Drunken Boat / Fortunate Traveller Press has released Bhutan, a multi-genre work that combines poetry, photography, and prose to explore the Himalayan kingdom often called the world's last Shangri-La. The book features the chiselled poetry and evocative photography of Sudeep Sen alongside the sharp, exploratory prose of Ravi Shankar, two acclaimed writers of South Asian origin who traveled to Bhutan and returned with a portrait far more complicated than the official narrative of happiness.
Nestled in the eastern Himalayas, Bhutan has long cultivated its image as a nation that measures prosperity through Gross National Happiness rather than GDP. In Bhutan, Shankar approaches this claim with wit, analytical rigour, and genuine wonder, tracing the country's modernizing monarchy, its Buddhist heritage, and the complicated textures beneath the glossy surface. His prose moves with curiosity and candour, absorbing landscapes and sacred sites without surrendering critical intelligence.
Sen's poetry and photography provide a stunning counterpoint. Spare, musical, and visually arresting, his couplets operate as short flashes of organic form—obsessed with colour, texture, and the sacred. His photographs of prayer flags, monasteries, and mountain light carry the same lyric precision as his verse, making the book a genuinely integrated work of art. Together, the two writers create a two-voiced, multi-modal portrait of a country at the crossroads of tradition and transformation.
The book has garnered praise from notable figures. Actress Shabana Azmi called it 'a unique and personal multi-genre book' that brings alive aspects of Bhutan 'that only true artists can excavate and paint in their own signature styles.' Dasho Kinley Dorji described it as 'an elegant treasure trove that captures and displays what is special about our country.' Poet Diane Mehta noted that 'Shankar's wit and his sceptical commentary is a foil for Sen's delicate musical poetry,' while Amit Majmudar praised the 'sheen of eudemonic delight and heightened astonished awareness' that adheres to the book.
Ravi Shankar, author of 18 books including the memoir Correctional, teaches at Tufts University and is founding editor-in-chief of Drunken Boat. Sudeep Sen, author of over 25 books, is an internationally acclaimed poet, editor, and photographer. The Government of India awarded him a senior fellowship for outstanding persons in the field of culture and literature. Sen is the first Asian to deliver the Derek Walcott Lecture and read at the Nobel Laureate Festival.
Bhutan is available on Amazon as a trade paperback in full colour. The book challenges readers to look beyond the myth of the happiest country and engage with the real, living complexities of a nation at a crossroads.
