Our Portfolio of events

A Brief Introduction

In the past we have been actively involved in organizing and hosting events including:

-a Word of Mouth Event on Modern and Contemporary Nepali Literature in conversation with the acclaimed adademic, a renowned writer and professor at School of Oriental and African Studies, Michael Hutt, (02/01/2011)

- an interactive meeting of young Sikkimese leaders and entrepreneurs with the Director of Kolkata chapter of American Center, Chad Cummins and the Regional Media Advisor Erica Diya Basu, (15/12/2010)

- an interactive session on heritage architecture of the Himalayan monastries- Mind the concrete: Ancient Lhasa among skyscrapers with Andre Alexander of Tibetan Heritage Fund and author of Temples of Lhasa, (06/11/2010)

- solo exhibition of paintings Whisper by Vijay Mani Thulung, (03 - 09 October 2010)

- a special screening of Madhav Wagle's film FIRST LOVE directed by Simosh Sunuwar with special interactive session with two lead actors Vinay Shrestha & Karma, (23/09/2010)

- a Word of Mouth event Future of Himalayan Economies by the acclaimed author of Unleashing Nepal Sujeev Shakya, (21/09/2010)

- presents a video installation & play This Room Is Not My Room directed & performed by Parnab Mukherjee, (19/09/2010)

- performance of two plays directed by Parnab Mukherjee: Munshi Premchand's KAFAN performed by Gautam Bajoria and Imagine No Possessions performed by Parnab Mukherjee, (18/09/2010)

- first of the event series Word of Mouth with presentation and interactive sessionon the contentious Lho Mom Tsong Sum Treaty by Oxford University scholar Dr Saul Mullard, (10/09/2010)

- a 10 days evening session of storytelling by Friends@Rachna and Indigenous Storytellers Network, (18 - 24 August 2010)

- an exhibition of digital paintings on folklore of the Eastern Himalayas Confluence by Acoustic Traditional, Bangalore (18 - 24 August 2010)

- an exhibition of paintings by Suraj Gurung, (08 - 16 August 2010)

- an evening of music and readings with performances and writings by artistes from Gangtok, Darjeeling and Shillong, (25/07/2010)

- book release Legends of the Lepchas : Folktales of Sikkim by Yeshi D illustrated by Pankaj Thapa, a Tranquebar/Westland publication, (25/07/2010)

- an exhibition of photos and couplets Visual Dialogue by Yogita Ranapaheli as a part of Aperture Culture's In Focus series, (17 - 25 April 2010)

- an interactive session on rationalism and intelligence with Rajesh Dalal from LifeLab and Krishnamurti Foundation, (06/03/2010)

- a presentation on looking at art by Saumik Nandy Majumdar from Kala Bhawan, Shantiniketan, (02/03/2010)

- musical performance, animations presented by Deoashish Mothay's Nepali Varnamala Troupe, followed by hand shadow puppetry by Radha Kumud Sharma, (28/02/2010)

- premiere of a Lepcha film Pusingkyongmoo, by Dawa Lepcha, (26/02/2010)

- Converse '09, readings by poets and writers from Sikkim and North East India, (20/12/2009)

- book release of Dancing Earth : A Penguin Anthology of Poetry from North East India, (20/12/2009)

- Perspectives, an exhibition showcasing the workls of Bindya Subba (apparel designs), Roshney Modha (wood/bamboo/paper lamps) and Birendra Rai (an experimental short film), (12/12/2009 - 20/12/2009)

- an exhibition of photographs by Neeraj Pradhan, a Sikkimese photographer, as a part of Aperture Culture's In Focus series, (10 - 19 July 2009)

- Xibit09 an annual exhibition of paintings by students from Tashi Namgyal Academy, (13 - 21 June 2009)

- an exhibition of photographs by Markus Wild, a Swiss photographer, as a part of Aperture Culture's In Focus series, (30 May - 10 June 2009)

- a 10 day exhibition of sketches "Lunch-hour Doodles" by Nepal's Preena Shrestha, in tie-up with Y!zine, (17/05/2009)

- an evening of Baul music "Baul, Bhakti, Barsha" by Nimoy Das Baul, accompanied by Deo Ashish and Nishant,

- screenings of short films "Maachis ko Sinka" (Matchstick) by Radhamohini Prasad and "Echoes" by Rebana John, (25/04/2009)

- an Earth Hour special sensitization programme for teachers and media on global warming in tie-up with the Sikkim chapter of World Wildlife Fund, (25/03/2009)

- simultaneous book releases by father-daughter duo, PG Tenzing & Dechen P Tenzing, of their titles "Don't ask any old bloke for directions" and "Wolf's Fangs"
respectively, (23/03/2009)

- an exhibition of photographs by S.T.Wangdi as a part of Aperture Culture's In Focus series, (21 March - 4 April 2009)

- a perennial platform for showcasing works of amateur and professional photographers under the banner "Aperture Culture", (16/11/2008)

- a solo performance of the play “Necropolis: rehearsing Koltes in such times...” by Parnab Mukherjee from the theatre performance company Best of Kolkata Campus supported by Five Issues and PANOS, (21/07/2008)

- “Himalayan Whispers” where local writers and artists had a sit-in with the editors of a New Jersey based literary magazine Personae Online for an evening of musings on the arts and writings from the mountains, (12/07/2008)

- “Geet Varsha” an evening of Sufi and Indian Classical music by Vikram Singh Khangura accompanied by friends in the local music circuit, (11/07/2008)

- Sikkim’s first installation artwork exhibition “Catch A Star” by Takahito Kimura aided by The Japan Foundation, (27/10/2007)

- “Travelling Film South Asia” - the first ever documentary film festival in Sikkim, in collaboration with Himal Association from Nepal. Some of these documentaries were taken to different schools namely Tashi Namgyal Academy and Padma Odzer Choeling School anda special screening was organised for the students of Deorali Senior Secondary Girls' School,

- an evening of regional women in literature and music, with poetry by Yeshi D and Anu, short-story by Roshan Pradhan and music by Neha Pradhan

- an evening of jazz music by a saxophonist from France – Tristan Predelle accompanied by local musicians,

- several musical evenings by a local folk music talent Deoashish Mothay and his troupe of children from a village school in Darjeeling district,

- an evening of readings from upcoming novels by two new novelists from Sikkim, Chetan Shrestha and Nikhil Pradhan,

- workshop on conservation of Thankas and other religious manuscripts by Rakhi Bali – conservationist and restorer at Satyajit Ray Society,

- an evening of music and poetry by Rumi & Borges performed musically by a duo - Barbara Gerke on flute from Kalimpong and Linda Neil on violin from Australia, (28/05/2005)

- organizing and screening the premiere of ‘Chetna’, a Nepali film on AIDS awareness directed by Pratap Subba, (19/03/2005)

- staging a Manipuri play “Lidiceegee Gulap” in the form of ancient folk theatre Sumang Leela by the theatre group Sanaleipak Nachom and aided by Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to commemorate Rachna Silver Jubilee Year 2005, (14/03/2005 – 16/03/2005)

- organizing & screening of documentaries “The Day My God Died” by Andrew Levine & “Affluenza” by John de Graaf; followed by talks by panelists, in tie-up with the Kolkata chapter of The American Center, (11/10/2004)

- several short story and poetry reading sessions by upcoming and established talents from the region as well as students of Loyola Marymount University, Califormia,

- an informal interactive session of the local youth and media with the Director of USIS Susan M. Schultz,

- promotion of vermiculture in schools through our programme ‘Wealth from Waste’

- launching of a local literary magazine Catscanned, (18/01/2004)

- screening of a short documentary on the ritualistic dances at the Rumtek monastery by aspiring film-makers from Kolkata – Monodeep Guha and Ronojit Dasgupta, (2003)

- re-introducing readership in the villages by donating books to start libraries through our ‘Jai Library Movement’, named after our founder,

- publishing works which include documentation of three decades of legislative system in Sikkim; low-cost high-yield rural technologies made accessible to the farmers; a comprehensive documentation of the history of Nepali literature of this region involving twenty years of research, etc.

For events such as these, we have a dedicated medium sized audio-visual hall one floor above the bookshop that doubles up as an exhibition gallery space as well.

Rachna Books hopes to continue growing as a platform for raising the standard and for showcasing talents, new or renowned, to a wider audience in the Himalayan region.