Drunken Boat / Fortunate Traveller Press has announced the publication of Bhutan, a multi-genre collaboration between poet and photographer Sudeep Sen and writer Ravi Shankar. The book combines Sen's poetry and photography with Shankar's prose to present a complex portrait of the Himalayan kingdom, moving beyond its popular image as the world's last Shangri-La.
The work deliberately resists conventional travelogue categorization. Shankar, author of 18 books and a Pushcart Prize winner, approaches Bhutan's Gross National Happiness philosophy with analytical rigor and wit, tracing the country's modernizing monarchy and Buddhist heritage. Sen's spare, musical couplets and visually arresting photographs of prayer flags and monasteries provide a complementary lyric and visual counterpoint. Together, they create what the publishers describe as a two-voiced, multi-modal portrait of a nation at the crossroads of tradition and transformation.
The book has drawn praise from notable figures. Actress Shabana Azmi called it a "unique and personal multi-genre book" that brings alive aspects of Bhutan only true artists can excavate. Dasho Kinley Dorji noted it captures what is special about the country. Poet Diane Mehta highlighted the interplay between Shankar's skeptical commentary and Sen's delicate poetry. Amit Majmudar praised the "sheen of eudemonic delight" that adheres to the book.
Sen, an internationally acclaimed poet and photographer whose work has appeared in The Times Literary Supplement and The Guardian, was awarded a senior fellowship by the Government of India and is the first Asian to deliver the Derek Walcott Lecture. Shankar, who teaches at Tufts University and serves as founding editor-in-chief of Drunken Boat, has held fellowships from Yaddo and MacDowell.
Bhutan is available on Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/5f3f4aay. The trade paperback, priced at $29.95, features full-color photography and spans literary travel, poetry, and photography genres.
