A Movie for Teachers- From Monu Tamang

I love movies but I really don't believe in investing hours on just any movie. There are perhaps a million movies and half of them can be disappointing, that's why recommendations are very helpful. Thank you Monu GhishYing Tamang for recommending a movie that touched my soul. The last time I felt the same about a movie was in my college days and the movie was Finding Forrester (This is for writers). That was also watched upon recommendation by a good friend.

The Ron Clark Story is based on the true story of a teacher. The movie shows us how far we can go with our passion. Ron Clark takes up the worst class in New York City and walks them to the top. I laughed and cried, and I want every teacher to watch it. I have shared the movie with many of my friends in Bajothang and I will make sure it reaches far and wide. 

Still from the Movie

How did I get the movie is another interesting story. When I read Monu's recommendation on his blog I was dying to watch it and I left a comment in which I also wrote "...If I can't find it you will have to bring your copy along when you come home and pass it to me." In his next blog post, he wrote he was coming home. In the footnote, he has left a message for me,

"PS: I will start my journey on 14 October, if I get the train ticket. PaSsu sir, wait for me at Wangdue Zampa, I will drop my pen-drive (The Ron Clark Story) there from the bus while travelling to Tsirang (my Home) lol."

 

Last week my office assistant hand me a registered letter with something inside. On the back of the envelope, it was written 'From Monu Tamang'. He had reached Thimphu and perhaps thought waiting on Wangude Zampa may not be a good idea. I opened the packet to find a pen drive with the movie inside it. 

Dear Monu, the movie has become double special for me just because you sent it with high regards. I will watch it time to time and every time I do, I will remember you. I will share the movie with as many teachers as possible and all the good changes will be credited to you. Thank you so much.

What is Gangnam Style?

'Gangnam style' was the word I was hearing between every line and as always I didn't want to remain ignorant about a topic that was trending so much over the social media, so I looked up for it to find out that there's a heavy guy who dances exactly like me and has become so popular. 

Many days after my Gangnam discovery Kezang asked me, 'What is Gangnam Style?' I did my dance steps to her to show it and as usual she laughed at them. Ok, I took her on YouTube and showed her the real Gangnam style and she laughed harder. Later she told me that we two dance the same. That's it.

All these years people laughed at me when I danced, because I didn't call it Gangnam Style. Now people are trying so hard to dance like me because it's Gangnam Style.

Dr. Gado, Make Your Own Choice

Dr. Gado

Dr. Gado has confirmed his intentions to run for 2013 election from my constituency, which gives me a strong reason to cast my vote next year. He is very popular back home as someone who has achieved great height in career and someone who remained close to his roots. His seat in the parliament is almost confirmed by the grace of his own goodness displayed in the last many decades.

However, I am startled by his indecision in choosing the party. Opposition Leader Tshering Tobgay has called it the new height in the art of politics, But I call it the height of indecision. How can he let the people chose party for him? Is he going to agree with the ideology of any party people choose from him? Does that mean he has no vision of his own political career? or does he already know which party people will drag him in? 

In all regard, experience, maturity, education and wisdom he himself is the best man to make the choice and I will trust his choice more then the choice made by hundreds of uneducated folks. I am one of his people and I want him to chose his own party and tell us how he will serve us from there.

I can sense the art of politics applied here but how satisfying will it be for him at the end? or how regretful will it be if it turned out the otherwise? Please Dasho, make your own choice and let us make our own choice when the time comes for us to make our choice, now is your time not ours. 

The Raven Spreads its Wings in Wangdue

The Raven is the magazine born in difficult times, and I have followed its journey from its licensing time, when the egg was still not hatched. The team behind the magazine, who are very active social activists, and the numerous discussion about it on social media made the waiting very hard. The Raven broke its egg and spread its wings on 13th October 2012; choosing the special day made the occasion of first royal wedding anniversary part of the magazine's history.

Finally I caught a Raven

In next few days I received the PDF copy of the book but that didn't quench the long thirst of having waited.  and it was yesterday evening I finally got my hands on the Raven. The magazine is now in Bajothang at TashiKee Mid Point store. 

Last night I spent the time watching Kezang read it and soon gave up to sleep. This morning I added an extra hour to my day and feasted on the magazine. The name has always impressed me and now the design has won my heart. The Raven's wingspan has covered the hottest issues and its claws have dug the depths. The maturity seen on the cover design is maintained throughout the 74 pages taking its worth beyond Nu.100. The most wow factor was the independence it celebrates with its own in-depth research and interview with people about issues that matter most these days.   

I have seen magazines come and go, and news of another magazine shouldn't impress me but with The Raven all hopes are renewed and I only hope it will fly down generations across. Best Wishes.

P.S: If you are out of the reach of hard copy of The Raven, Send you email address to editor@ravenmag.com or marketing@ravenmag.com I think they are generously distributing the PDF of the inaugural issue for free. And don't forget to follow @bhutanraven on Twitter.
<< Since I am getting lots of request for PDF copy of The Raven, and also since I have the permission to distribute the inaugural copy I have created a download link on the left for all of you to freely download the mag. Please acknowledge the free distribution to the two addresses given above.

A Night to Remember

The Legend has it and movies show it that werewolves transform into wolves on full moon nights and turn bloody wild, but they are thought to be mythical species. But practically we have some men who turn into animals every weekend, if not wolves, and go hunting for trouble. Weekends are for people to rest and relax but many drink and go wild and fight and tire themselves so much.

On weekends (from forbiddenplanet.co.uk)

My family usually hangout late at a cafe run by my colleague, but last weekend I was occupied and couldn't make to her place. Strangely that night most of our regular friends were absent as well, and her husband was ill and left for home early. She and her niece were closing the cafe after 10 when a car pulled over and a guy started teasing her. She is not somebody who would make a fuss out of silly things. She ignored several times but he wouldn't stop. She reached at her door, which is just across the street, when the man started badmouthing her. She is good at debating, she fought back equally well.
Such men expect women to either shy away giggling or give positives signs when they eve tease them but when a woman fires back they have very think membrane around they drunken ego. The man came out of his car and ran for her. His friend was waiting in the car behind the wheel. A group of Indian laborers had gathered, along with some neighbors. The guy grabbed her by her neck and dragged her a few steps when she twisted around and gave a slap across his face. The man fell in the drain and got himself soaked in mud. She send another shot on his face with her handbag when the muddy man came for her again. He fell the second time and she jumped on him throwing punches all over his head until the man ran away like a beaten dog. The car that was waiting for him sped away after him.
Her husband knew only after the show was over, when their niece was crying aloud outside witnessing the fight but the woman has fought for herself. She called the police and started hunting for the man and his friend. Next evening when we went to her cafe she wasn't there, she was gone to police. She has taken leave from office and went looking for the man. She got him and has handed him over to the police. Her niece told us the story.
When she returned she scolded us for not being there the other night. I told her that she has fought well and done what we couldn't have. But I was curious as to why she had to go to police if she had done so much to justify the matter, to which she said, "I have fought for my defense, but not many women can do it. That contractor (O the man was a contractor) seems to think that he can abuse any woman. I took him to police to let him know that he can't..."
I jokingly remarked, "with multiple knockouts in one night the man will never again dare look at another woman." But the truth is every weekend so many men turn into animals. But that was a night to remember.

How Much Would it Cost Us?

I have learned that "If Amazon.com shuts down for 60 minutes, it loses more than US$3 million" from a ThimphuTech.com's tweet. Boaz Shmueli, the passionate brain behind ThimphuTech.com works and lives in Thimphu. He has the world of internet on his finger tips, and has been very kind in helping every Bhutanese with tech related issues. He also runs a Q&A column in Kuensel's weekend K2 magazine to extend his helpful hand further. So far he has been our 'May Day'; he enlightened us on issues faced by our isp and other organizations, he warned us of hackers and malicious activities on our sites, he showed us better and secured way to occupy space on the virtual world... he always remained tactful and did us the services that we should actually expect from our ISP Druknet. He also covered areas in cellular communication when BMobile failed to explain or inform.

That Tweet!

So when he tweet about Amazon.com right after Bhutan experienced an unexplained and uninformed internet outage he means to let Druknet understand that every time they are out of service they are losing business. But question is would they even know about the tweet since Druknet is not even on twitter?
If Amazon.com loses $3 million in 60 minutes of shutdown, how much could we (Bhutan) possibly be losing when;

1. When Internet is down across the country four many 60 minutes?
2. When Mobile network fails?
3. When the electricity goes out for days and weeks?
4. When the roads remain blocked for days? and 
5. When the whole Nation is put to standby mode for a day on the Pedestrian Day?

Or do we even care? Another tweet from @tsheringtenxin suggests that unlike Amazon.com ours are "govt owned enterprise after all. It's not going to hurt them in the bone to lose business for weeks and months."

No More Valentines Day, Only 13th October

On this day, 13th of October last year, we saw the most beautiful wedding of all time. Our king had finally found our queen. The most beautiful queen. It was a series of history in the making that day and I felt blessed to have lived in the moment that saw the father king crowning the queen of Bhutan. That moment I didn't care if Kezang was watching me I just let my happiest teardrops flow.

Image Source: The Globe and Mail

Your majesties the king and the Queen, I wish you all the love and happiness in the world, and I will pray each day for your good health. May your loving union bring endless smiles to the lives of every Bhutanese, who will never fail in loving you. May you bless this beautiful kingdom with a beautiful Crown Prince very soon.

I don't know which day to celebrate as our wedding anniversary because Kezang and I really don't remember when we declared ourselves as man and woman like many Bhutanese couples, but since last year this great event on this auspicious day gave me all the inspiration to celebrate our union today. Further, there will be no more Valentines day in our lives, only 13th October. It's the national wedding day.

Congress Grass and Bad Nose

Sinusitis is a very common disease among Bhutanese and most common among people living in Wangdue. This is based on no formal research but every other person around me has the infection, including myself. The local medical pharmacy tells me that thousands have come to him with the problem because he is known for his ability to treat this disease with his own combination of medicine. People trust him more than they trust hospitals.
Depending on the severity of the infection people go to extremes to free themselves from the suffocation disease, and like a myth this disease has strange treatments; Smelling the stinking waters in Gasa Hotspring, smoking cigarette filled with fragments of samba deer's horn, inhaling smoking from burning human body at the cremation ground, and of course the regular medical treatments at hospitals and indigenous hospitals.
People have come up with various causes of the disease in the region, (of course we can't expect our hospitals to do this out of their box), some say it's because of our water source that carries dirt from several villages from Samtengang to Boelangda, while others say it's the strong wind that carries all sorts of dust in the air we breath in daily. However, the water and wind story prevails across the country and attributing Wangdue's mass infection to it comes with little logic, that's when I heard and discovered the story of a toxic grass.
Santa Maria Feverfew or Whitetop Weed is originally from American tropics. It became widespread in Asia through contaminated wheat that the Congress Party of India imported from the US, which is why now the plant is known as Congress grass. It doesn't take much intelligence to find out how the grass made it to Wangdue. The grass is invasive and can spread at epidemic proportions triggering pollen allergy in human and even livestock. Due to toxic parthenin it contains it causes dermatitis and respiratory malfunction in humans, which explains why so many of us are struggling with out nose every day. 

The Political Grass- Imported from India

Rajnikant Effect in my Classroom

I don't have a say over South Indian invasion over Bollywood, nor does anybody have in Indian cinema. Not only all our channels are flooded with south Indian movies but all latest Bollywood hits are remake from south Indian masterpieces. Never imagined Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan and Akshey Kumar would act in copied movies and earn so much fame over night. Even creative Aamir Khan had his share, perhaps the first among them.

Rajnikant's Robot went on to drop Hollywood jaws and when he said, "Shah Rukh's Ra One's total collection wouldn't match up to his Robot's parking fee collection" He said it all. Nobody seemed to mind. They believe, even God doesn't mind Rajnikant.

The South Indian God

But I have a small problem with him ever since  I started teaching Probability chapter to my class VII students. Logically the probability of getting either the head or tail while tossing a coin is 50-50 and I have to use this logic for a few lessons. But my small kids wouldn't believe me, they say when Rajnikant tosses the coin it stands on its edge. Now what? Do we rewrite the whole chapter including Rajnikant-side to a coin?

Head, Tail and The Rajnikant side

Rinchengang Aree- From Where I live

The famous Rinchengang Aree(Paddies in Rinchengang)in Wangdue covers two beautiful hills facing Wangdue Dzong. If the whole paddies grew rice it could feed Wangdue for a year but ever since I came here I never saw those paddies cultivated. The famous name of the landmark lives only in the famous jokes of Phuba Thinley, where wrinkled foreheads are compared to those paddies in Rinchengang.

Lets look at Rinchengang Differently...

People blame lack of water supply for their inability to cultivate, while I see lack of commitment and abundance of greed toward easy money through sale of land to construction industries. Those paddies are registered as wetland and therefore cannot be transacted which is why they are left uncultivated for years, knowing that someday it will remain wetland no more.

My Kitchen Garden (10X4 m yet enough)

I live a few kilometers across the river and I have used a small piece of land around my house as kitchen garden. In these two years I have discovered that the soil in Wangdue is nothing less than gold. There is nothing that doesn't grow in Wangdue. I grow sixteen varieties of vegetables and I have not visited Sunday Market for months. I even share my produce with my friends. When the whole nation was worrying and about vegetable import ban, and crying over inflation in vegetable price I was in my kitchen garden wondering what the hell.

My Girl and her friend with Corn Harvest

I wake up early in the morning and work in my garden, and I keep working when the students walk through the gate, just to show to them that I grow my own vegetable and that they could do all the same. I often wished if children from Rinchengang saw me working so that they get inspired to look back at their endless paddies and see what they have left behind.

Radish, Broccoli, Chili, beans, you name it...

P.S. I wish if Lyenpo Pema Gyamtsho could look at the paddies once from across the river and ask if lack of water is justifiable when there is huge river flowing below Rinchengang.

What's Your Excuse?

I am amazed at the level of intelligence and knowledge among fellow Bhutanese displayed on social media platforms and I am confident if some of these passionate people join politics they can lead us to greater future but...
You are not alone, many concerned citizens share the same thought that they are great political materials, only unwilling to take part.You are watching the new political parties struggling to fish in party members and you are wondering how they will find as many as 47 members each, ignoring that fact that you could be one of them.
You have concerns over many issues and you were unhappy with the way things have gone so far. Deep inside you know that you could make difference but

• You think it's too early for you to join politics. You will wait for the right time in life.
• You don't want to risk your job for a mere probability. You will join after you have made enough money to survive if you have to lose.
• You think you are too clean to be a politician. Politics is for different species of people.
• You want to be in the ruling party but you know that it's impossible to predict. 
• You are already feeling the embarrassment if you lose.
• You think you can make the difference from your chair and spend the rest of your life pointing fingers.

Well, it reminds me of Anil Kapoor's blockbuster Nayak, where he becomes Chief Minister for a Day and wins people's faith. But when he was approached to run for election he refuses with his own share of excuses. We need someone like Paresh Rawal to bash us with his powerful dialogue to realize that if you want change you have to invest in it and make sacrifices.

You want change, You don't want to get Dirty!

I am guilty too, I have been approached by a party last summer and I declined. I am not scared of losing this job, actually I have better offers than this, but it's about life's calling. I find satisfaction living among children, and my excuse is that I will try my share of changing here in school where life begins. I know it's not the best excuse but I meant it.

What is your excuse? 

Ugyen Panday Should be DDC Brand Ambassador

"The Dzongkha Development Commission (DDC) is the leading institute in the country for the advancement of Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan." Reads the home page of their website. It was founded in 1986 to preserve and promote use of Dzongkha but by the time I reached high school Dzongkha was almost considered outdated. People either spoke Sharshopkha, Nepali or English. We listened to English and Hindi songs. It was a pride to say, 'I 'm very poor in Dzongkha'. 
DCC worked harder but they were fighting a losing battle against the rampage of different influences through television and internet. The so many expenses pumped into Dzongkha essay, debate, skit and lozay competitions in schools only went on to polish those who were already shining in Dzongkha and had little or no effect on the majority of non-Dzongkha fans. 

• DDC came up with numerous publications, but like always this only pleased the ones who were interested in Dzongkha. There was nothing special in those publications to win new hearts. Dzongkha-English Dictionary published and distributed last year looked like it could make a difference.
• DDC brought foreign help to rescue national language, which was an irony in itself. They may be language experts but it takes people who understand Bhutanese to fix the problem.
• DDC developed software which made typing on computer possible, and also on some mobile devices. But it only made computer popular among the Dzongkha lovers, rather than making Dzongkha popular among computer users.
• DDC composed many new words, only to confuse the one who were already so confused. They reject the word we have been using for ages saying those were not Dzongkha, and went on to make new words thereby making Dzongkha a foreign language among the Bhutanese.

Our bad romance with Dzongkha was not something that would age with us and die slowly, it was something we would pass down to our children unknowingly, and few generations down the line Dzongkha could be a language of the past.

But a few years ago Bhutan woke up to a new morning of Bhutanese music. It was Namgay Jigs who made every Bhutanese hum Dzongkha songs. From taxis, to shops, to school concerts there was no place Dzongkha songs weren't played. But soon Namagy turned very Jigs, he started sounding like a young boy who spent all his life in the west.

Musical Revolution 

Ugyen Panday was a revolution, a young man with good sense of style and so appealing to the young generation, and someone who made Dzongkha language sound very beautiful in its original form. Overnight he invaded every music device; iPod, MP3 Player, Mobile Phones, Computers and most of all the beating hearts. Dzongkha has never been so popular in our country, and thanks to Ugyen Panday. And in 1986 was this musical boy born, the year DDC was founded.

Winning hearts from across borders

Therefore, I was wondering if Ugyen Panday could be the Brand Ambassador of DDC, he needn't do anything more than what he's doing everyday- playing his guitar and singing his songs and winning hearts, while DDC could pump a part of fund they waste in their fruitless activities into his musical career.

Musical Man

Courtesy: Photos are taken from Ugyen Panday's Facebook Profile.

Chinese Factor

When I was a little boy playing in the dusty playground in my village our favorite game was 'Going to Tibet' where I being one of the strongest get to be tradesman. There would be a few friends with me carrying loads of scraps because they were my horses. Rest of the boys will be either play Chinese army or Tibetan andos (meaning guerrilla force). These two forces would ambush on my caravan, while I would have to escape their territory to earn my fortune and win my freedom- and to prove myself as the strong among village boys.
This game of 'Going to Tibet' was inspired by true stories, where our traders tell us the stories of how they escaped the horse-eating Chinese army to illusive andos.
For a northern Bhutanese 'Going to Tibet' is the way of living, struggle for survival and a business that runs down the bloodline. My father crossed those mountains so many times, but his life ran shorter than his ambition and had to leave us in the hands of fate. His son was only a year old when he breath his last, he didn't wait for me to pass his secret maps. Perhaps he must have passed them through his genes but I went to school to draw my own map.
Every other neighbor goes to Tibet, though we lost our last family tradesman. Bhutanese had their first pinch of salt from across those mountains. From what used to be self-sustaining business, it grew in large scale trade and big merchants in Thimphu rely on our people for their business. Every household in Bhutan would either have a flask or a blanket that came on the horseback from across those mountains.
The trade was marked illegal in modern times and traders started hiding from their third hunters-Bhutanese army along the border. It became a risky business but what else could our people do in the place where only wheat grew? But never in my entire life have I seen media covering the story of this black business across the mountain, and what Kuensel reported on 18th September about the four traders arrested in Bumthang surprised me. What does it mean after all these years? Is it the impact of new relation with China? I don't see a reason beyond Chinese factor and I am already worried if the factor is going to affect the whole mountains. How black is this black business that keeps so many families warm along those cold mountains?

Tshechu Without Dzong

Wangdue Tshechu appears more than any other festivals in ancient literature but in recent times it disappeared from the list of important festivals, literally or figuratively, for it shines in the shadow of Thimphu Tshechu and Dromchen.

Picture from Kuensel

And this year we are receiving the most painful attention because for the first time in the living history Wangdue Tshechu is celebrated without the Wangdue Dzong. Without the Dzong the very charm of the festival is lost, it feel so empty to get into the best dresses and ornaments anymore. I don't even have a clue about how things are going in Tencholing Army Campus, but young folks returning from the festival look exhausted from so many fun stalls to choose from.

The Truth Behind 'Annual Bath' Jokes

Thruelbub is the day when all our water sources are believed to be blessed and because the blessing falls in the form of divine rain, thruelbub is translated into 'blessed rainy day'. Sometimes it's a sunny blessed rainy day. I see more sense in maintaining the word 'Thruelbub' even in English rather than trying to translate everything into foreign language as if we are predicting the extinction of own language.
Well, on 'thruelbub' every Bhutanese takes a cleansing bath with load of optimism that their body and soul will be purified and that all their sins will be washed away by the water that is blessed. There are religious texts that say how we sin everyday, knowingly and unknowingly and the implication of these sins in the afterlife, yet there is thruelbub that claims to purify us of all our sins, which could mean we could walk clean after the bath no matter how much we have sinned. It's toppling my beliefs, but I am sure if we use a good soap our bodies will stop stinking. For soul, it will take more than a bath in holy water.
There comes the popular joke that thruelbub is an annual bath for Bhutanese, and among good friends we send our greeting like, 'Finally the day has come for you to bathe, please don't miss it'. And some foreigners also assume that we only bathe on this day. It's not true anymore. We shower at least once in two to three days if not daily and even in villages bathing has become a weekly ritual. Therefore the 'annual bath' is an annual joke.

Photo by   John Wehrheim

But once upon a time, when we didn't have toilets, when we didn't have water supply in homes, and when electricity was not there- which is during my childhood in village, 'annual bath' wasn't a joke. I saw people washing their face sometimes, and washing their heads ahead of important occasions but I never saw anybody bathing. Thruelbub is not popular in my village but we have our own annual cleaning day, which is one day ahead of Lomba. On that day our river used to turn black. Every corner of the house gets cleaned, every piece of rag gets washed and every member of the family takes their turn in Menchhu tub. I can still smell the thick layer of cheese-like dirt floating on the wooden tubs. Well this is too much of 'selling my own village talks' but that was what used to happen not long ago. and like thruelbub we also believed that our souls will be purified.
If 'soul purification' value is not attached to the bathing then perhaps our folks would have never bothered to get themselves naked and wash their body fully any time in their lives. Thanks to the day, our folks bathed fully at least once annually.
Happy Thruelbub to all my readers. Optimism is good, but only goodness will purify your soul.

Our Outdated Towns

BBC was showing a video of a street in London shot over hundred years ago and they were amazed at the architectural farsighted of their ancestors, that even after hundred years they didn't have to change a slightest bit to accommodate modern metropolitan city.

London in 1902

Here in our country, where modern towns are only a few decades old, every now and then we have to demolish structures to widen streets and bring in better infrastructures, only to discover that it needs to be changed again. In last few years Thimphu saw many breakings and makings, yet streets are flooded with rain water every monsoon season, and often we get to smell the overflowing sewage. Thimphu needs to be changed every day and I don't think I will see a finished city ever in my life. Our designers didn't even see what would happen in 10 years time. 

Phuntsholing comes to a standstill every morning and there is nothing anybody can do to solve this problem. The problem is not with the population, not even the number of vehicles because these are expected with the change in time. This change in time had to be seen by our designers and planners.

Lets forgive them now because those days they walked straight out of their villages and saw lesser world to make any significant difference- or so I assume.
Now we have planners and designers who went to the best universities in the world and some of whom have multiple qualifications, they have seen the world and they have better resources in their hand. Therefore what we could least expect is to see our planners and designers build a town as good as the ones westerners did in early 1900.
And what came up in Khuruthang and Bajothang shattered all our hopes. Let alone standing and serving for centuries these two town failed in their own times. Even before completion they have become outdated in their structural designs and efficiency against the growing traffic. Each building accommodates over six families excluding the business operators on the ground floor and visibly there is parking space for only three cars. The parking space takes up half the width of the road.

Bajothang town from a Distance because that's the only way it looks good

Even before we had the buildings we had blacktopped roads, we had even pavements, we had drains, and sewage line. Now we have buildings, rough roads, risky pavements, hidden drains and blocked sewage. Everything that was built before was lost and it seems to take forever to get them back. Some constructions are frozen in time, and the construction material for a three storied house disables 300 meters of public land around it yet they are calm. I saw a construction of 40 storied building in Bangkok that didn't even throw a piece of scrap on the road that runs a few meters along it. Then I knew we Bhutanese are a big show off. Government structures here are like huts- be it Municipal office or the telecom office, perhaps to save cost, but what we don't realize is that we will have to rebuild them in next five years. The cost saving will cost heavily then. Children park and civic hall are like stories from dreams- the big space could be turned into parking lot instead of letting a jungle grow in the town. It's worse in Khuruthang though it is much older than Bajothang.
Bajothang and Khuruthang are repeating the mistakes made by Thimphu and Phuntsholing and the upcoming town could easily copy the trend but what would make the difference is to think differently and plan smartly, after all it is not everyday that we design towns. Hundred years from now when our children look at the pictures from our time they should not feel like they have reached a different world. We should leave behind what will last long than us.

Comment that Touched my Heart

For a blogger like me happiness is defined by a few simple things like completing a blog post, receiving good numbers of readers, and most of all seeing some sane comments. But the following comment by Mr. KK Giri touched the bottom of my heart, not because I am as good as he thinks I am but because he has a sincere heart to let me know that I am worth talking about for hours;

"...I seldom write any comment on blog, though i follow some. But here would like to share an incident. I was travelling from Gelephu to Thimphu together with a newly acquainted gentleman. While gossiping on various topics both of us happened to be your blog follower. We talked about how interesting your articles are, how talented and gifted writer you are on our judgement if at all we are qualified to judge you, and blah blah..

We even discussed about your comment on Wangdue Dzong mishap when the ruin of the Dzong was on our sight from the highway. We laughed on that famous hand shake at South America shaking the Great wall of Wangdue Dzong. The Tibetans across the globe must have smiled too.

Our discussion on Passu's diary must have started from somewhere Kamichu and continued till we reached opposite to BHSS from where one of us commented "that is where our Passu lives.... But just before that both of us unanimously agreed that something is not right about the way the Bajo town has shaped up. At least looking from the highway on the other side of the river it looks so " i dunno what to say..." Since you were the main topic of our discussion we fantasize a situation that one fine day Passu would pay a beautiful tribute to the architect/planer of Bajo, a modern 21st century township of Bhutan. Both of us laughed on our fantasy."- 9/14/2012 

Thank you Giri, I will try to be even more interesting to talk about. I have written a few pieces on Bajothang town so far but for you will write one more that will tell you how this town was planned for just a few years, because it's already outdated.

Who Will Pay for the Damage?

Road blocks and Landslides have a long history in our country and as of now there is no sign of learning from the mistakes. We don't have to worry about waterways and railways like other countries but as is our Bhutanese nature we even forget to worry about what we have to worry about.We have tried doing big things like the big worlds but we have lost our grip over small things. We have more airports that brought in more shame- ours must be the only airports with potholes. We have built bigger roads and started having bigger landslides- thank god the rainy season is very short otherwise there won't be a road left on the hills.

Picture Source: Kuensel

Some one lost his land cruiser to the landslide near Dochula but he is happy it spared him, so is my friend who lost his pickup yesterday along with five other vehicles when a tree fell on to them. I was a victim myself, I was greeted with rolling stones at Nobding last year and in last few years we heard of many mishaps caused my roadblocks and landslides. But in none of this cases people are held responsible, except the drivers. I was seeing my friend who was a victim of Dochula mishap yesterday and asked him who will repair his vehicle. He looked at me in surprise, as if I stole the question from his mouth. Yes, who will pay for the damage?

Whose name is written on this tree?

It's time we differentiate between the natural and man-made landslides. Natural landslides are the ones where slides occur without the intervention of human activities, and those that are causing problems these days are for us to judge. Road widening projects are vital for the growing economy of the country but what they leave behind is a ticking time bomb. They save cost by focusing on the road and forgetting the hills they have damaged, even an ordinary observer like me can see how many rocks are waiting to fall, and how many trees are ready come on to the newly widened Thimphu-Wangdue highway. Disaster management should be intervene, do hazard hunting and let the road builder rectify the potential disasters before roads are taken over. Accountability should come to Bhutan now.

Time Bomb ticking its last seconds!

In the wake of time, when we dare say that if a child commits crime parents bear the punishment, we can rightfully take road contractors to court in such mishaps. In air crash investigation we see how a screw making company goes jail because it was a faulty screw that caused the crash. But here we are talking about something far bigger than a screw, for everybody to see and still we let it go. If we let somebody pay once, perhaps it may never repeat again. So who will pay for the Damage?

Waiting to shift down!

Hazard Hunting pictures are taken by Tashi Dorji. Used here with his kind permission.

Endoscopy of Health Ministry

My brother had a painlessly bad stomach for years, which won't keep anything beyond an hour. He was gradually losing weight and getting tired of running to toilet after every meal, and we were deprived of our regular toilet visits, since we only have one toilet. His so many hospital visits neither satisfied his disease nor him, not even me. I knew something was seriously wrong.
During his long toilet occupation he would finish a whole newspaper, and by the beginning of 2011 he was reading Business Bhutan passionately because it had 24 pages to last longer than his toilet ordeal. Those days Health Ministry Corruption was just a news for him in the toilet. The following series of stories on the ill health of health ministry by Tenzing Lamzang went on shocking us. But at the end of the day it was just a news and often I saw the newspaper lying wet on the toilet window.
Last month I took my brother to Thimphu with a referral from Wangdue hospital for endoscopy, to have a photographic view of his funny stomach and to clear all our doubts. It was a smooth sail until he was sent for endoscopy appointment, though we waited for hours, But he was given his appointment two months later. I didn't believe, I triple-checked the date. Later I learnt that this has been the process for quite sometime, and everybody has learned to follow it.
My brother wanted to return home right away but I didn't want him to live any longer with the disease we didn't understand yet, and land up hearing 'it's too late now' later. Then a friend on Twitter rescued us by mentioning about the private clinic that has the endoscopy machine, she also share about the price of the service. It was expensive but life is priceless. He went there the next day and got it done. It was discovered that his stomach was invaded by bacterial colonies, which has matured enough and if it was left untreated for some time more it could have caused Cancer! Damn I knew that. I always feared that but didn't want him to worry. However we made it there on time and he has stared his new course of medication, which is showing good results now.
After all this was over I was there at the hospital attending to my mother in-law and I chanced to know why endoscopy service is taking so long. There used to be three machines and two broke down, which is obvious after having read the procurement scams. And when job of three machines are left for a single machine we can't expect things to happen as quickly.
So the whole news on health ministry corruption my brother read on his toilet pot finally boiled down on a common man like him. But we were smart and we made it through on time. He paid the price, in cash and not with his life. What about the so many people who are lined up for as long as three month to have endoscopy done? What about so many who waited and found that they were a little late? Were they late? How many may pay with their lives for the greed of some highly educated frauds? When will the two other machine be fixed? Common men are paying price every day.
Thanks to Tenzing Lamzang and ACC for doing the endoscopy of the Health Ministry and removing the cancerous cells dancing on money its stomach. Hope things will be better with time.

Simple Rules Bhutanese Break Every Day

More than often we see people smoking in a room where there is 'No Smoking' written in bold, a car parked right on the 'No Parking' space, people talking aloud in the area where it's clearly written 'Silence Please', pile of rubbish around the sign that reads 'Do Not Litter' and worst of all there is no 'Do Not Spit' place without thick bloody read doma spit. Can't we read these simple words? Forgive the people who can can't read, but what about the literate folks who are often the ones breaking these simple rules.

Bulls don't get it! We do.

During my week long stay in JDWNRH I have been an observer to many conflict between sick attendants and G4S guards, sick attendants and nurses, and visitors and G4S. In all these fights I saw how our people find themselves at right after breaking numerous hospital norms. First they come when it's not visiting hour, and when G4S guards stop them they pick up fights. Inside 'one patient one attendant' rule is broken, and when nurses remind them they find the nurse bitchy. When the patient is in agony people crowd over it and won't let nurses do their job, nurse grow furious and shout at them to leave some space for air, and then these people counter. After visiting hour is over, no visitor leaves, not until the G4S boys come around thrice to chase them off. It's not a happy ending either. There is a big dinning room in the hospital and people eat and throw their waste in the space where clothes are meant to be dried.Wash basins are filled with food waste, when there is a separate dustbin to dispose leftover food.
I didn't see a space for problem if at all we could follow the simple rules written all over in Dzongkha and English both. Have I been perfect? No, I arrived late but I greeted the guards with apology and if they asked me to wait I would wait. My visitors left late too and they were shouted at by G4S but I have gone close to them and explained and apologized. But I have spent the rest of time entertaining the sick, clean the toilet, and at one time I have self appointed myself to investigate on a person who was smoking in the ward toilet. I failed to find him but nurses have flashed the message that if he is caught both the smoker and his patient will be kicked out of the hospital.
These people working at hospital at strange hours taking care of our people have their own family sleeping without them at home, and they get their hands in our shit and blood, which our own people won't do. Some of our folks won't even visit us at the hospital because they believe in 'Dhrip'(bad energy that comes with birthing and dying), and I say nurse and doctors would have died of that then. Hospitals are our gateway to the world and exit from the world and these people are the ones who help us at these critical hours.
I wish to send my deepest gratitude to the people working in Thimphu hospital and hospitals across the country for doing the dirty job for us and still tolerating our unending demands. I also pay respect to their frustrations,(after all there is a human inside those angels as well) which many great nurses have brought under their control. I also hope that those unreasonable, biased and arrogant people also change themselves so that one day everybody looks at hospital as a place of worship.

Happy Retirement Lopen

Lopen Namgay Phuntsho from Punakha was a teacher since 1973. It was an emotional moment when I saw about his retirement on the Facebook. He is finally done with his job. In last 40 years he made differences in lives of thousands. Those thousands include me. This great teacher and I crossed our paths in Drukgyel and I spent four best years of my life under his care.

During my days in Drukgyel I feared my share of fear and loved this man as much. It didn't take long before I understood his true content. He was the personification of truth and Justice and maintained these two greatest principles throughout, that no soul ever dared challenge this stainless man. He made us believe in truthfulness, and we trusted him for justice.

Teaching and Disciplining Since 1973

When I took my first step in Drukgyel the first advice I was given by my seniors was to tell the truth if I was caught doing mischief. His long experience has given him the super ability to detect lies, and thus becoming the first known biological Lie-Detector. He would throw a few question and if the culprit is lying he would turn very red (perhaps this is where he got his nick name- Asha Maap, which mean uncle Red) and remove his HMT watch and the show goes on until the truth comes out.
The best part of the man is that he honours truth. He would stop when the truth comes out, and it was up to us to decide when to tell it. That taught us life's best lesson. I was caught drunk with two of my friends and even before he asked I told him I drank beer. He said, "Even beer can make you drunk, but it's better than whiskey." He took us home and offered tea and he never mentioned about the beer. That's it. I never dared another bottle of beer until the last few days in Drukgyel.
About justice, this man was the leveler. In his hostel it's ok to be a villager's son to enjoy equal privileges. My three years of torture in Gaupay and three years even before that in Dawakha had made me believe that we were lesser human and that we only deserved lesser than those from richer families. But in Drukgyel Lopen Namgay Phuntsho called us all by our names and he took us for who we are and not for who our parents were. Every punishment is justifiable against our mischief and nobody cries foul, we just cry. He did not have a list of favorites, nor did he have a blacklist. Life in Drukgyel was fun and scary but not insecure, thanks to this man.
I faintly remember an incident where he was firing a boy and the boy was begging for mercy, and from his house came his old mother with a stick and our deadly warden ran like a little boy. That boy was rescued. I loved that incident, not because the boy was spared but because it showed how he still remained his mama's boy.
After nine year, that was last year, I met him in Lobesa. At first I nearly ran away then I remembered I was a married man with a daughter now and that I have also become a teacher, but that one instant when I saw him it transported be back to Drukgyel. To my grandest surprise he shook my hand and said, "Passa Tsheri, you are teacher in Bajothang no? Kinley Dorji has finally become an army officer..." He not only remembered my name and found my address, he went on telling about all my friends whom even I didn't know where they were. He was a human encyclopedia. I was spellbound. So, next time you meet him be prepared for surprises!
I thank him for being there in my life and playing very important role in my transition from a boy to a man. He also has a great role in the type of teacher I have become though I can never be half as good as him. Only thing about him that I didn't consider in shaping my life was his English, that was better left for himself.

One Bad Road Leads to Another

I can't believe I loved the whole idea of Ped Day once. Over the time, when it was implemented and inconveniences were caused across the society I realised I was just being too romantic with the idea, ignoring so many difficulties that it could cause to the already inefficient society.
So much is said against Ped Day and every Tuesday the anger and frustrations are growing but there is no sign yet from the government to do away with this idea of disabling the society. It has become clear that the government is desperate but submission is out of question. I feel very sorry for the government whose good intentions are all falling apart, and pulling the legs of bigger priorities.
There is an old Bhutansese saying, you have to drink the ara you prepared,no matter how it taste. And Ped Day is one such ara, the government could neither drink nor throw. The notification to allow feeding mothers to work from home was one desperate measure to ease the tension but it landed up hurting more women than it has pleased. The solution turned into problem. This is how one bad policy leads to another, and it could go on spoiling their image if they try harder because the ultimate solution lies in forgetting the Ped Day and making reasonable use of all the resources that are wasted every Tuesday.

Mothers Suffering Silently

Today my mother in-law is undergoing a surgery to remove her uterus, and our joy is beyond our anxiety because we are finally removing a part of her body that has bothered her for years and couldn't share with anyone. The womb that has brought my wife and her two siblings to this world has threatened to take her own live had we not known it before it became too late.
Her uterus had prolapsed and had been hanging out through her vagina for years but because of the nature of the disease she has hidden from everyone, even from her daughter. It was during the melom chembo in Haa that her son's sister inlaw sighted it when they toileting outside. She inform my brother inlaw, who in turn took her to the doctor.
This is a common risk among elderly women who give birth at home without the assistant of medical staff, meaning many of our village mothers could be suffering silently. The woman on the next bed is awaiting the same surgery, and shockingly she has hidden the disease for 25 years.
These two ladies are lucky that theirs didn't turn into cancer, which has high probability. But not many will be lucky like them, there for I urge all daughters and educated women to check on your mothers and other elderly women in your family for any secret disease such as this if they are hiding. Your one action in time could save their lives and free them from their worse discomfort. I visited my sister last evening and asked her to check our mother though I have asked her myself without hesitation. She says she doesn't have it but I still want my sister to verify. Please verify your mothers.

To all the friends on Twitter who sent in your wishes, thank you very much, your prayers are very important for us at this hour.


Update 8th Spet 2012: 
There are various causes to this sort of disease and not just unassisted birthing. One woman who underwent the same surgery the next day had left copper T inside for 12 years. It nearly took her life. But all stories in JDWNRH this time had happy ending but not many will be so lucky if they are late in seeking medical help. Therefore please take this issue seriously and do whatever is possible within your capacity to help free women around you from such disease.
My mother in-law is doing great at home now, she is recovering very fast. Thanks for all the support and prayers during our hard times. We will "Never forget the people who help you in your difficult times"

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Location:JDWNRH Thimphu

Casual Leave

There is nothing casual about casual leave when your are a teacher. We are allowed ten days of leave from school in a year and because of our obligations out of school and to our family ten days are often fully utilized. But not without ten days of guilt.
Wherever a teacher goes, no matter how good our reason, the echo from the teacher-less class rings in out head throughout the time we are on leave. I have at least five classes a day, and in three days I would have missed over fifteen classes.
If I could accomplish what I have come for I would be satisfied and perhaps it also justifies my absences in school, but when I am made to wait for hours at end I really wish I could rather attend my classes and come when they are ready. And when nothing is achieved beyond long appointments and senseless excuses I feel the guilt so vivid.
Yesterday was a long failed day in Thimphu, let's see if I could do something today.


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Curiosity Post in Bajo WiFi Park

Curiosity Post

This Sign Post stands tall at the entrance of the WiFi Park and I call it curiosity post. If you look at it perhaps you will only be curious about how it was made because you already know about the things that are written on the planks. But in my school where every year over 700 students will walk pass this and not many will know what these are. They will be curious and the next time they are on a computer they explore, that is what this post is supposed to do.
A school is a world in itself; rich and poor, good and bad, intelligent and dull, happy and sad, beautiful and ugly, and many other extremes. And there is another gap that divides students into two, which is called the Digital Divide, and I am hoping to break that barrier subtly. NIIT's Project in schools across the country is training every student from class VII to XII in use of computer technology and they are introduced in use of internet as well. But how much do they know about using internet as a source of knowledge? and as a tool for collaboration and learning? This post has no magic in it but it can trigger the magic students have in themselves.
I have already had several teachers and guests from abroad who passed by the post and asked me, "What is KhanAcademy?" That's where the learning begins. I love explaining about each one of them,

The Curiosity Post is a piece of art created by the eight students I have in class XI computer Studies. Each one of them carved and painted a board each and we had a tough time deciding whom to be placed at the top. I am happy Blogger won the place on the top.The bird nest on the top is borrowed from another class that has done another project of placing bird nest on trees.

Update 25th Aug: 39 Students from Raffles Institution Singapore visited our school yesterday morning along with four teachers. They spent the whole morning mixing with out students in their classes. Some of our students were stunned by the brilliance of these young Singaporean kids.
 One of the teachers, Mr. Louis, who worked in Bhutan for a year and have returned thrice, told me that his student were amazed by the WiFi Park. He says they have wireless internet connection across their campus but having a specific place outside to relax and enjoy is something new to them.

Creative Works of My Students in School WiFi Park

 I have been dreaming of building a park in my school that will translate the idea of free and open learning environment into a real space. I read somewhere that modern classrooms should be www, which is a pun and interestingly means Wherever, Whenever, Whatever besides its actual meaning.
I planned a park where there will be beautiful benches to rest under the shade of green tress and wherever you sit you could catch strong WiFi connection. The idea was expensive and school had no money. But dreams require passion more than money, and passion I had enough. It didn't take long before I knew I could do it without money. With the plan in my hand I went looking for sponsors and surprisingly I received commitment from many people who would donate cement, wood, nails, electrical equipment, and wireless router.

WiFi Park Board (Hemlal and I carved and painted)

Then I was stranded at the idea of having to make huge number of benches. I would need a carpenter to work for me over a long period of time and he would want me to pay him handsomely. Even if I had money I will run short of bench designs. That is when I turned to whirlpool of creative idea, yes my students. I announced a "Park Bench Making" competition among sixteen senior classes and promised then attractive prizes. Then I went looking for "attractive prizes" while students worked on their benches. The result amazed everybody. Following are some of the benches my students created;

Bench 14, 2nd Prize Winner

Bench 10, Consolation Prize

Bench 5, Consolation Prize

Bench 9, Winner

With major portion of the work happening on its own, I was left with loads of energy to focus on the technical infrastructure, which was completed right away. Then I had to build a pavilion that will not only provide shade but also power supply to charge laptops. A colleague and his class of students volunteered to takeover the work.

The Pavilion

Seven out of 16 benches were awarded prizes based on the judgement of five external judges and acknowledgements were sent to our sponsors. Now the park is ready and opened for operation. You could sit in the shade and enjoy internet.

Suggestions to Drukair

Because I only flew your Airlines twice I don't know if you would take my words seriously, but on the second thought I felt you would appreciate my concerns because I am a Bhutanese who flew only twice and already has something to share.
I have been at the airport over seven times waiting for my sister and for the seven times I wished we had some shelter indoor to take refuge, especially during the cold winter days. Is it not possible to create an indoor space for the people (not the passengers) to wait and eat during the long waiting hours and also during the long delayed departures? It can be a good business as well.
Then during such waiting times, we look at the LCD screens outside for information but the information displayed there are technically short to understand. My sister comes from Bangkok but the screen shows flights from Dhaka and Nepal. Even with the huge screen hanging we have to resort to asking people nearby to know that the flight from Bangkok is the one coming from Dhaka. In big airports they have too many flights info to display therefore they keep it brief but in Paro the big screen as only two or three lines to show and I suggest if you could consider giving clearer information about the flights. Like KB-217- From BKK, Via Dhaka etc.
I don't mind not having tissue paper to over the toilet pot, as long as there is tissue to wipe because I have used dirtier toilets but there are many people travelling some of whom might be very particular. I saw that the chambers in the tiny in-flight lavatory where soap and toilet pot wrapper are kept were empty when I was flying from Paro. Surprisingly they were filled up when I returned. I assumed that you all assume your Bhutanese passengers flying from Paro don't require too much luxury.
There is a need to pay attention to the conditions of the seats. The colors have changed and some are shining with dirt. Armrest from the front seat falls directly on to the knee of the passenger on the back seat, and I am sure this is not supposed to happen. This aircraft I travelled in was too new to see such fate. It is not everyday that our country can buy aircraft therefore stitch in time might save nine.
And finally I had big concern with the departure time from Bangkok. Bangkok is the gateway to Bhutan for people from whole world and their very first travelling experience to Bhutan should not be a sleepless night of waiting and rushing to the airport at dark hours of the morning. Even for Bhutanese travelers returning home, after having enjoyed the whole trip in city the ordeal of early hour flight is like that flashlight in Men In Black that erases all the memories. Please make that flight an enjoyable experience instead of having everybody sleeping on board due to the sleepless night.
So many comments from a man who has traveled only twice might irritate you but let me humbly submit that twice was enough for a man who observes with concern.
Update 23rd Aug: Is it only me who thought Drukair and Civil Aviation are the same thing? Thanks to friends on Twitter for letting me know that they are two separate bodies. Now I know that when I talk about airport services I should be addressing it to civil aviation. And I very happy that Druk Air responded positively on twitter.