown and his reaction on knowing it.
'Lost Horizon' is not a classical adventure tale. Its more a philosophical kind of adventure. The end haunts you for days after you finish the book, the title couldn't have been more apt.
And you start the search of your own Shangri-La...
posted by Ila @ 11:08 AM
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