Sikhim and Bhutan

Sikhim and Bhutan: Twenty-one Years on the North-East Frontier is J. Claude White's memoir of his expeditions in Sikkim, eastern Bhutan, parts of Tibet and missions to Bhutan that took him to unexplored regions of these places, which he has captured brilliantly through his writing?and?photographs.

Appointed as the Political Officer in administrative charge of Sikkim and later of Bhutan, by the British Indian government, White's account covers his official activities, interactions with people from diverse back­grounds – both maharajas and common folk – and his explorations, making?this?book?a?fascinating?read.

White's expeditions on both glacial and non-existent road tracks, through snowstorm and blizzard, witnessing avalanches, crossing wobbly cane bridges, and to the Tatshang Monastery in Paro -- more famous as the Tiger’s Nest – are invigorating and thrilling. White has also given detailed and rich descriptions of monasteries, forts, castles and hamlets; the people and their life; and political events like the Delhi Durbar.

His remarkable photographs that include the Maharaja of Bhutan Sir Ugyen Wang-chuk, the Maharaja and Maharani of Sikkim, Kanchenjunga, glacial lakes, Bhutanese houses, a precarious bamboo roadway, monasteries and artefacts, significantly contribute to Sikhim and?Bhutan’s?appeal.

The book also includes general information on Bhutan and Sikkim, their?arts?and?industries,?and?its?laws?and?customs.