The story of Sikkim’s merger with India with Sunaina Kumar

Nov 17, 2020

This week, Lindelani and Nontsi chat with Sunaina Kumar, about her wonderful piece (featured in the titled Kingdom from which we learn about the "aristocrats, enigmatic wives, and spymasters in the drama of Sikkim’s merger with India."

 

Sunaina's writings:

1. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/11/uighur-exiles-kashmir-heaven-161117133848689.html

(A story of a hidden community of Uighurs living in Kashmir from the time of Silk Route trade)

2. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/peoples-linguistic-survey-of-india-ganesh-devy

(A story on a man who set out to count every language in India, he found 780)

3. https://narratively.com/the-diver-who-brings-up-the-bodies/

(A story on a man whose job it is to dive in the water to bring out bodies of farmers who commit suicide in north India)

Sunaina's recommendations for the holiday season:

1. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith and Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford 

2. Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy and the new adaptation of the book by Mira Nair on Netflix, an enduring story from India

3. The Jungle Prince of Delhi by Ellen Barry, widely shared but always worth talking about as long-form inspiration