Rachna Books – an independent bookshop in Gangtok, was founded in 1979. They specialise in literary fiction and have a wide range of titles on poetry, philosophy, biography, travel, art, music and children’s books. Apart from this they sell famous works on Sikkim, Tibet, Greater Himalaya and the regional history.

Open Mic, meeting point for authors, writers, professionals from art culture and literature can be found here visiting. This is Sikkim’s first platform where LGBTQ voices are being expressed in the form of poetry. They have initiated their own publishing house.

The space has evolved for book readings and launches, annual poetry fest, to other events like exhibitions, talks by academics from leading global universities, workshops, installation art shows, theatre, shadow puppetry, premiers of anthropological documentaries, Hindustani, jazz and folk musical performances and much more.

Among their main events are-

Word of Mouth – a series of talks and interactive sessions with scholars on subjects they specialize in.

Small Town Film Club – a film club that offers a platform for local film-makers to connect with wider audiences worldwide, and for filmmakers outside to meet the audiences in this region.

Aperture Culture – they organise regular exhibitions of photography by amateurs and professionals from the region and abroad. This is a part of our ongoing effort to introduce photography as a medium of artistic expression and a career option to the youngsters in the region.