Akshay Dashore
Definition: A blissful place imbued with delight and peace.
Pronunciation: Shan-gri-la
Origin: James Hilton, author of Lost Horizon, coined this word and used it in the year of 1937. Hilton described its etymology by parsing the word Shangri-la into Shang (a Tibetan district), ri (mountain) and la (pass). Amalgamating the three makes it Shang Mountain pass (Tibet). Many scholars believe that Shangri-La is Shambhala, a mythical kingdom in Tibetan Buddhist tradition, which was sought by Eastern and Western explorers.
Why this word?
Here is a yet another mellifluous word in the league of its dulcet synonyms viz. Elysian, utopia, ethereal and empyrean. Any location or place that renders you with a halcyon and peace instilling atmosphere can be called as Shangri-la. Actually, we all have our own Shangri-las.
If you resort to a particular place which helps you in healing or soothing your incorporeal cicatrix, that place is your Shangri-la. While listening to your favorite song, you ambulate in the joyful world that that song creates- you are actually in your Shangri-la. Whatever alleviates your burden is your Shangri-la.
Rambling a bit and thinking about it in a different way, it can also be used as a beacon for suggesting exemplary conditions. Let us take an example.
Consider a Company that doesn’t have much work for computer engineers, yet they lavishly remunerate them.
Inference- That Company is a Shangri-la for Computer Engineers.
How to use Shangri-la in sentence?
Shangri-la is a place you love, a place which lifts your spirits to the pinnacle, and brings a smile on your face exterminating all the malefic thoughts.
“Look! Tracy is smiling at her sleep. She ought to be at her Shangri-la.”
