I am not Dead, I want to Vote

I was recorded "Dead" in my census by a donkey at the Department of Civil Registration and Census, yes it's their mistake because the record with my gup has no flaw. I wrote about it last time and it has been picked up by Business Bhutan too. Back then, everybody was amused, and soon I was amused too.
But Now, I may have to pay a huge price for someone else's blunder- I can't vote in the Local Government Election. I am trying to send my Postal Ballot Application form since yesterday but I could NOT find my details in Postal Voters List nor in Electoral Roll. 

Not yet? How Come?

Today I realized that all my family members are registered voters and my wife is a registered postal voter by the virtue of being my wife, except me, who is supposed to be dead! and yes I am so dead now!
I may be the only Bhutanese who can't vote. Even if people at Census solves my problem now, my fate is frozen because by 24th April 2011, Electoral Roll was sealed!
Let's see who should answer about it. My right to vote has been snatched away and I damn have to know who did it. I will make noise till I get my answer!

Breaking the Monopoly

When a fresh roll of cable stretched across Bajothang last week , everybody wondered why TT Cable is changing their functioning cable, but it was a mistake- Damchen Cable was making its entry into the area.Rumors of 50 channels and free connection is already in the air. Every other family I met is waiting to switch cable, but I don't want to do that. I want TT Cable to increase the channels and enhance the signal clarity, which they say is already in the pipeline- without having to ask. One of the best changes in the town!

I still remember how BMobile ragged us before the entry of Tashi Cell, how the way bankers treat clients changed with arrival of new banks, how quality of newspapers improved and price decreased,... how life changed for good at the break of monopoly.

But BPC's monopoly over power in the country may take a long time to break, and for so long we may have to tolerate frequent blackouts. In countries like Singapore, a teenager has never experienced a power blackout in his entire life but in Bhutan a month old babe has felt it over ten times already.

Bbay's week on Media

copied from ebay!

When I created Bbay I wasn't expecting magic, knowing there are lot other classifieds already online but soon I realized it could do magic since it was on a platform where everybody hangs out. For Bbay to be successful it must have hundreds of members and I had them soon. I waited for 500 members to kick start our business and it didn't take long before sale began. 
There were lots of things on sale and if wishes were horses I would have bought many of them. The iPad and SLR cameras made my heart beat the fastest. I have no intention and tech to track the sales but I am hopeful many deals must have been successful. 
Last week, Bbay enjoyed maximum Media coverage. Boaz Shmueli, co founder of Thimphutech.com mentioned "It is much harder to cheat on B-Bay..." and later Business Bhutan dedicated a full scale news article on Bbay. It has used the very motto of Bbay in the finishing line, " ... do some smart shopping."
I would like to thank everybody who believed in my crazy idea. I can only give you this platform for smart shopping. With Bbay, I hope nobody will land up receiving steel hammer. We will together educate people in reducing wastage of precious resources and still get what they want.
If you are not on Bbay yet, Join now!

PaSsuDiary.Com

Dear Friends Across the world, I am happy to tell you all that I have registered my personal domain name passudiary.com today, and all thanks to Pema Gyamtsho of Bhutan Hosting, who did it as soon as I asked. You all will be automatically redirected to my new address. It may not be necessary as of now but I urge you to note the change since I may soon move here permanently- and I don't want to lose your attention. Thank you for reading my stories. I am very much alive!

Late PaSsu

Deep condolences to my family members, including myself, who must be disturbed by the shocking news of my untimely demise. I was murdered by somebody in the Ministry of Homes and Culture Affairs, Department of Civil Registration and Census that has a vision of becoming "an efficient and effective organization, delivering civil registration and census related services of the highest standard and quality". The cause of the death must have been a careless punching of information in the database.
It may be an omen that I will live longer but upon hearing that I am "dead" in the census record of my country I had a very bad feeling. It came to my notice when I applied for NOC for my promotion. 
How did this happen?
Is it my fault?
Who should take care of this?
Do I have to apply for leave and run to Thimphu to prove that I am alive?


Whoever is responsible, please, don't kill me, I have a whole family to look after. And I don't have time and money enough to come to Thimphu to sort things out. Please take necessary action and know that I have forgiven you for declaring me dead.

Online Question Bank- My broken dream

Months of excitement and planning ended this afternoon after I saw the news in Kuensel. The online question bank that my ministry is planning to come up later this year was my dream project since last year. I have set up a blog last winter to inspire myself, discussed the idea with my friend at Bhutan Web Hosting Solution for a very dynamic website, and consulted my uncle for sources of fund.

Rough Sketch of broken dream

Coining the web address itself took me days. Every address I tried seemed to be booked and finally I landed up with bhutanquestionbank. I sketched a rough logo and sent it out to Phuba Namgay, a Bhutanese painter abroad, for giving it a professional touch. He agreed to do it for me after he is done with his wife Linda’s book promotion.

I sat down with my jobless brother, who is expected to work fulltime on the site after it is launched, and drew the blueprint. I encouraged him to work on it, so that his three years of computer studies comes to some work. My wife looked at my proposal and found it so promising that she agreed to help me through. I have everything ready except the fund it will require, which of course it planned out as well.

But now with the dream shattered, I have nothing to worry about except my brother’s job. I am surprise my ministry is going to pump in Nu.700,000 for the site alone and then additional fund for training, whatever that means. I only wish if they could offer me the project, because I have the passion. Passion to move on without having to push. Hope the ePortal won’t go to sleep after a while like most other websites, without me! 

Archery: The Lost National Game of Bhutan

Bhutan's biggest fear, when we first ushered into the global community was losing our culture amidst rapid change. Our timid country soon joined the race, and surprised many a country with our ability to balance development with preservation.

Picture Source: BBS Website

However, despite all the effort, we saw the inevitable power of change crossing the limits. While there are many issues identified and addressed, there are a few bigger problems totally ignored. One such problem is our National game, which is already lost but it doesn't seem so because another form of archery has picked up. The actual national game archery is played using bamboo bow and arrow, which requires more skill and strength than money to play. 

If American Hunting bows and arrows, equivalent to guns, are considered substitute for our National Game, then one day Crossbow will make its way into our game, and then the guns themselves. Ten years from now we may have to take our children to museums to show what our national game was like. 

A Dog and I had a bad Morning

The poor dog was sleeping at the door of my class this morning when I came out, and poor me didn't see him until I heard a loud cry followed by a sharp pain on my right ankle. I bled and he bled. But for him it was just that one moment, while I had to run to hospital. My little students of class VII advised me to get some fur from the dog and apply it on my wound. It's took me quite sometime to convince them that it would only develop infection.

The unfortunate dog

I got TT injection and am given this tedious mission of observing the dog for the next 10 days. The fate of this dog is my fate for these ten days. If the poor fella dies, or if it starts acting wild, or if it sleeps throughout then I am advised to run back to hospital for the Rabies vaccine. My class captain agreed to aid me in observing the dog. I wish the dog all the best, because I don't want to die barking.

Bhutanese Music

I didn't like Bhutanese music until recently, forgive me but there was nothing that could draw me- from lyrics to composition to the voice quality. Thanks to singers Namgay Jigs (forgive his name), Tshering Dorji, and Kheng Sonam Dorji, lyricist like Dirty and Composer like Tandin, who suddenly transformed the whole trend.

Now, Bhutanese children listen to great deal of local music and pride in being able to sing a few. Our generation, who grew insulting the half-hearted songs, is finally beginning to stop and listen, and even love some songs. It's unfortunate that the business is not good now a days with lot of piracy but the change in quality deserves all our respect.

I don't know what magic is there in Bhutanese songs, my daughter would run dancing to the TV as soon as she hears one playing. This has got me so curious, and I had to try playing different musics but god knows why it the Bhutanese music that has this magic. When I shared this story with my friends I knew I wasn't alone. This has been happening with many babies...

Business Idea: Why don't someone in web-designing business come up with a site from where we could download Bhutanese songs legally.

Marching through March

While blogging keeps me happy, life keeps me away from blogging. I met the bad luck at the gate of new year and he is still bothering me. My junior high school mate Tashi Phuntsho shook my hand hard and made strong promises. I didn't know he had changed so much until he ran away with my money. He has got guts even police couldn't break. Arrest warrant awaits him and he is still breathing dusty air across the border with his Indian mates. I have given details of his every move with his photograph to police, and yet I am made to wait forever. Police vigilance and intelligence ran far short of my expectation.

My school, the place that has become a part of me, saw series of hard times these few years. There was flooding, followed by drowning of a beloved student, then a theft case, then the bus accident which took a dear friend and injured three, and finally the fire that made us start from the scratch. Thanks to many donors, our school is coming back in shape. My principal is coming in with lots of new equipments. and thank god, the toilet has survived the fire, under the ruins- we didn't have plan "B" for that!

Mortality of physical assert shocked us the most, and our madam Secretary advised us to computerize every school data, which was what I was working on all through the month. I have prepared a very comprehensive school database, which I am think of publishing online in our school website- no flood and fire could ever destroy it.

But my personal problem still remains. As long as Tashi is free, I am not!

Hitting Century on my blog amidst Crisis!

While I am the last person to believe 2012 story, these few months of crisis all over the world is forcing me to change my mind. From stubborn Mubarak in Egypt to brutal Gaddafi in Libya, now  almost across whole Arab world, history is changing forever. While we were busy watching the tsunami of people across the streets, Japan is hit by what seemed like an imitation from the movie Day after Tomorrow. 

Hitting 100!

As far as we know there is no country in the world more prepared for earthquake than Japan but Tsunami took it by surprise. And as if it wan't enough, the disaster is immortalized by the involvement of nuclear power crisis in Fukushima Daiichi. Japan may have to live the World War II ordeal one more time. My sincere prayers for Japan for whatever it take stand tall again.

Amidst all these crisis across the globe, which keeps me awake late into the night I selfishly rejoice the success of my blog- if I can call it so, for gathering 100 followers today. PaSsu Diary has given me the inspiration to write and friends to inspire. While I expect recognition for whatever I sweat in,- from working months on building school webpage to stretching midnight hours to set up school database- my blog where I least expected gave me the maximum satisfaction. It only teaches me to do the things that I love, or love the things I do.

On this occasion I want to thank all my readers from across the world who gave me 36,740 hits so far for letting me enjoy writing and take pride in it. Following are the top ten countries in which my blog was read. I am surprised Singapore which was in top 5 earlier is now knocked off!

1. Bhutan 50.1%
2. United States 22.0%
3. India 6.6%
4. Australia 4.0%
5. Thailand 3.6%
6. Netherlands 3.4%
7. Germany 2.7%
8. United Kingdom 2.6%
9. Russia 2.5%
10. Canada 2.4 %

P:S: Thank you Madam Secretary for reading, loving and praising my blog. I couldn't help flying when DEOs and principal gave me your regards. It means a lot to me- and to them!

Amend the Tobacco Act (not repeal)

I don't smoke but I am still concerned. Tobacco Act does not go well with our country's image. And most importantly it doesn't represent the will of people, which it should have. Everybody is talking about it now and many are swearing on the government. But I wonder who is more concern about Bhutan than our Prime Minister. He sounded upset about the Facebook group and many comments people made, and he has the right to be. What he wants is not silence but the right approach. He wants people to talk to their representatives. While it is possible to do that, it could be difficult to reach them. 


Here is a easier way out! Sign the online Petition: Repeal the Tobacco Act. Read the letter, and if you agree then give your name and email address and click on sign. Comment is not necessary but if you have something to say make it formal and decent since it is going to be submitted to the government. This is the right and peaceful way and there is nothing to worry about.

Form will look like this! I have signed, You?

My Daughter got her ears pierced!

The New Year wasn’t good to me and I am sick of facing hard times. If I had to blog about everything that has happened to me in the last two months I would have infected my blog with bad luck, and you guys would consider me a depressed man rather than an ordinary Bhutanese. Therefore, I avoided writing about all those things and looked deep inside myself to find out something good to write about.

The constant source of happiness and at times anxiety was my daughter. Despite all the pressure we undergo as parents we can’t deny the fact that she is our daily dose of stress reliever and pain killer- and of course anti-sleeping pill. And it gives me great joy to share with you all that I got my daughter’s ears pierced. She looks more beautiful with her tops.

Look at her ears

It was done weeks ago in Druk Optical, Thimphu. Her mother was so excited to have it done despite by reluctance. But honestly I wanted it done too if only I was not scared. At the studio, the lady showed no sign of hesitation when she marked the position with a pen. Then came the piercing gun loaded with the earring we selected. The first one was done in a click and my babe cried. When they went for the second ear she was so irritated that she caught the lady by her sleeve and shook her- the adult was surprised and blushed. In another click it was done. While my babe kept crying a friend of her age appeared from behind the counter and hugged her- it helped. It was the lady’s daughter. I am amazed at the value added service!

We were worried about having a bad night but thanks to the superior quality of the earring, we have no complains at all. We were told that the earring can be changed anytime after a month. And I must tell all the new parents that it is completely safe and result is amazing!

Remains of Bajo

Bajo school will start afresh from now on with all its history gone with the fire. Tomorrow we will look for a room, fine a chair to sit and start a new school. No record what so ever of any student or teacher kept with the school exist anymore. We will write down the names of the students, ask their class, their house and ..and well lets see... for now we have covered the rubbles and made it look like nothing has ever happened.

Beginning at the end.

Keys to all the doors and cupboards are baked and I hope we don't have to break every door tomorrow. I have collected some keys and hopefully they will open up some doors.

A victory trophy and some keys- all but baked

Where do we start? Bajo School Fire aftermath...

Just when we are all set to start, we lost everything! We don't even have a list of students to restart with. All school documents from the time school started went down to ashes. How do we start? where to start from?

Which Gang should I register my Son with?

On New Year’s Day my son got robbed in Jaigon amidst the crowd. His beloved mobile phone and some cash were snatched away by a group of Indian Nepali boys. The first question they asked him was, “Are you a member of MB Boys?” MB boys, I heard, is a gang in Phuntsholing with over hundred members. They are in permanent state of war with the Indian boys ever since the murder of an Indian boy in Bhutanese soil. And today, despite strong indo-Bhutan friendship, no Bhutanese youth can walk safely across the border, unless in groups or with elders.

For once I wished my boy was with that gang; they would have given him protection and he wouldn’t have to undergo the traumatic experience. But that’s soon forgotten as we packed our bags and headed home.

But that was just the tip of an ice berg of what is happening in our towns.  Wangdue is now seeing strange faces and deadly group names, which only mean gangs are growing here at home too. I heard of some gang leaders from Thimphu visiting Wangdue to register members; they seem to have registration form, fee, interview, and other formalities in place. And as a concerned father I am seriously wondering which gang I should register my son with, because I don’t want my son to be a victim of all the gangs. He may need protection even as he walks to school. He has already seen the weakness of being a good boy.

Shadow of the Smoke

I was driving back to Wangdue, and I was alone. I was in a rush to cross Dochula pass before it gets dark. But the forest fire above Changjiji football ground made me stop for a while. I have never seen a forest fire from such close range; with the Wang chhu between me and the fire, I could feel the heat wave. There were hundreds of people from my side of the river bank and there were hundreds on the fire side but only the policemen, and some people in fire fighter's suit were battling the fire. 

Kuensel Image-probably taken from my side of the river.

The smoke from the fire rose high and its shadow fell over me and soon over Thimphu but as if it wasn't our problem we just looked on. For a moment, I wished I wasn't going to Wangdue. The fire soon destroyed a hut on its way across the hill despite the effort of three fire engines. And because fire engines couldn't climb the hill, fire soon escaped their range and ran up the hill. When I was watching, the fire was still climbing the small hill and if hundred men ran up the hill the fire could have been controlled. But one man was in rush to reach Wangdue and others had their own excuses. Men engaged in fighting the fire were greatly out numbered by men watching the fire show. 


The shadow of the smoke soon fell on Changjiji football ground and I was utterly shocked to see 22 strong men running after a ball and not at all bothered by the fire which was burning just above them. It wouldn't have made a difference even if they had stopped their game for a while but it sure showed what substance they were made of. I don't know who won the game or who scored the winning goal but our country lost 250 acres of forest before they finished their match. 


How easy it is, to sit and watch, or just go on playing a football match when it is just the shadow of the smoke that falls upon us!

Getting Bhutan schools W.I.R.ED by Eisen Teo

From:http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20100315-204656.html


MOST teachers in the landlocked Himalayan nation of Bhutan are computer-illiterate. Internet connections there are patchy at best, and only one in 10 students has a personal computer at home.

But a group of Bhutanese educators is determined to pull the country into the Internet age.

Ten teachers and five principals from five schools in Bhutan were in Singapore last month to tour the National Institute of Education and School of Science and Technology campuses, to learn how to use information technology (IT) in the classroom.

The five-day programme, from Feb 1 to 5, capped nine years of collaboration between the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) and Bhutan's Ministry of Education and the Royal University of Bhutan. Previously, SIF had organised about 30 volunteer trips to Bhutan, teaching IT and planning IT curricula at seven educational institutions.

The mountainous kingdom, bordered by India and China, lifted a ban on the Internet and television in 1999.

The latest phase of the collaboration, dubbed Bhutan W.I.R.ED (Weaving Infotech Resources with Education), hopes to take IT to a higher level: training teachers from the five partner schools so they can, in turn, train other teachers and students. SIF's goal for the country is 'sustainable development', said Ms Tam Peck Hoon, manager for international volunteerism.

Mr Passang Tshering, 26, embodies that value. He was one of the students in the pioneer batch who took an IT course planned by SIF volunteers eight years ago. Today, he is one of three teachers out of 28 at Bajothang Higher Secondary School, in central Bhutan, who are adept at IT. The school has 502 students, aged 13 to 20.

The father of one has his own blog, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts. He set up a website for the school last year.

In Singapore last month, he was impressed by the school tours. 'We got a lot of ideas, such as giving out homework on Google Docs, and having class blogs.' He planned to share these ideas with his colleagues and students.

Ms Loh Kwai Yin, the head of department of information and communication technology at the School of Science and Technology, is pleased with the progress made by the Bhutanese.

She volunteered to plan IT curricula in Bhutan from July 2005 to June 2006. Compared with four years ago, many schools there now have Internet access and projectors to experiment with using IT to conduct classes, she said.

Mr Tshering's school is one of them. It has 10 second-hand laptops donated by SIF, wireless Internet access, and a projector. He has bigger dreams for his country. He wants IT to become part of the official school curriculum and hopes all schools can be connected to one another through the Internet. The aim is that a wired Bhutan will help make life easier for its people.

He said: 'People would rush to the capital to apply for jobs or file their taxes. Now they can do it online.'

SIF sent a Singaporean volunteer - teacher Germaine Cheong, 32 - to Bhutan on Feb 24 to work with the five partner schools until the end of the year.

Six workshops helmed by Singaporeans are also planned up to the end of next year to help the Bhutanese educators keep up with technological changes.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.

A SEASON OF FIRSTS « Singapore

A SEASON OF FIRSTS « Singapore by SHERALYN TAY

This apprehension, thankfully, did not last, as Passu started a month-long introduction to information technology (IT) in school that very year as part of his Grade 9 curriculum. From then on, IT was to open vistas for the 26-year-old in both his professional and personal life.

As an IT teacher at Bajothang High School, Passu is among a pioneering batch of educators who have undergone a three-year IT enabling programme started by the Singapore International Foundation (SIF). “I was lucky to be in the first batch to be trained in 2004,” he said. “It was a three-year training course divided into five (six-month long) phases that included basic training and application in education.”

Passu’s visit to Singapore from 1 to 5 February this year was part of the Bhutan W.I.R.ED (“Weaving Infotech Resources in Education”) project, cofunded by the Temasek Foundation and the SIF. This three-year collaboration with Bhutan’s Ministry of Education and the Royal University of Bhutan aims to help develop the capacity of Bhutan’s educational system in employing IT for learning and living in the 21st century.

“We don’t need to rely on textbooks and chalkboards; IT has changed how we teach.”

Passu told Singapore that he felt “fortunate” to start his IT exposure early and to have been able to further his proficiency when he trained to be an IT teacher. It’s the new wave, he said, and an essential way for Bhutan to progress. “We don’t need to rely on textbooks and chalkboards; IT has changed how we teach,” he explained. “With IT, it is more interactive. We can show instead of just tell. We can entertain as we educate, and students are more excited about learning.”

This appetite for learning is not limited to his students. Passu himself is on a dedicated and continued journey to grow his IT expertise. His five-day learning visit to Singapore was very useful, he said, as he learnt about new applications for IT in education, such as SharePoint, Google documents and Googlesites. He has also expanded his horizons in other ways. “It’s my first time flying by airplane, coming to Singapore, seeing tall buildings, and riding on the MRT!” he said with a grin.

His Singapore experience has inspired him, he said. “The Singapore education system, school and country as a whole seem to us like something from the future. On top of education and infocomm and technology training, we were overwhelmed by the transportation system, cleanliness, civic sense of the people, and the food. We even observed how we would walk down many streets and come back indoors and find not a fragment of dust. If Bhutan has to develop, Singapore could be our vision!”

Talking about PaSsu in Singapore

I don't remember what I was doing on 5th Oct last year but back in Singapore it was Singapore International Foundation Dinner. Of course, I was not supposed to attend that dinner or was I invited but what makes it of interest to me is what Ms Euleen Goh, Chairman of SIF spoke that evening. It was a long speech though but three paragraphs were on a Bhutanese boy who feared computer once and went on to become an ICT teacher- which is me.

It came to my notice when my teacher Ms. Loh Kwai Yin, who is also in the story, posted it on her blog. She posted the whole speech. But I choose to show only those three paragraphs where I am mentioned, lol.

Original speech can be found in 

http://www.sif.org.sg/media-room/speeches/19/sif-appreciation-dinner-2010.html

But I got it from http://lohky-bhutan.blogspot.com/2010/12/when-i-googled-my-name.html

05 Oct 2010

SIF Appreciation Dinner 2010

Speech by Ms Euleen Goh, Chairman of SIF at Partner for Good - SIF Appreciation Dinner 2010 at the Grand Ballroom, Hotel Intercontinental

...

Thanks to you - our volunteers – such stories of success and new hope abound all over the region. In Bhutan, a teacher - Mr Passang Tshering - shares how the SIF's IT-in-Education project helped him get over the fear of computers. When he first sat in front of a computer, he was 16. What would normally be an exciting event for any other youngster, proved to be a frightening experience for this boy. Why the anxiety? Well, he believed then that the computer was so intelligent it could read his thoughts!

This same young man is now, at the age of 28, the head of the IT department at Bajothang High School in Bhutan. All because, PaSsu (as he is known to friends), was selected to be trained by IT teachers that the SIF sent from Singapore five years ago. Today, the former techno phobe teaches his students through web applications such as SharePoint, Google documents and wikis. He also has his own blog, and Facebook, Youtube and Twitter accounts.

PaSsu was invited to Singapore this February, as part of a study visit by Bhutanese teachers under the Bhutan wired project, co-sponsored by SIF and the Temasek Foundation. It gave him the opportunity to catch up with his SIF trainer from half a decade ago: Ms Loh Kwai Yin, now head of department of information and communication technology at Singapore's School of Science and Technology. Not that they hadn't been in touch all this while; both had kept in close contact through the internet and continue to share ideas and resources. 

From Singapore Magazine (http://singaporemagazine.sif.org.sg/2010/04/a-season-of-firsts/)

 I appeared in news papers, blogs and even speeches in Singapore. But what they don't know is  I have no good memories from the tour in Singapore, except meeting my teacher Ms. Loh. It was  a torture and I blame nobody except my own unpreparedness for the outside world. I went out as a Bhutanese and came back a sick man.