SelFish Sufficient

Last Weekend, I took my fish loving daughter to Gelephu Fishery. It's a place my cousins told me lots of stories about in school days. They tempted to visit the place but it took me over 20 years to make it here myself. In these year I have become a father and even my daughter has developed fascination for aquatic life.

Beautiful Office with romantic campus, but smell of fish is unavoidable

But I was never really prepared to see so big an area for fishery and so many tanks in our own country. Going by the size of the fishery here I am wondering why we are importing fishes from across Phuntsholing. Where all the fishes from Gelephu Fishery go?

Touring the Tanks

I am impressed by the range of projects this fishery is undertaking: from piggery to aquarium making. The piggery is an integral part of fishery. There are as many pigsty as fish tanks. Though it might sound disgusting to hear that the pigshit goes to fish tank but that's the indication that the fishes coming out of this tanks are very organic. 

The fishery is also raring exotic aquarium fishes to be sold along with aquariums and I think it's a smart move because they know best about fishes.

Happy Fish Lover- But we didn't see a fish that day

It was sunday and we had to take special permission to get access to the facility, but without any activity like feeding or harvesting the shy fishes didn't show up, which disappointed my daughter. But she grew excited when we peeped through to window of the exoctic fish unit.

We didn't see a fish that day but going by the size and number of tanks I strongly feel that it can feed whole of Bhutan with organic fishes- because we don't know where and how the fishes we import are rared. Bhutanese deserve to feed on healthy food. 

Wang in Phuntsholing, Blessing in Jaigaon

Merchants in Jaigaon have developed a special liking for Buddhism ever since the Wang in Phuntsholing began a few years ago. They say they feel liberated at the very news of Wang in Phuntsholing. They agree that buddhism is the greatest religion because it's the only religion that could bring so many people to Phuntsholing even when country is suffering of rupee shortage.

Photo by Nawang

The pirated CD bhai near Bhutan Gate says that Bhutanese devotee are very dedicated to their religion, they have not only come from different corners of the country but every evening they come on religious walk across the border and return with bags of blessings. He says that pronography CD sells very well.

The pani puri sellers also acknowledge that their health improved drastically ever since the Wang began because they get to do nonstop physical exercise. Their claim is evident from the huge biceps and the whitish fingers. They say that they don't even get time to wash their hands after peeing.

Beggar community however complains to the authority that they need breathing and sitting space. The Bhutanese crowd in Jaigaon during the Wang pose threat to the health of hygiene of the beggars on the street. The authority persuaded them to withdraw their complaint letter with the condition that they will write to Wang organisers to ask the devotees to pay the beggars in rupee.

Bhutanese taxi drivers are in the process of writing a proposal letter to RSTA to allow them to carry at least 20 passengers so that they could compete with the Indian counterparts. But RSTA rejected their proposal. The road safety authority states that only Indian drivers have the religious rights to send Bhutanese devotees to heaven.

Bhutanese Businessmen in Phuntsholing who are not benefiting so much from huge accumulation of people agree that their business is not very good as expected because people choose to visit the Indian side even to buy the things that are sold in Bhutan because the air is warmer on the other side of the border and also everybody knows that Buddha is born in India.

Banks in Phuntsholing have kept several ATMs on standby. They are happy that the machines are put to maximum use. They also have plans to load rupee in the ATMs for the convenience of Bhutanese devotees who otherwise have to stand in long queue at the ATMs in Jaigaon and Birpara to withdraw rupees.

Merchant association of Jaigaon in their press release stated in bold that they are truly blessed by the Wang and they taken the vow do whatever is possible within their means to support the Wang in Phuntsholing. It's also rumored that they are going to sponsor the next Wang to accumulate good karma and to spend their excess Nugltrum.

Bhutan's economic minister expressed his appreciation in Times of India, where he mentioned that Bhutan is a land of Happiness and commended the organisers for taking the goodwill of spreading happiness in Jaigaon beyond mere rupee issue. In reply to that Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh said nothing, he usually says nothing.

P:S: I hope you didn't take it seriously.

God Don't Need No Money

The Buddha and his Buddhism I know about and I believe in doesn't talk about money, it doesn't talk about buying blessing with money, it doesn't talk about greed for blessing, it doesn't talk about blind faith, and it doesn't talk about cleansing of sin just by bathing, offering or praying. It is all about selfless sacrifices we make for others, freeing from greed and attachment, and contentment with what we have. But looks like we have made Buddha into a business model.

I am not a faithless man but what is happening in Thimphu at RAPA hall is a religious circus where they make mockery of holy relics, which they know is a magical commerce. When religion opens a shop, there is no need for advertisement and nobody bargains. About 16,000 people kept aside their sleep and hunger to see the relics and throw in their money with prayers and wishes.

Image from BBS.bt

When I look at the wild crowd of pilgrims there I see greed, greed for blessing. Everybody wants to selfishly get in the front and everybody wants to be blessed first and more. They throw in money as if blessing is up for sale, and bigger the amount they throw more satisfaction they get with the selfish feeling that they will be blessed more.

On the other hand, there was Health Walk organised to raise money for Health Trust Fund, which is the money that will sustain our free health service but how many of us contributed? How many of us contributed without criticizing the move as political stunt? Our country is in difficult economic state and if there is anybody who needs money at this time its our country, not God, God don't need money.

Image from Kuensel

Rupee shortage has been bothering us since last year, which hugely inflated food prices and also was the very cause of vehicle import ban. In such times we have to put in collective effort to reduce rupee expenditure to stabilize the balance of trade but the millions of ngultrum we collectively threw at RAPA hall in the name of God will be converted to rupee and flown back to India on top of the huge fee we paid them to bring the relics to Bhutan. God didn't take the money, it was taken to India.

When will we understand that God is impartial; God won't bless those who came there more than those who didn't come, and those who paid more than those who paid less. When you will understand that you cannot bribe god for blessing, of all the things in the world god don't need money.

Kinder Joy Brain

I don't think there is anybody who doesn't know about the egg shaped product that makes your kids crazy. And when our kids become crazy they make us crazy finally. There is not a day in a year my daughter doesn't ask for a Kinder Joy, there is not a night she does watch Kinder joy Ad on YouTube. I want to kill whoever was that first person who introduced her to this product.

The Magical Product

It costs a staggering Nu.35 in Wangdue, which is enough to buy myself a decent lunch. After paying so much it is interesting to observe she wouldn't eat the edible half, and I assume half the kids on the planet would do the same. They are after the other half which holds a surprise toy. I noticed that there is no surprise anymore as my girl keeps getting a monkey paying cricket- seemingly made in India!
Well I share a similarity with Kinder Joy, one half of me is a father who just calculated how much this stupid egg robbed off me so far but the other half of me was fully amazed by the brain behind the Kinder Joy concept. It emerged in one of thousand talks I had with my kindred spirit Tshering Tenzin at his headquarters. We looked at the product from all angles (it looked like an egg from all sides) and saw that it has very low investment, high price and targets the loose ends of our wallets- yes children. Amazingly it sells on its own, and one Kinder Joy sold becomes an advertisement for next hundred costumers... it works like magic spell. It's like Facebook on internet, which needn't be taught nor advertised.
There is so much to learn from this small product, though I hate it every time my daughter catches hold of one. While the world is after making big stuffs someone has put all his brain on creating a small thing for small children to make us scratch our head!

US Dollar Across to the Eastern Bhutan

Many Bhutanese like me must have excitedly waited for the completion of airports in Bumthang and Tashigang and I personally wanted to make my first trip to Tashigang by one of the domestic aircraft.  The long wait finally ends at the announcement of domestic airfares; looks like it was never meant for us. The airfare is not only insanely high for most Bhutanese but also proudly converted in US dollar. What meaning can you draw from a Bhutanese airline announcing its airfare to Bhutanese people in Bhutan in terms of US dollar?

Domestic Airlines in Bhutan

Seemingly the two airports were built for tourist and tourist alone, the shameless airfares show that the airlines only had tourists on their minds and never for once thought about the state of our own people. If the airfares are not revised to a reasonable level then I can see no other way than to stone the aircraft down from Dochula- after all it's not going to make a difference to Bhutanese lives.

Finding Happiness in Kitchen Garden

The long excited wait for the end of the month ends in an hour of bliss, this is the story of every ordinary Bhutanese working on salary. Our salary, which lands in our hand in slow motion disappears like a ghost. That one hour of ownership you have over your salary, before it goes on to fill up the holes you have created throughout the month, is all the joy you could have by right.
How do you extend your ownership over your salary? You are not a delivery boy who collect the salary from your office and go from shops to fuel pump to BPC to Telecom to your landlord to deliver their share as if it were their salary you collected. You money has the right to say in your purse for a night at least.
Since you can't produce petrol you have to buy it. If you don't own a house you have to rent one. Telephone and power bills are unavoidable. You have to pay for clothes since you can't weave on your own. But what about a tomato? or an onion? a bunch of Coriander leaves? Can't we grow them? or do you want to put so much pressure on your salary?
You will call me miser but I call myself awake. I started a kitchen garden- a small one. It gives me a reason to wake up early and feel the dewdrops on the leaves. It gives me time to relax in the evening with a cup of tea along with my wife. It shall give all the basic vegetables I will ever need in a few weeks time- green and fresh.

Country of many Bans

One question that kept bothering me: why did Bhutan ban tobacco? A smoking man doesn't sleep on the road. A smoking man doesn't assault his wife and children. A smoking man doesn't shout in the crowd and pee in his pants. A drunken man does. Why alcohol is not banned? Is it because we are a Buddhist county? Perhaps! But didn't we agree that our politics will be free of religious influence?

BBS Picture of Burning 2.4 M worth of Tobacco

World would be amazed to know that Bhutan has burnt million worth of tobacco. Some tourist would think Bhutan is so rich but many know that Bhutan survives on countless foreign loans and grants. Then they would wonder why we are acting foolish, Bhutan has banned tobacco but India didn't, it all came from India and we could easily sell it back and generate some funds to put some street lamps along Lungtenzampa Bridge.

Business Bhutan Picture 

National assembly wants to create the record of one ban each year and this time it's drayang. Social disharmony is taken hostage. The problem is not with the drayangs, it is with indecent men. And for such men it need not necessarily be drayang, they do it onto waitress in the hotels, doma sellers in bus stations, office colleagues and assistances, vegetable sellers, passengers sitting on the side and any girls walking along. Should we then go on banning Hotels, Offices, Vegetable Markets, Taxis and Buses? Or the better alternative is to ban women from coming out in public.

And the funniest part is Labour Minister's Promise of employing the girls. What about the boys? What about the fate of the businessmen who had invested everything on this business. Perhaps he should have given a minister's thought before making his first parliament promise, now he has hundreds of questions to answer on various forums and blogs as to what are his promises for the thousands of jobless youth.

A Change that made sense- Fishing License

By reading "Kuchu and Kumbu" story in our primary school we were supposed to learn a lesson but as always many things we were taught in school were for the sake of occupying the teaching time and should not be taken seriously. A tank in Phuntsholing is over populated with fishes and "authorities are finding ways to relocate them". Why waste money in something that should be bringing profit instead? Simple solution to the problem is to harvest the fishes but unfortunately those fishes are not meant for killing. They are for decoration? If we are really concerned about killing, why are we importing fishes from India? All in all it is another Potato and Chips story!

For that matter our rivers are so full of fishes but only flood can kill them. Million of new fishes are born each year to die their natural death. It's just matter of common sense, which we have least. After all we are buying fishes for outside, what is sense in forbidding fishing? 

I salute the minister of agriculture for being wise enough to grant fishing license to the villagers of a remote corner in Wangdue (from BBS TV). Throughout history the village lived on fishing but so far they were crippled by the law forbidding their livelihood. Minister educated the farmers (lets call them fishermen) on sustainable fishing, which made more sense. This day will go down in history as the "day Bhutanese made sense"!

Read Detailed report on the project in Business Bhutan

Potato and chips story

In school there was a popular joke about Bhutanese way of doing business; we sell a kg of potato for Nu.5 to India and same potato will be fried into chips and sold back to us, only this time we pay Nu.5 per potato. But the serious part of this joke is those highland potatoes are second to none.

I remembered this joke from my childhood on seeing one news on BBS. A bold lady has initiated a green program of recycling papers. She is receiving impressive support from government offices and schools in Thimphu. Of course, who would not want to give away their waste? She is spreading happiness by creating employment, taking care of others’ waste, dealing with environment problem and still making money herself. Hope she will receive recognition for role in reducing waste and pollution.

You might wonder why I remembered a joke on such a wonderful act. Well she is not recycling the paper. She is just sending it out. When I saw jute bags full of papers ready for loading, I wondered how much would each bag fetch. Not more than Nu.100 or Nu.200. There in each bag should be enough paper to make 100 Notebooks, and when it comes back to Bhutan after recycling we will be paying them over Nu.5000. Fifty folds! That’s beyond potato and chip story.

Bhutan will never make microchips or jetfighters but history tells us that we were the makers of world’s strongest paper. We have the history but we failed to move forward. We are still making world’s strongest paper but with technology we used 100 years ago and at the same old pace- hope this is not what we call preservation of culture.  Jokes apart, we need not make the machine to make paper, a country can afford to buy one and contribute toward socioeconomic development.

How long are we going to go on doing potato and chips business?