Oona

The year 2002 was the International Year of the Mountains. It is apt that this book about Oona, who lived her life trying to 'save the Himalayas', should come out close to this year.

This book is not a biography of Oona. Rather, it is about some facets of her personality and her chosen field of work; of her concerns, and caring, for the environment, for people, and doing something about those concerns; and, learning from practice how to do better. Do we not all have lessons to draw from her story?

Oona wanted to live in the mountain environment with the local people. She wanted to learn about their lives and aspirations, and work towards improving their lot, as well as restoring the health of the natural environment which sus tains their livelihoods. She was a role model for many of her generation, well-educated, who chose to move away from the cities to the rural areas where so much needs to be done.

This book about Oona is particularly welcome as it gives a very good idea of the flowering of not only her personality but also her passion for her chosen work. One does see writ ings of other young professionals' work of similar nature, but they are usually case studies or articles which seek to share specific experiences and perceptions and to invite comment and debate. Such writing is not on the same plane as this story about Oona - her fulfilling personal life and her work - and can rarely create the same kind of vibes in readers' minds. The story comes alive in the narration, characterised by rare em pathy and the same transparency that was Oona's.