Himvant - Khangchendzonga and the children of the divine snow

"Himvant - Khangchendzonga and the children of the divine snow" covering Eastern Himalayas, is Dr Debal Sen's third and last volume of the trilogy. Guided by a profound reverence for Dalton Hooker, Vittorio Sella and George Band who traversed these paths before him, the photographer undertakes arduous journeys across harshest terrain and remote trails of various summits, in pursuit of the extraordinary. The resulting images invite the viewer to witness the singular nature of Kanchenjunga — an entity that exists as both ephemeral and eternal. At times entirely veiled in an impenetrable shroud of white, its presence felt rather than seen, and at others commanding in its luminous splendour, this mountain has revealed its manifold forms to the photographer across nearly four decades of unrelenting expeditions.

Through the emotive resonance of his remarkable imagery and reflective prose, Dr. Debal Sen articulates an all-pervading Consciousness — an omnipresent absolute that manifests as life within Nature, of which humanity forms an integral part.Thirty-five years have elapsed in the company of Jannu, Rathong, Kabru, Talung, Kanchenjunga massif, Pandim, Narsing, Simvo and Siniolchu, Nuptse, Lhotse, Everest, Makalu, Chomo Lonzo from Sandakphu and beyond at various times of the day and night. Time itself has been transcended, leaving as testament a collection of ethereal photographs which include the inhabiting trees, flowers, fauna and avifauna.

The book is, in its essence, a meditation on timelessness rendered within the boundaries of time.