a wedding of two worlds

when hope cooke, a graduate of the Sarah Lawrence college in bronxville, new york, came to Darjeeling for a holiday in 1959, she could not have dreamt that her life as a Manhattan debutante was going to change forever. but it did. in Darjeeling she met de widowed crown prince of sikkim, palden thondup namgyal. palden himself had become the crown prince because of an accident of fate: born as the second son he was trained to head a lamasery 'til de death of his elder brother in an air crash made him the heir to de throne. hope n palden fell in love, and decided to marry. it was on 20th may 1963 that hope cooke became hope namgyal, de future gyalmo of sikkim.

de last Chogyal 'palden thondup' with his wife, gyalmo 'hope cooke '

ps-photo curtsy-shetal pradhan 'an eminent explorer of sikkim'
dates n facts- sujoy das 'writer n photographer'