Drunken Boat / Fortunate Traveller Press has announced the publication of Bhutan, a multi-genre collaboration that combines poetry, photography, and prose to explore the Himalayan kingdom beyond its popular image as 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, both acclaimed writers of South Asian origin.
Nestled in the eastern Himalayas, Bhutan has long cultivated its image as the happiest country on Earth, a kingdom that measures prosperity not in GDP but in Gross National Happiness. In Bhutan, Shankar approaches that 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 of official narrative. 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 Bhutan's 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 described it as 'a unique and personal multi-genre book' that brings alive aspects of Bhutan 'that only true artists can excavate.' Dasho Kinley Dorji called it 'an elegant treasure trove that captures what is special about our country.' Poet Amit Majmudar noted that 'a sheen of eudemonic delight and heightened astonished awareness adheres to this book.'
Ravi Shankar is the author of 18 books, including the memoir Correctional (University of Wisconsin Press). A Pushcart Prize and Glenna Luschei Prize award winner, his work has appeared in The Paris Review, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The New York Times. He 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/literature.' Sen is the first Asian honoured to deliver the Derek Walcott Lecture and read at the Nobel Laureate Festival.
Bhutan is published by Drunken Boat / Fortunate Traveller Press (ISBN: 978-0-9882416-3-7) and is available on Amazon at Amazon link. The trade paperback is priced at $29.95 and features full colour throughout.
