Tibet and across the Himalaya to Kathmandu

In 1980 UNU representatives were involved in the second only excursion by foreigners to Tibet. Extensive travels were based on Lhasa. In the old town we made some of the first encounters with the local citizens since before Mao Zedong's defeat of the Kuomintang in 1949. This photograph was virtually an accident in that I was holding the Hasselblad at hip-level. Surprising the two, presumably father and daughter, I instinctively released the shutter, not sure until after processing the film that they were even on the frame. Later photographs, for which the couple gladly posed, did not compare. In contrast to No. 34, this photograph was deliberately posed. Alone in the shadow of the Jokhung Temple, the welcome I met was so tumultuous that bodily contact left me unable to focus. Taking the lady firmly by the shoulders I managed to increase the distance between her and the lens to more than minimum that the f=80 mm Zeiss Planar needed.

It was a great privilege to be able to explore the Potala before the first surge of tourists. Repairs and re-painting were well underway, although the giant edifice was eerily empty. A monument to generations of Tibetan religious devotion and cultural evolution, this symbolic building is surely one of the jewels in the crown of world architectural heritage. It would be better preserved if it were part of a living tradition rather than a lifeless tourist trap.

34  One-legged man and small girl, Lhasa (June, 1980)

 35  Tibetan lady with radishes (June, 1980) 36  The Potala, Lhasa, (June, 1980)
  Situated high on the Plateau, this object of considerable interest interrupted one of our reconnaissance excursions in 1980. While barely possible to be passed off as a geological formation, it represents the ruins of a fortified settlement standing in an utterly degraded plain with limited vegetation growth. It posed questions such as: how many years have passed since it was occupied, and by whom? is it not an early example of unsustainable development in a fragile mountain environment? Landscape change between that unknown period of the distant past and today is cause for reflection. Interpretation of present-day mountain landscapes requires historical depth. In the far distance we could see the north side of the Himalaya and the approach to our journey down from dry hypoxic plateau to the lushness of Nepal during the summer monsoon.  
  37  Forgotten Habitation on the Plateau (June, 1980)  
     

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