An abundantly illustrated journey through one of the world's most diverse and fascinating regions. Although India's northeastern administrative region makes up only eight percent of India's land area, it is home to some 140 indigenous tribes, each with its own unique culture. The terrain, predominantly hilly, ranges from snow-capped peaks to tropical rainforests. Now, for the first time, noted authors and filmmakers Dipti Bhalla Verma and Shiv Kunal Verma provide a comprehensive introduction to this little-known yet captivating part of the world. Verma and Verma conduct us from the towering Kanchenjunga massif in Sikkim to the tea plantations of Assam, to the astonishing biodiversity of Arunachal Pradesh, to the martial tribes and Baptist churches of Nagaland, to the birthplace of polo in Manipur, to the living root bridges of Meghalaya, to the farms nestled among the hills of Tripura and Mizoram. They take us into the lives of the many peoples of these eight states, who maintain their traditional customs and beliefs even in the face of growing ecological threats. Featuring more than 300 colour photographs and several detailed maps, Life and Culture in Northeast India will be an essential volume for anyone interested in the peoples and places of Planet Earth.

This one-of-a-kind book, more than seven years in the making, is a dramatic photoexploration of the Indian subcontinent from the air. The breathtaking visuals, many of them photographed from over 30,000 feet from the cockpit of MIG fighter planes, and others from AN-12 transporters and MI-8 choppers, are a poetic mosaic of the stunning variety of India's entire landscape -- from ocean to sky. The Andaman Islands and the Indian Ocean in the south, the rain forests of the western coastline, the sparkling harbours of Goa, Rajasthan's golden sands, hamlets and tea plantations of the jungles in the North-east, the mighty peaks, glaciers and rivers of the Himalayas -- all combine in a profusion of kaleidoscopic images to make an awe-inspiring statement of the earth as art.