Where are they Now? JAN SALTER

And where do you keep your Jan Salters?

At our Seattle home, we have six of framed portrait sketches in our living room. They are well-admired by our family and visitors, and we do enjoy them all these years . These are so precious to us, we commissioned specially a bamboo frame-style consistent with all the ones we have, through a framing shop in Bangkok.

Jan is also author of Faces of Nepal, in collaboration with the famed Nepali scholar, Dr. Harka Gurung (Himal Books, 1999, Rs 2,1502).

Three years back, Dr. Gurung died in a helicopter crash in Taplejung District in Eastern Nepal. He was born in the shadow of the snow peaks of Manasulu and Himalchuli looming large just 24 kilometres north of the village Taranche. This natural landscape of birthplace not only developed in him a sense of "belongingness" to the location throughout his life but also opened up the path to becoming a good geographer in the future. His Ph.D. dissertation, was on "The Valley of Pokhara: Prolegomena to a Regional Study" at the University of Edinburgh. His writings crossed disciplinary boundaries, including contributions to sociology, anthropology, population, economics, history, political science and development studies.

David met him when he was associated with ICIMOD, in the early eighties. I had occasion to assist him in 2000 as a fresh Chief Librarian of ESCAP, and he was doing a number of research projects as Director of the Asia and Pacific Development Centre based in Kuala Lumpur.

Jan Salter's work focuses on faces of Nepal. They are truly a reflection of the diverse faces, castes, tribes, and other categories found in the country, as a function of its geography and history. Dr. Harka Gurung knows those faces better than most of us. He has the viewpoint of a geographier, planner, a politician and an intellectual.

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