Oil on Canvas for my King and Queen

As I watched my friend Hemlal giving finishing touch to the portrait of their majesties the king and queen for their wedding celebration, I wondered how I should express those million feelings that are singing in my heart. I could see people around me writing beautiful poems and composing sweet musics, there are already so many lines written on Facebook walls and blogs, how could I write something so differently satisfying? Eventually, after months of pondering I realized however I write I am only going to dilute my strong feelings.
Then during one of my visits to Hemlal's makeshift studio I suddenly remembered my childhood passion for painting. But since he has done the portrait so well I had to think of another way; something through which I could bring out the character of the compassionate king and the divine romance of the wedding.
I recollected all the kings I know from history and none really qualified my criteria- some weren't kind, some were brutal, some fully consumed by greed and others by lust, the few kind kings I remembered weren't either wise or handsome. There was no one worldly king I could think of who could be used as a legendary reflection of our beloved king.

Penciling my feelings.

The only king I know who so much characterizes our king was but an imaginary king from Disney Renaissance; an image of the perfect king envisioned by Walt Disney Feature Animation- yes the Lion King. The king I loved for ages. There among the many pictures of Lion King I saw one which emits the radiance of pure love and eternal comfort, which is exactly what I wish for our king. Thus I picked it up and started sharing the room with Hemlal.

The Finished canvas. 

Thank you Dawa Knight

My blog began enjoying over 1000 page views per day since early last week even when I didn't add anything new. I just checked back and found that one post I wrote on September 11 last years was drawing in lots of American visitors. It was about how not to remember 9.11. Later yesterday I saw an unbelievable 3080 page views and it happened on September 11, 2011. I couldn't help announcing it on Blogyul, a Facebook page for Bhutanese bloggers. What happened next gave me even greater joy, a fellow blogger Dawa Knight gifted me a sketch of me and my daughter in appreciation for the massive hits.

Dawa Knight's Gift.

I would like to thank you Dawa for considering me worth for blackening your wonderful fingers. To the world it may mean nothing more than a sketch of an ordinary Bhutanese with his daughter but to me it mean the world. I would love to receive the original copy as you promised.

Screen shot from Blogyul

First Weekend in Bajothang

Today is a day to remember in Bajothang, the first weekend after the closing of Gangthangkha. In the last three days after the deadline, town has almost come alive. There were lights everywhere, so many cars and hundreds of people coming out in open for the first time in my five years in Wangdue. The hustle and bustle quite resembled a busy evening in Phuntsholing.
The beautiful evening however might not have been so good for many families who didn't get a parking space, who were stuck in traffic jam, who had to honk and wait forever for the driver who has parked behind them, who got their slippers in sewage overflow, and those who didn't get an apartment to live in yet.
I am full of smiles as I walk the streets and see all the beautiful shops that we never had, so many options to choose from- looks like time has come for all the monopolies to break once and forever.

Earlier Stories:
31st August: Battle of Wangdue Phodrang
1st September: Rough Road to Bajothang

Wangay's Letter - "Bereaved leave"

Wangay is a teacher in Phuntshothang Middle Secondary School, Samdrup Jongkhar. I don't know him but his letter (see the picture) published in Bhutan Observer yesterday connected to me. He had to come to school to attend to his duty leaving behind his grieving wife whose mother passed away. In times of sickness and death even enemies join in to give helping hand but because he was a working man who ran out of allotted leave, he failed so much as a husband.

When I was in my first year of college my father passed away. My sister was one year senior to me in the same college. Two of us cried our long journey home. I cried more when I thought of how my mother would be, and cried even more thinking about our three younger siblings. Our youngest sister was only three then. When I reached home I rushed to see my mother, why has already cried herself to unconsciousness. My little sister was among the villagers trying to revive my mother, she wouldn't know what had happened. She would say her father has gone to collect firewood. My youngest brother was on his way back from school and hadn't yet known his father was dead. My other younger brother was strongly waiting for us, since he was the eldest when we were not there.

All our close relatives living in Thimphu provided us with all the money we need to preform the funeral rites, but when it comes to being by my mother's side they weren't there for even a single night. We children were the only people surrounding the widow. And the most ugliest, most regretful and the most inhumane part of that story was our early return to college. The two eldest children left their mother on the seventh day because of our unforgiving attendance system in college. If we didn't have the required attendance we wouldn't be allowed to sit for exams no matter what. Even today, it pains me so much when I think of that system, and my biggest regret is the choice I made- I chose too leave my broken mother for a damn college.

This is my story among thousands of your stories. Of all the times in life shouldn't we be given a special leave  when something like these happen? These are life changing moment that don't happen often. And with Wangay, I wish to urge the government to think over it. It's should matter if it isn't in American system, Bhutan is the first country that should welcome "bereaved leave". Please.

The Rough Road to Bajothang

August 31st was the date people in Wangdue were waiting for months with different feelings. But nothing much was happening today besides some closed shops and one lone DCM truck carrying a family's belongings to Bajothang. Official notice has been issued, where it is stated that if any shop is found operating from tomorrow their trade license will be seized. The road to Bajothang, to change the history of a place is going to be rough again.
The biggest cannonball that the people loaded in the cannon to backfire the deadline is the readiness of Bajothang. They question the safety of town, hygiene, traffic, accommodation of people and vehicle. While the finished Bajothang town would have answered all these questions but if you visit the half-alive town today, you will see

1. Many structures are half complete. Anything could fall from above and risk the lives of passersby. 
2. The road network are blocked by construction debris on almost every street thereby making road inaccessible to cars. 
3. Sewage from some building are running free on the streets, pollution both land and air. 
4. All drainage systems are damaged, and nothing has been done till today. 
5. There is not a single traffic signs erected or line drawn on the road, forget the line, there is not blacktopped road visible in the entire town. Streets are filled with cars parked randomly without following any traffic rules.
6. All apartments are filled up, there is no room for people living in Gangthangkha to squeeze in.

I have toured both the towns this morning and viewed the situation from the eyes of an ordinary Bhutanese who has nothing to lose or gain for whatever happens. I had taken along my camera and captured shots of things to backs the story of what people claim. All the pictures are taken this afternoon, please go through the photostory.

This is where Children Park will be. Who will construct it and when is the deadline?

The tiny truck parking is being cleared for tomorrow. How many trucks will fit in there?

BOD. Why did they have to late for so long. Will they be ready by tomorrow morning? 

How to get to the other side of the street? Is it a mule track? 

Forget about traffic signs, you can't even see the road. The bridges you are seeing is constructed over sewage overflow. 

Desolate shops in Gangthangkha, left behind by people who have  shifted to Bajothang.

So far only two structures were dismantled. September 10 is the last day for clearing structures in Gangthangkha.

Where is the road?

Lone truck shifting a home.

Tomorrow morning when I wake up, Gangthangkha will be no more the place people will crowd. I wish people all the strength it takes to let go the past and embrace the new place, after all Bajothang is a bigger town, with bigger opportunity, with space for bigger dreams.
And I wish if the responsible authority could play their role swiftly and give themselves deadline, besides giving to others, in making Bajothang business ready.

Battle of Wangdiphodrang

By tomorrow morning Gangthangkha town in Wangdue will be a history- or so is expected to be. Today is the deadline for the town to shift to Bajothang. In last twenty nine years the town has grown from amazon of cactus to city of matchboxes. Many were born in the tiny hurts and have become adults now. But it was clear from the beginning of history that Gangthangkha was never meant to be a permanent town. Bajothang was destined to be the place where everybody will move to one day, though it came way too late. The time has come yet again, after the failed deadline of 31st December 2010, to leave the slum like homes into the concrete jungle of Bajothang.
Unlike homes in Gangthangkha, Bajothang has homes with multiple rooms, so your no more have to share room with your parents after your marriage. Ceiling of the rooms are high enough for the fan to spare your head. There are at least two toilets in one apartment, so you no more have to take public bath or wait till the night falls to release yourself in the bushes. Literally Bajothang means luxury to people who lived in Gangthangkha.

Gangthangkha as seen this morning. The last day!

As busy as always, but it will never be the same again.

However, not many people want to leave the dusty town yet for reasons of their own, and on the contrary there are many who don't want them to resist beyond tonight. Thus the battle of Wangdiphodrang begins:

There are four groups of people who resist the deadline:

1. People who are yet to get plot in Bajothang. They want to wait until their plots are given and until they finish their building.
2. People who got plots in the first round but didn't finish constructions yet. They wish to stay until their buildings are ready. They are not ready even after the deadline was extended for 8 more months.
3. People who own shops or are tenants in Gangthangkha but are not eligible for plots. They didn't get space in Bajothang to live or operate their business. 
4. People who got plots and finished constructions also but because their business is running well in Gangthangkha they don't want to shift yet.

There are rumors that a group of people went to Thimphu to ask for yet another extension on the already extended deadline but was denied. Tomorrow we will see what they will do to get what they want.

But on the other side of the same town there are two groups of people along with the government who insist on the deadline:

1. People who have already shifted into their new building. Because the business is not good yet the tenants are not willing to pay good rent, which leads to difficulty in repayment in housing loan. Some seemed to have threatened that if the deadline is not followed the dwellers of Gangthangkha must bear burden of housing loan.
2. People who are operating business in Bajothang. Because of the Gangthangkha, business in Bajothang is unsustainable which is why these group also strongly insist on the deadline.

The insistent group has the backing of the government, who had fixed the deadline in consultation and agreement with the people of all sides. However, the resistant group is questioning the readiness of Bajothang to accommodate and deliver needful service to the whole population. 

Whatever happens after today, it should be accepted that the decision to embrace the change was fairly democratic though it still leaves many unhappy. There cannot be a road without a pothole, not at all on the road to Bajothang, after years of controversy.

Selling Books in Wangdue- Nothing business about it!

If selling books were as easy as selling beer I wouldn't have chosen to sell Yeewong Magazine and Student Digest in Wangdue. And I am ready to accept any proposal to sell Bhutanese books here. I am a busy teacher and also forbidden to do business but I am a literature lover more and there is nothing business in what I am doing.

Student Digest on Sale!

Bajo town though merely born yet, has over 50 shops selling alcohol. If you don't find a bar in every next building, you win a lunch from me at Hotel Phuensum- well they sell alcohol too. On the contrary, if you find one shop that sells books in Bajo Town I bet you a copy each of Yeewong and Sutdent Digest. I am already sorry!
The adventure of selling books is something like the journey to Mt Everest- hardly possible. People have lots of excuses when it comes to buying books but I have way around each excuse. It is irritating, humiliating, saddening, and less often exciting. Many talk straight about my commission, that which but goes in travelling around and I don't mind forgoing it as long as I can spread the books in every corner of Wangdue Dzongkhag. I want to do business which gives me more satisfaction than money.

My wife runs a shop that entertains children with Play station games, computer games and internet. We chose to do this business even after known that our costumers are the generation with no money in their hand. While the whole town is madly busy intoxicating adults and drawing huge cash we are patiently enlightening children and exciting them on their crumbled changes. There is nothing business about this either.
Two magazines have already made it to our shelf and we are willing to accept more as long as it goes on to educate a child- anything for youth. If parents don't want their children to swim in rivers, get into fights, do drugs, drink alcohol,... put some cash in their hand and bring them to KPS- buy them books, let them Google, and let them see what it feels like to be Ben 10, after all a Students Digest cost less then a bottle of beer, and if your sacrifice another bottle your child can enjoy hours of gaming and surfing!