Tsognie Hamilton’s beloved homeland, the historical Himalayan Kingdom of Sikkim, is a naturalist’s paradise. Located just 27 degrees north of the equator, Sikkim ranges in elevation from 800 feet above sea level in the tropical south to over 28,000 feet to the peak of Mount Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain. In Tashiding: Beyond Earth and Sky author Douglas Hamilton explores Sikkim’s botanical richness, Tsognie’s connection to Sikkim’s royal family and modern history, and how Sikkim’s Buddhist philosophical beliefs influenced Tashiding’s creation.
-
- Botanist Joseph Hooker’s The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya, one of the most beautiful and important illustrated books of the mid-nineteenth century.
-
- Mount Kanchenjunga – Sikkim’s highest mountain.
-
- Tsognie and Douglas Hamilton, several months before their 1974 wedding in Sikkim.
-
- A gathering of members of Sikkim’s royal family, winter 1980-81. Tsognie with younger son, Palden, at far right, with son, Douglas III, with his grandfather in the center.
-
- The Hamilton’s older son, Douglas III, seated between Tsognie’s father (and his grandfather), Chogyal (King) Palden Thondup Namgyal, and his great-grandmother, Kunzang Dechen, queen mother of Sikkim, at the annual ceremonial dances at the palace, winter, 1980-81.
