Drunken Boat / Fortunate Traveller Press has announced the publication of Bhutan, a multi-genre collaboration by Sudeep Sen and Ravi Shankar that blends poetry, photography, and prose to explore the Himalayan kingdom beyond its popular image as the world's last Shangri-La. The book, available on Amazon, offers a nuanced portrait of a nation at the crossroads of tradition and modernization.
Nestled in the eastern Himalayas, Bhutan has long promoted itself as measuring prosperity through Gross National Happiness rather than GDP. Shankar's prose approaches this claim with wit and analytical rigor, tracing the country's modernizing monarchy and Buddhist heritage while probing the complicated textures beneath the glossy surface of official narratives. His writing absorbs landscapes and sacred sites without surrendering critical intelligence, offering readers a candid travelogue that balances wonder with skepticism.
Sen's poetry and photography provide a stunning counterpoint. His spare, musical couplets operate as short flashes of organic form, obsessed with color, 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." Dasho Kinley Dorji described it as "an elegant treasure trove" capturing what is special about the country. Poet Amit Majmudar noted a "sheen of eudemonic delight and heightened astonished awareness" that adheres to the book, praising Shankar's "loving but analytical approach" and Sen's "vivid images, both visual and poetic."
Ravi Shankar, author of 18 books including the memoir Correctional, is a Pushcart Prize winner whose work has appeared in The Paris Review and The New York Times. He teaches at Tufts University and serves as Founding Editor-in-Chief of Drunken Boat. Sudeep Sen, author of over 25 books, is an internationally acclaimed poet and photographer whose work has appeared in The Times Literary Supplement and The Guardian. The Government of India awarded him a senior fellowship for "outstanding persons in the field of culture/literature."
Bhutan is published in trade paperback format at $29.95 and is available on Amazon. The book defies easy categorization, operating as part travelogue, part lyric meditation, and part photographic essay. It represents a literary reckoning with place, beauty, and the stories nations tell about themselves, offering readers a deeper understanding of a country often reduced to a single metric of happiness.
