Their asymmetry in size make them unseemly allies but giant India and tiny Bhutan boast of a unique relationship that both like to flaunt as a model for good neighbourly ties.
Bhutan's King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, with his pin-up boy looks despite his 49 years, is perhaps the most familiar face to Indians among leaders of neighbouring countries.
The king wrapped up a six-day visit here Monday during which he held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani and other government and political leaders.
The king briefly studied in India and Britain before returning to the kingdom but could not complete his school education due to the sudden death of his father. He became king at the age of 17 and his official coronation was held on June 2, 1974.
In 1979, he married four sisters - Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck, Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck and Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuck as queens. His subjects and the world knew about it much later when an official royal wedding and a public ceremony was held on October 31, 1988.
He has five sons and five daughters from them and Crown Prince Dasho Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck accompanied him during his India visit.
The king is credited with ending the isolation of his kingdom nestling in the Himalayas, sandwiched between India and China, and putting it firmly on the path of modernity.
Under his reign, the country has made progress in the fields of communications, hydroelectric power development, education, health, financial sector, environmental protection, and industrial and infrastructural development.
This is the king's second visit to India since September. He will be here again in January, when he has been accorded the honour of being the chief guest at India's grand Republic Day parade.
The invitation to the king is India's way of saying "thank you" for the military crackdown he ordered last year against anti-India insurgent groups who had set up bases in the kingdom.
India has cited Bhutan's action as a model for other neighbours to follow. The unique relationship between two countries goes way back into the mists of antiquity.
The Bhutan king himself has often said that India-Bhutan relations provide a "shining example" of how a large and powerful country like India, with a population of over one billion, and a small nation like Bhutan (Population: 700,000) can live together as good neighbours in perfect peace and harmony.
"Our relations are based on complete trust, understanding and friendship."
Bhutan signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with India in 1949, much before it stepped out of its self-imposed isolation in early sixties.
Under the treaty, theoretically, Bhutan is required to consult India in the conduct of its external relations and India is responsible for the security of the Himalayan kingdom, sandwiched between India and China.
India has been a major development aid donor of Bhutan. The first two of the seven Five-Year Plans of the kingdom was entirely bankrolled by India.
But India's assistance under the Five Year Plans does not include funding of mega projects like Tala, Kurichhu and Chukha hydroelectric power projects and Penden and Dungsam cement projects, totalling about Rs. 42.2 billion (Approx. $1 billion)
--Indo-Asian News Service