The story keepers of Bhutan

Dangbo… o… Dingbo… o. Karma Phuntsho: tracking songs, rituals and symbols During Bhutan Echoes’ recent Drukyul’s Literature Festival, we spoke to writers, designers, historians and artists who are mapping the country’s rich past. If we are in a chaotic environment, we will have a disturbed state of mind.” Karma Tshering Wangchuk: documenting the street Fashion blogger, illustrator and designer Karma Tshering Wangchuk ‘Lhari’, who is just back from the Copenhagen Fashion Week, launched his book, Lhari, at the lit fest. “The fashion industry talks about sustainability, but in Bhutan we practise it, and this tiny country, hemmed in by India and China, can offer this visual collectivism and non-performative art to the world,” he says. Calling the subcontinent a universe within a universe, he is very keen to contribute to sustainable fashion and chronicle the rich story of textiles of the entire region — “the silk threads we use for the kiras come from Assam,” he says, unwilling to use the word ‘import’.