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2026-03-25T06:18:45Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Bhutan House
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image =
| caption =
| pushpin_map =
| map_caption = Location within [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| building_type = [[Dzong]]/Palace
| owner = [[Dorji family]]
| current_tenants = Queen Mother ''Ashi'' [[Kesang Choden (born 1930)|Kesang Choden Wangchuck]]
| location = [[Kalimpong]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| coordinates = {{coord|27.078184|88.488377|region:BT|display=inline,title}}
| completion_date = {{start date and age|df=yes|1912}}
| floor_count = 2
| number_of_rooms = 12+
| references = <ref name=Pass/><ref name=Brief/><ref name=RN/>
}}
'''Bhutan House''' is an estate located in [[Kalimpong]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]], owned by the [[Dorji family]] of [[Bhutan]]. The site is the traditional administrative [[Dzong]] for southern Bhutan, and also functioned as the administrative center for the whole of western Bhutan during the modern kingdom's early years of consolidation.<ref name=Brief/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=xoBETteGGub40gGOlaGOBw |title=Bhutan: a movement in exile |volume=42 |series=Nirala |first1=D. N. S. |last1=Dhakal |first2=Christopher |last2=Strawn |publisher=Nirala Publications |year=1994 |isbn=81-85693-41-2 |accessdate=2011-08-12}}</ref> It represented the relationship between Bhutan and [[British India]], and is a modern symbol of [[Bhutan–India relations]].<ref name=Brief/>

It is the home of Queen Grandmother ''Ashi'' [[Kesang Choden (born 1930)|Kesang Choden Wangchuck]], the grandmother of the current Bhutanese king, [[Druk Gyalpo]] [[Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck]].<ref name=Brief>{{cite web |url=http://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/pubFiles/v19_2.pdf |format=PDF |accessdate=2011-08-12 |year=2002 |first=Khandu-Om |last=Dorji |title=A Brief History of Bhutan House in Kalimpong |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105082422/http://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/pubFiles/v19_2.pdf |archivedate=2012-01-05 }}</ref><ref name=RN>{{cite web|url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/jbs/pdf/JBS_05_01.pdf |format=PDF |title=Research Note: His Holiness the 13th Dalai Lama and Bhutan House in Kalimpong |authorlink=Kesang Choden Wangchuck |first=Kesang Choden |last=Wangchuck |accessdate=2011-08-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.helvetas.org.bt/history.htm |publisher=Helvetas – Bhutan |title=History of Swiss Assistance |date=2010-12-13 |accessdate=2011-08-12 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725190934/http://www.helvetas.org.bt/history.htm |archivedate=25 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Building and grounds==
Located in [[Kalimpong]], the estate is on Rishi Road, leaving town, between the 10th and 12th miles, just before its fork.<ref name=Pass>{{cite web|url=http://www.passplanet.com/Nepal/kalimpong.htm |title=Kalimpong |first=David |last=Woollan |work=Passplanet |date= 2006-12-11 |accessdate=2011-08-12}}</ref> The property has fencing and a driveway toward the stone double-storied Victorian-style complex. The landscaped lawns feature a small [[stupa]] containing the ashes of ''Ayi'' Thubten Wongmo and a white [[chorten]] commemorating the late Rani Chuni.<ref name=Brief/> Bhutan House overlooks the [[Relli River]] below a deep valley.<ref name=Syamukapu/>

The interior is of dark wood. The first floor contains a sitting room for guests and the dining room. Upstairs are the bedrooms and family altar room. The room of the late Rani Chuni is kept as originally furnished with Bhutanese ''chodems'' (carved tables), woven materials, books, and other artifacts.<ref name=Brief/>

In total, the main house contains over a dozen rooms, including a long hall on each floor. The detached kitchen is also two-storied, connected to the main structure by a small bridge.<ref name=Syamukapu>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hbgVAQAAMAAJ |title=Syamukapu: The Lhasa Newars of Kalimpong and Kathmandu |first=Deb Shova Kansakar |last=Hilker |publisher=Vajra Publications |year=2005 |isbn=99946-644-6-8 |accessdate=2011-08-12}}</ref> A ''lhakhang'' ([[Buddhist temple]]) is also located on the premises.<ref name=RN/>

==History==
The land that was to become Bhutan House was ceded from [[Bhutan]] to [[British India]] in 1865 at the conclusion the [[Bhutan War]] and as a condition of the [[Treaty of Sinchula]]. The land became a subdivision of [[Darjeeling]] in 1916, and became part of a hill station.<ref name=Syamukapu/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eONIAQAAIAAJ |title=Arts of Asia |volume=17 |publisher=Arts of Asia Publications |year=1987 |page=107 |accessdate=2011-08-12}}</ref>

In 1910, Sikkim Political Officer and [[Tibetologist]] Sir [[Charles Alfred Bell]] engaged Bhutan and signed the [[Treaty of Punakha]] and other agreements that had the effect of assigning land in [[Motithang]] ([[Thimphu]]) and a hill station between [[Chukha District|Chukha]] and [[Thimphu]] to the British, assigning a portion of [[Kalimpong]] to Bhutan, and doubling the ''per annum'' subsidy from Britain to Bhutan.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rDxx_ibIwZ0C |title=Himalayan kingdom Bhutan: tradition, transition, and transformation |first=Awadhesh Coomar |last=Sinha |publisher=Indus Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=81-7387-119-1 |accessdate=2011-08-12}}</ref> Bhutan House itself was reportedly constructed by the Dorjis especially to host the [[13th Dalai Lama|Thirteenth Dalai Lama]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tVGgEbhi5JAC |title=In the service of his country: the biography of Dasang Damdul Tsarong, commander general of Tibet |first1=Dundul Namgyal |last1=Tsarong |first2=Ani K. Trinlay |last2=Chödron |editor=Ani K. Trinlay Chödron |publisher=Snow Lion Publications |year=2000 |isbn=1-55939-151-0 |page=35 |accessdate=2011-08-12}}</ref> The grounds were consecrated by Chogley Yeshey Ngodrup on his return from a pilgrimage to [[Bodh Gaya]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKiNspaeno8C |title=Of rainbows and clouds: the life of Yab Ugyen Dorji as told to his daughter |first=Yab Ugyen |last=Dorji |authorlink=Dorji family |publisher=Serindia Publications, Inc. |year=1999 |isbn=0-906026-49-0 |page=42 |accessdate=2011-08-12}}</ref>

===The Dorji family===
{{see|Dorji family|History of Bhutan}}
The powerful [[Dorji family]] became prominent through their ties to the Wangchuck family and to the British.<ref name=Nirala>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dg9uAAAAMAA |title=Bhutan: a movement in exile |volume=42 |series=Nirala |first1=D. N. S. |last1=Dhakal |first2=Christopher |last2=Strawn |publisher=Nirala Publications |pages=316–18 |year=1994 |isbn=81-85693-41-2 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Kazi Dorji had advised the future First King to mediate between the [[British Empire|British]] and [[Tibet]],<ref name=Rose1>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ICNuAAAAMAA |title=The politics of Bhutan |author=Leo E. Rose |publisher=Cornell University Press |pages=35–36, 85, 118 |year=1977 |isbn=0-8014-0909-8 |accessdate=2011-08-08 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>{{rp|35}} and it was ''Kazi'' Dorji who was later responsible for the large-scale [[Lhotshampa|induction of Nepalis into Bhutan]].<ref name=Nirala/> During the early years of the Dorji family's prominence, members of the family served as ''gongzim'' (chief chamberlain, the top government post),<ref name=BFPG>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_EWuvGysPSIC |title=Bhutan Foreign Policy and Government Guide |volume=20 |series=World Foreign Policy and Government Library |publisher=Int'l Business Publications |pages=59–61 |year=2000 |isbn=0-7397-3719-8 |accessdate=2011-08-09 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and their official residence was at the palatial Bhutan House.

''Kazi'' [[Ugyen Dorji]] settled the land and took advantage of the lucrative trade routes through [[Kalimpong]], and by 1898 assumed the roles of Trade Agent and mediator between the [[British Empire]] and [[Tibet]]. The estate, which contained notable stables, contributed significantly to the development of the community and commerce in Kalimpong.<ref name=Brief/>

From Bhutan House, ''Raja'' [[Sonam Topgay Dorji]] ("Topgay Raja") held the post of Trade Agent to the Government of Bhutan, however he functioned to a large extent as prime minister, foreign minister, and ambassador to [[India]]. Through this position as a trade intermediary, the Dorji family amassed wealth reputedly greater than that of the royal family.<ref name=Sang>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3D9fwU2ZHsIC |title=In the sign of the golden wheel: Indian memoirs of an English buddhist |author=Sangharakshita |author2=Sangharakshita (Bhikshu) |publisher=Windhorse Publications |pages= 26–28 |year=1996 |isbn=1-899579-14-1 |accessdate=2011-08-09}}</ref> Topgay Raja himself married a [[Sikkim]]ese princess,<ref name=Sang/><ref name=Sang2>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_3oGSr6AlGcC |title=Facing Mount Kanchenjunga: an English Buddhist in the Eastern Himalayas |first=D. P. E. (Sangharakshita) |last=Lingwood |publisher=Windhorse Publications |pages=152–4 |year=1991 |isbn=0-904766-52-7 |accessdate=2011-08-09}}</ref> fathering [[Jigme Palden Dorji]], future [[Prime Minister of Bhutan|Prime Minister]]. Another of Topgay Dorji's sons, Ugyen, was recognized as a [[lama]] at Bhutan House as a young boy.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8SRuAAAAMAAJ |title=The dragon kingdom: journeys through Bhutan |first=E. A. |last=Vas |publisher=Lancer Publishers International |year=1986 |isbn=81-7062-007-4 |accessdate=2011-08-12 |page=189}}</ref><ref name=Enchanted/>

Bhutan House was where ''Raja'' [[Sonam Topgay Dorji]] ([[Order of the Indian Empire|CIE]]) lived. From here, Sonam Topgay Dorji was Agent for Foreign Relations for the Royal Government, as well as Governor of [[Haa District|Haa]] (1917-1924), directly abutting the estate. It was also at Bhutan House that Sonam Topgay Dorji died suddenly in September 1953. The event seemed to symbolize a dark cloud of misfortune for the Dorji family, which they believed to be a curse.<ref name=Sang/>

After two generations of growing influence, the sister of Prime Minister [[Jigme Palden Dorji]] – the daughter of Topgay ''Raja'' – married the [[Jigme Dorji Wangchuck|Third King of Bhutan]], creating a new bond so prominent as to cause some discontent among other Bhutanese families.<ref name=Sang/><ref name=SAS1>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bHBCAAAAYAA |title=South Asian studies, Volume 13 |author=University of Rajasthan |publisher=South Asian Studies Centre, Dept. of Political Science, University of Rajasthan |pages= 110–12 |year=1978 |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref> The public was divided between pro-modernist and pro-monarchist camps.<ref name=BFPG/>

==Foreign affairs==
Because of the influence of the [[Dorji family]] and its members' fluency in [[English language|English]], Bhutan House was the sole outlet for communication between the [[government of Bhutan|government]] and the outside world.<ref name=Brief/> Topgay's professional and personal contacts with [[India]] as it gained independence from the [[British Empire]] proved invaluable to [[Bhutan]] as it sought to modernize and develop.<ref name=Brief/>

Bhutan House was naturally the locus of social engagement between Bhutan and its [[Sikkimese people|Sikkimese]] – and later [[Indian people|Indian]] – neighbors.<ref name=Enchanted>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v_pHAAAAMAA |title=Enchanted frontiers: Sikkim, Bhutan, and India's northeastern borderlands |volume=1 |first=Nari |last=Rustomji |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1971 |pages=161–166 |accessdate=2011-08-12 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It hosted lavish [[Losar]] parties, including Tibetan and [[Cham dance|Cham dancing]].<ref name=Brief/>

From Bhutan House, the Dorji family supported Western education of Bhutanese youths, paving the way for educational reforms under the Third King.<ref name=Brief/> The estate also has its own radio station broadcast from [[Bhutan]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Europa World Year, Book 1 |page=802 |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=2004 |isbn=1-85743-254-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wGA4o-UhAfgC |accessdate=2011-08-12}}</ref>

===Tibetan connection===
{{Css Image Crop|Image=Thirteenth_Dalai_Lama_Thubten_Gyatso.jpg |bSize=350 |cWidth=200 |cHeight=230 |oTop=75 |oLeft=40 |Location=left |Description=The [[13th Dalai Lama|Thirteenth Dalai Lama]] stayed at Bhutan House for three months.}}

[[Kalimpong]] has remained an important trade center and home for many Tibetan expatriates, and Bhutan House is notable among [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]] because of its association with [[Dalai Lama]]s.

In 1912, the [[13th Dalai Lama|Thirteenth Dalai Lama]], Thubten Gyatso, stayed at the newly built Bhutan House for three months as the guest of ''Raja Kazi'' [[Ugyen Dorji]] and his sister ''Ayi'' Thubten Wangmo. The Dalai Lama dubbed the edifice ''Migyur Ngona Phodrang'' ("Palace of Unchanging Delight" or "Palace of Unchanging Supreme Joy") and presented the household with gifts of altars and consecrated statuettes, as well as many precious religious and secular robes. Once the Dalai Lama returned to [[Tibet]], he sent Bhutan House a large gilded bronze statue of himself for the attached ''lhakhang'' (temple) he dubbed ''Dechen Gatsal'' ("The Happy Garden of Great Bliss"). In return, the household had offered the Dalai Lama silver to be dedicated for the production of a statue of the Thousand-armed and Thousand-eyed [[Avalokiteshvara]] (''Chenrezi Chatong Chentong'') in [[Lhasa]], which the Dalai Lama had made. After the death of his host, the Dalai Lama gave the [[Dorji family]] a ''kashog'' (decree) written on yellow silk and sealed with his [[Mahamudra|great seal]]; the ''kashog'' expressed his gratitude for the hospitality he received at Bhutan House, and for the efforts of the [[Dorji family]] to aid the [[Tibetan people]].<ref name=RN/> Because of its association with the Dalai Lama, Bhutan House is still known among [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]] as ''Migyur Ngonga Phodrang''.<ref name=TPH>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKyGAAAAIAAJ |title=Tibet: a Political History |first=W. D. |last=Shakabpa |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=1967 |pages=230, 313 |accessdate=2011-08-11}}</ref>

In 1957, the current [[14th Dalai Lama|Fourteenth Dalai Lama]] also stayed at Bhutan House for a week during his stay in [[India]] after meeting with [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Jawaharlal Nehru]].<ref name=TPH/>

==See also==
*[[Dorji family]]
*[[House of Wangchuck]]
*[[History of Bhutan]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.culturebriefings.com/articles/indahmst.html |title=When Tourists Come, Homes Become Guesthouses |first=Daniel |last=Haber |publisher=Cultural Briefings |date=2011-01-06 |accessdate=2011-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330160746/http://www.culturebriefings.com/articles/indahmst.html |archive-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}

{{History of Bhutan}}

[[Category:Bhutan–India relations]]
[[Category:Kalimpong]]
[[Category:Palaces in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Dorji family| ]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Darjeeling district]]

Bhutan House - Revision history

imported>HAUDesiree at 06:18, 25 March 2026