Being
born and brought up in Sikkim Himalaya, Topdhan
Rai had a unique privilege of “growing
up with his trees.” Later, he took up study
and training in forestry eventually fulfilling his
dream of becoming a forester. His main interests revolve
around orchids, rhododendrons and trees of this region.
His book The Life and Times of Sikkimese Forests is
on the anvil. Professionally he is attached with the
Landuse and Environment wing of DepFor, Govt. of Sikkim,
as a Deputy Conservator of Forests.
In this volume he covers the Sikkim section of the
Himalaya.
Lalitkumar
Rai has been traversing Sikkim Himalayan
landscape for quite a long time. He is better known
for his writings which turn up mostly in the form
of photo-journalism. He specializes in Sikkim Himalayan
floristics. Apart from the papers published here and
abroad, he has two books to his credit.
Being a native of Darjeeling hills he covers the Darjeeling
part in this volume.
