Cultural Imagination and the Representation of Bhutan in Contemporary Indian Travel Writing: A Study of The Living Road, Beyond the Sky and the Earth, and India: A Million Mutinies Now

Abstract

This paper examines how Bhutan is imagined and represented in contemporary Indian travel writing through Ajit Harisinghani’s The Living Road, Jamie Zeppa’s Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan, and V. S. Naipaul’s India: A Million Mutinies Now. While the first two texts directly engage with Bhutanese landscapes and society, Naipaul’s work provides a broader South Asian framework through which cultural identity, nationhood, and transformation can be understood. The study argues that Bhutan is constructed as a space of cultural purity, ecological balance, and spiritual depth, often contrasted with the complexities of modern India. At the same time, these travel narratives reveal the role of cultural imagination in shaping representations, blending observation with interpretation. Through a comparative analysis, the paper highlights how Bhutan functions both as a real place and as an imagined cultural ideal within contemporary travel writing.