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Book Review: You, Me and Annapurna by Dr. M. Gayathri

You, Me and Annapurna by Dr. M. Gayathri provides fascinating account of journey of a group of doctors to the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). The book is easy to read and one can take notes of the events with full gusto. It’s a part memoir and part guiding book on journey to the Himalayas. However, in its backdrop author’s religious and spiritual beliefs runs like banter. Thus, for a reason it has a punch line – a mystical journey.


The author hails from the medical field, one of the busiest professions in India. Her husband and she get a WhatsApp message about ABC trekking. Much to their luck, they find solace in their group captain Dr. Hemanth. It was his proper guidance that made the journey materialized without any fuss and loss.

It’s not a fictional book. Dr. M. Gayathri considers this feat something as unthinkable, thus she penned down her raw experience about the Himalayas. Moreover, it was a calling from the great and mighty Himalayans. Well narrated in short 32 chapters, this book has the power to take readers through the real experiences of a journey to the Himalayas. Though the journey lasted for 10 days, however, readers will feel as they are travelling with them since a long time. The author laid out all information from idea to packing to trekking with stops and in fact everything in between lucidly. This book doesn’t confuse readers. Other than the personal story of the author, she also focused on the natural beauty that one witnesses while moving up. There are many pictures in the book that supports its inside content, and one feels spellbound to the book.

Dr. M. Gayathri glorified the Himalaya by quoting sholokas or references from various sources from time to time. It also gives the impression that the author did some homework before setting on a life-changing journey. Another good thing about the book is its information on Annapurna and cultural insights about Nepal. Many would be astonished to know the real meaning of Annapurna peak and the fact that it is one of the ‘eight thousanders’ among top 14 peaks in the world.

The people who were trekking were of different age, there were a fewer young people. They failed the age limit and went to win their own self-belief. Indeed such arduous yet adventurous journeys help one in exploring the self. The book is also about self-discovery. Journey to the ABC is neither straight nor a luxury, the author takes us first to Pokhara on a plane, and from there it was like hopping from one mountain to another – they planned and executed perfectly – for instance they covered destinations by gauging their altitude i.e. they reached Jhinnu Danda at 5770 ft. to Deurali at 10500 ft to ABC at 13500 ft. Isn’t it amazing secret that altitude covering matters while on one such a life-changing trekking journey into the Himalayas.

Since it is a straight book with a lot of insights, we recommend it to read it as paperback to enjoy it thoroughly. From the information point of view, the book is more than a planner diary. Dr. M. Gayathri provided her honest account in a lucid language, which makes this book highly readable. A non-fiction yet it grips the readers like anything. A brilliant coverage on mystical experiences of the Himalayas the ABC trekking endeavor.

Buy your copy from Amazon.

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