William Dalrymple speaks on The Golden Road as the Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival runs at Ridge Park, Gangtok

29 October 2026

The second day of the Sikkim Arts and Literature Festival 2026 concluded at Ridge Park in Gangtok with literary, cultural and musical programmes. The author and historian William Dalrymple gave a lecture on his book The Golden Road, in which he argued that ancient India was an important centre of trade, knowledge and cultural exchange. His talk covered sea trade between India and Rome, the spread of Buddhism, the standing Nalanda University once held abroad, and the reach of Indian mathematics; the writer Prajwal Parajuly introduced the book. In a session facilitated by Dr Rosy Chamling, who heads the languages and literature faculty of Sikkim University, the writers Mamang Dai, Chetanraj Shrestha and Dhruv Hazarika spoke on literary tradition, cultural diversity and writing drawn from local folklore. Parallel sessions ran at the White Memorial Hall, workshops were held on painting, music, Himalayan theatre, story writing and book design, and the Lepcha folk and fusion band Sophium and the band Indian Ocean performed. The day's sessions also took up translation, the challenges of book publishing, the link between theatre and literature and the preservation of local stories. Musicians Kartikeya Vashishtha and Makarand Sonani opened the day with Indian classical and folk music on instruments including the flute, murchunga and algoza.