‘The Chase of the Past: A Flight into the Future’, published by Buk Ant, is the debut fiction collection penned by Jiwan Rai based at Sikkim. Tales included in the book are what people experience during their relentless departure from the nostalgic memories of the past and an anticipative flight into the romanticism of an elusive future. The pitiless past chases as inevitably as the fanciful future beckons. The past becomes ever more rugged and torturous and the future remains indefinitely nebulous. The lives lived in Sikkim and Darjeeling is no exception. The only possible exception, however, is the paucity of inspiration amongst the raconteurs. This is an attempt to spin yarns about the lives lived in these hills and to enable their stories to become a bit more noticeable if not as much as their hills are manifestly embossed in the green expanse of the Himalayas. These stories explore the peculiar experience of the hill people during the time period between the mid-1900s and the early 2000s when the twin hills underwent a drastic socio-political change. Jiwan Rai has been trying his hand at social commentary in Sikkim and writing columns and articles in various regional English dailies and magazines for the past 15 years. As a political analyst, he authored a couple of books, both of which were published by Penguin Random House, India. His last book, Remember the Name Sikkim, India’s First Organic State, was released in 2019. He also dabbles in poetry and playwriting. His Nepali play, “Hazamko Dokanma Hamro Chhaya” was staged in Tadong in 2013. He started his career as a teacher in 1996 and resigned in 2014. He is also the recipient of the National BOLT Award for 2006-07, which was presented to him by the then President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam.