Friendly Road For Walking

Of all the changes that happened in recent times I loved the idea of walking to office on Tuesdays. And I loved the way many people received it. We were walkers until recent times, our ancestors walked all their lives, and our living parents walked the best part of their lives. We have walking DNA in us, which should still be very much there. It's only Tuesday we are going to acknowledge our DNA, and I hope we don't cheat ourselves by taking cabs and buses. If two cars meet on the road its called accident but when two persons meet on the road the story is different. Walking together will provide long opportunity to interact and form relationships and some day we will look at Tuesdays as vacations.

Chimi R Namgyal on BO

I walked the best days of my life, and it was a day in 2009 that I finally bought a car and became lazy. Cars are like pampered kids, they suck through our pockets day in day out and we still love them. And I love my car best because I have some really bad experience with walking. I wanted my revenge on the once-upon-a-time of my life. Those first two years in Bajothang gave me a few occasions to visit Wangdue Dzong, that was when I asked if we really had 72% of forest cover because that wasn't one tree on the entire road from Bajo to Wangdue Dzong. After having baked and roasted three times on that road I put together all my guts and bought a car.

Typical Treeless road in Bhutan

We have hell lot of trees but they are all in the jungle where monkeys live, if we are to encourage walking we have to have tree by the roadside and make walking a pleasure. I love the road from Paro Town to Nemizampa, we could replicate that very easily. I prefer walking over driving if only roads are friendlier.

Mission Possible

I hope to see the Pedestrians’ Day become very popular throughout the country, and I hope to see green roads where everybody loves to walk. Because in Walking we can regain our lost tradition of social interaction and relationships. 

On My Birthday- June 6

My birthday has never been a special day during my childhood, I never had a cake in my name, nobody would remember the date, and I would cry but things started getting brighter as I learned to expect less. Now my birthdays are special because I have mastered the theory of expecting nothing, and therefore if nothing happens then nothing happens, and whatever little things come my way becomes pleasant surprise.

Birthday Picture for the Record.

But life is strange, best happens when you least expect and I often wish if some of these happened to me when I was desperately wishing for them. Now I have a beautiful family who would remember my birthday for me and treat the day like a national holiday and I have friends all over who would send their best wishes as if they have waited whole year to do that. I don't know why they are so excited about letting me know that I am growing old lol.
This is my last year in twenties and I am getting a strange reluctance to agree, because this one year unlike other years will change the whole story about me- now I know why some items' cost has _99 as suffix, one Nu. makes a great difference when considered at critical point. However, with this birthday I have broken the record of my father who died at 28- I think I am going to live longer.
For all the wishes and kind words, early and belated, long and short- some as short as 'HBD', from near and far, thank you so much. Your words made me feel wanted and useful in this world, they gave me joy and pride, and they gave me good reasons to live longer and bigger. Thank you all so much.

Tattoo: The Permanent Character Certificate of Temporary Mischief

Written for Student Digest April-July 2012 Issue.

Tattoo is a design on the skin, achieved by changing pigments of skin. The process is done by repeatedly pricking ink into the skin using sharp needle.  And because it is done inside the dermis layer of the skin it can’t be erased unless done surgically. The technology of removing tattoo hasn’t yet been introduced in Bhutan and therefore to have a tattoo removed could cost fortunes.

Why am I talking about removing tattoo, when everybody does it for keeping? Well I have learnt from experience that at one point in life you would die to get them removed. You would look at it each day and wish if you had never done it. I know you won’t believe me today, because I didn’t believe them then.

I was just like anyone of you, if not naughtier. I was full of energy, energy waiting to explode and there were always choices ahead of me. I made many wrong ones amidst my youthful excitements. And you could land up doing your share of wrongs too, which as you grow up and as you realize, time will forget and forgive. But there are certain wrongs that would last beyond our realization, beyond our righteousness and beyond our repentance.

One such wrong is getting into drugs. It’s addictive and destructive. It gives you an illusion of happiness and stops you from growing. It clouds your judgment and forces you to multiply your wrongs beyond your intentions. Every morning you wake to find that one more person has left your life, and yet you keep moving away from your family and friends. If you are lucky to receive a timely help you may be able to jailbreak but I have seen how the ghost of the past visits your happy home in future. Just when you finally overcome the addiction and decide to settle down, have family and play with your kids then you realize you aren’t left with much life. You had already damaged so many vital organs in your body to live a normal life. Then you feel the unforgiving grip of your youthful wrong holding you back.

While drugs problem is talked about enough there is a subject equally important that didn’t receive much attention. The aggressive love for tattoo is another youthful folly, which literally last forever. At one time you don’t find anything wrong with tattoo because you see so many celebrities showing off their designs, you see all your friends having them and because you probably think you will never grow up. But you have to grow up and you have to know that those celebrities have millions of dollars and that your friends are wrong too.

Technologies with which celebrities create their tattoos are medically safe and the tattoo makers are professionals, they know what they are doing. Do we have professionals? What type of tools are we using? Last year a student of mine tried a tattoo on his neck and landed up infecting some nerves inside. He couldn’t move his neck and had hard time talking; it took over a month of treatment to regain his speech. He was lucky that it was just a normal infection and not tetanus. There are other infections associated with careless pricking that could ruin your life.

Surviving the infection is just the first stage; living with tattoo is another challenge. My tattoos didn’t give me infection because I sterilized the needles I used but tattoo itself is an infection, more so when you are someone responsible in society. People associate tattoo with drug addicts and gang members but I am a teacher and I don’t like to be assumed that way. How could I change that way people think?

When you are young you don’t care a thing about the world. Tattooing your body is just another mischief you try among hundred others. To gain little extra attention you tattoo strange designs and shamelessly find it cool. I have seen arms and legs filled with vulgar words, phrases and signs displayed openly in public. But someday you are bound to change, and you can’t read your future. Look at me; I never thought I would hold this respectable position in the society. All my youthful follies are forgotten with time except these tattoos on my arms but I am very grateful to myself for not having filthy and disrespectful symbols and words.

Your future is waiting for you with greater opportunities and you could be someone everybody looks up to. And from where you are then you can’t afford to show your tattoo and escape wrong assumptions. Future can’t lie in the tattooed arms. Even if you choose to lead a quiet life you have to become a parent someday and when your little child points at the sign of middle finger on your arms and ask you questions, how would you explain the vulgarity of your designs? Therefore, if you don’t yet have a tattoo, don’t bother about having one. You don’t have to keep a permanent record of your temporary mischief. 

More Rejected Jobs Than Jobless Youth

There are thousands of jobs, and thousands of jobless youth. It doesn't take an economist to figure out what went wrong- these jobless youth rejected those jobs and chose to remain jobless rather. Why would a hungry man deny an offer of food? Well we still don't need an expert to figure out the answer- who would want to eat stinking food? The rejected jobs are not worth taking in all sense of the word.

Source:Jobmob

And then from our cozy offices we shun the attitude of our youth, we recite the whole document on dignity of labour but what we are ignoring is the dignity of the work. It has never been the question of indignity of labour that repelled the job-seekers from the potential jobs though many proclaim it to be. Youth were always ready to work on all fronts if only the job has enough dignity to deserve their effort. These rejected jobs in Bhutan are dirty and cheap, and still expect young ambitious children to embrace them.
Bhutanese, young and old, hold their heads high and look down upon those jobs, but most of them are dying to babysit in New York, dish wash in Amsterdam, house keep in New Brunswick, collect grapes in Queensland, and do laundry in Perth. Someone who keeps three house keepers at home doesn't mind housekeeping for someone in the west. All these prove that Bhutanese don't mind sweating, they don't mind getting their hands dirty as long as they are paid well, yes money matters. Money draws thick lines across society and it takes a life time to cross those lines. How could we expect our youth to work for a salary that is lesser than someone lunch bill? This is one thing that makes up for a dignity of work.
The other thing that gives dignity to work is the respect to the worker and his work but who gives a damn to a sweeper? Who cares what a peon thinks? Who listens to a driver? Who wouldn't shout at a security guard? Who greets a cook? Therefore who would want to work for a job where there is no respect? We don't think once before we send an elderly sweeper to buy doma or just a packet of wiz, we want our driver to open the car door for us, we want our driver to carry our shopping bag, we want our security guard to carry our baggage. In short we don't respect their job. These and many more factors make those common jobs very unattractive, and thus these jobs are rejected.
The bothering question is not that there are many unemployed youth, nor that there are many vacancies without takers, what is important is how to bring the two sides to an agreement. And I propose my suggestions.

Life Changing Show: Aamir Khan's Satyamev Jayate

My Singaporean friends were surprised at my fluent Hindi, I surprised them most when I told them that majority of urban dwellers could speak better than me. Who wouldn't doubt we were immigrants from India but I explained that our homes were invaded by Indian TV Soaps, and even before we had TV the only cinema we knew was Bollywood.
Indian shows on TV are part of our lives and our choice of show defines our lives, and most importantly the lives of our children upon whom we enforce our choices. My cousins grew up watching my aunt's choice of family drama and I am not surprised by how their personalities are driven by those on screen.
Now is the time to switch our channel to something that will change our lives for better, and inspire dreams in our children rather than letting them learn how to fight their mother in-laws. If you were a fan of The Oprah Winfrey Show then you already have the best taste, and perhaps you must have been watching the show I am going to talk about.
Aamir Kham's Show on Star TV has a very difficult name- Satyamev Jayate but it's worth practicing because no one can help telling about the show to friends and family once you watch it. It's telecast at 11 AM (11:30 BST) every Sunday on Star World and Star Plus. The show has the power to change an individual, better a family, transform a culture, improve a system, and uplift a nation.
It makes me cry, it inspires me to be part of change, it motivates me to fight for good, it's the best show India has ever created. And the Magician Aamir Khan add five stars to the show. If Indian shows have entertained us so far, it's now time to get inspired and think of a better world.
Only four episodes have been shown so far (Click on the links to get the whole picture):

1. Daughters Are Precious
2. Break the Silence (About Sexual Abuse of Children)
3. Marriage or Market Place
4. Every Life is Precious ( About Health Care)

Dying to see what Aamir is going to bring up in the Fifth Issue, which will be on Sunday 3rd June at 11 AM (11:30 BST). Every episode ends with a heart breaking song and long after you walk away from the TV, the song echos in our soul. If this show doesn't change us then nothing else can.
If you are using iPhone (Click Here) and iPad (Click Here) you could download the StarPlus App from App Store and Watch the show live.

Notable Bhutanese Cartoonists

Chimi R Namgyal of Bhutan Observer and WangChuk of Kuensel are the reasons I buy these two papers. Their cartoons are worth running from shop to shop even when I already know  the whole news content. These two guys have such intelligently funny brains and god know how their fingers understand the satire of their crazy thoughts. Their stories make hard stuffs easy to digest, or at least it seems. I wish to thank them for all the good times they works gave me.

Chimi R Namgyal's in Bhutan Observer

WangChuk's in Kuensel

If life would allow it, I wish to publish my book of short stories some day and I want to run after one of them to do the illustration of each story in their crazy ways. I love their witty fingers.

IELTS Questions Our Credibility

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam has become a superstar exam in Bhutan with everybody wanting to do it no matter what the cost- because it will be recovered. It's the dream exam that everybody does to reach their dreams. 
Royal Institute of Management(RIM) conducts four tests in a years under the administration of British Council Division in Kolkata and they always had houseful despite the Nu.8000 fee. Some people I heard traveled all the way to Delhi Kolkata to sit for the exam because RIM ran short of seats.
I have a dream to go for masters too, and I know I will do well in this expensive exam if only I wish to. The registration fee is huge going by the Bhutanese salary but I can afford it if I wish to. However, it is not about the exam that I am worried about, and it's not so much about the fee too, I am afraid by sitting for the exam I am questioning the credibility of our education system. After spending seventeen years studying in English language we can't insult our education system by agreeing to sit for English Language Testing, and no friendly country should doubt our English Language proficiency as long as Bhutan government doesn't send illiterate farmers for Masters Degree. 
I am grateful to the host countries for offering scholarship to our people but I would be more grateful if they recognize our education system, and make exceptions like they do with some native English speaking countries because we place no less importance on the English language, if at all it is to test English proficiency. The test not only spoils the goodwill of the scholarships but also has big implications on individual's financial strength and the poor nation's weak economy. 

Losing Drinking Water for Lemon Grass Oil

I am watching the people of Mongar struggling for drinking water on BBS and asking to myself- has the time come already? By any logic Bhutan should be the last country worrying about drinking water given the bounty of our forest resources, but we are already losing so many water sources across the country.
With so many fresh water rivers flowing down the valley the world must think we are crazy to complain about water shortage of all the things- we are forgetting the moral of Kuchu&Kumbu story ourselves. But the question is not about going down to the rivers yet, we have been blessed with so many spring water sources running down our hills which we forgot to value so much so far.

Kuensel Photo

As I watch the people of Mongar running with their empty buckets and complaining I remembered the countless forest fires this Dzongkhag had over the last many years- of which many were deliberate. Mongar was blessed with lemon grass, the herb that adds scent to many cosmetic and toiletry items in the international market. And because it generates good income the forest was deliberately set on fire every year for the greed of better lemon grass growth, but those many fires are finally charging their interest- Mongar is now paying the huge price, they had traded they fresh water sources with lemon grass oil.

This Article is not supported with any research and therefore please treat it as an opinion.

Replace Vehicle Import Quota with Bonus

One of the recommendations submitted by the team that assessed Rupee Crunch was to stop Vehicle import quota for civil servants. At first it seemed like we are going to be deprived of a lifetime bonus but it didn't take long before I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Government may not be worried about the 35% of the total cost of the car it's paying to the quota receiver, it's the 75% that gets dragged along across the border.
Government gives vehicle quota to senior officials upon attaining grade 6, which means at least ten years in service and therefore it's an expression of recognition for unfailing service. But canceling it altogether could be misinterpreted in many demoralizing reasons, thus it's important to device a way to address the rupee issue without depriving civil servants of their rare gift.
As far as the trend goes, most of the civil servants own good cars by the time they reach grade six, and they resort to selling their import quota to private businessmen. The value of a quota is over Nu.400,000 but best price I ever heard of was Nu.150,000 and some surrender at Nu.50,000. By this the bigger portion of the gift from government goes to buyers of the quota. More over quotas are indirectly making the import of cars compulsory, which is the biggest concern now.
Therefore, I suggest my government to replace Quota with Bonus. Pay six months salary as bonus to the employees upon attaining grade six, the amount will be far lesser than what quota is taking away at the moment. This is not only economical for the government but also has big impact on the employees who could receive the full value of the gift. And with this the indirect-compulsion on import of cars will cut down to zero, solving the biggest question without hurting a soul.

Dasho Tshering Dorji's Answer

Dasho Tshering Dorji is a National Council Member from Haa. People in my village have high regards for him for his numerous visits and meetings with them. I almost got a chance to meet him in my village after the earthquake last year but missed by some hours. The only place we ever get to meet is on a Facebook group called Haap Dorros, where he presents his works, progress and achievements. We haaps have created our own forum for regional discussions, where he participates a great deal and I thank him for that.

But yesterday some Haap Wangchuk posted the following:

Haap Wangchuk

As this is the page for Haap Dhoros, that did our elected Members bought any changes in your area.Did they helped you when you were in trouble.Did they fulfilled their promises they made. For me i will say they are neutral. What ever the decisions taken by the Dzongkhag administration and gewog administration is final. They dont even have guts to justify the complaints made by victims.

I have never seen or head of them correcting the errors made by Dzongkhag and gewog Administrations.

And before anyone could write any comment Dasho Tshering Dorji replied as follows:

Tshering Dorji 

Haap Wangchuk, Before you shoot your mouth, as a responsible citizen, you also have the responsibility to consider the following 1. Please go through the constitution and and the NC and NA acts and also the recently passed Local Government Act to understand and comprehend the role of NA, NC and the local government. 2. As a haap yourself please find time to come and attend the public meeting(zomdu) that I conduct after every session as mandated by the law or atleast make an effort to call up your local leaders-gups, mangmi, tshogpa or elderly people from your village to find out as to what I as an elected representative been doing within my constitutionally provided responsibilty as a parliamentarian in general and in specific to the recent earthquake event. You must also understand as a good citizen that while there is tremendous temptation to overstep our feet on the toes of the local administration due to misunderstood, personalized and politicized pressure such as one that you are giving, it is also in the larger interest of this nation and people to be reminded of the Constitution and do whatever I can within the legal bound. However, you will only know this only if you are still in touch with the ground reality and genuinely concerned with the overall welfare of all the Haap victims. However, you have a lot of guts in publicly criticizing us and the public institutions that we represent based on your ill-informed imagination. As per the section 317 and 320 of the Penal code of Bhutan, what you have posted in the public media in nothing less than the offense of defamation and Libel since you are intentionally trying to causes damage to the reputation of another person or a legal person by communicating
false or distorted information about that person's action, motive, character, or reputation in writing. However, you are right, I dont have guts to take the matter further but if I do please also consider what could happen to you. Fellow Wangchuk, please remember that democracy does not mean going beyond the rule of law but it means fulfilling the nation's and people aspiration within the rule of law. Freedom of speech and expression does not mean speaking recklessly or mindlessly, you never know where a slip of your tongue will land you up. So think twice before you shoot your mouth irresponsibly.false or distorted information about that person's action, motive, character, or reputation in writing. However, you are right, I dont have guts to take the matter further but if I do please also consider what could happen to you. Fellow Wangchuk, please remember that democracy does not mean going beyond the rule of law but it means fulfilling the nation's and people aspiration within the rule of law. Freedom of speech and expression does not mean speaking recklessly or mindlessly, you never know where a slip of your tongue will land you up. So think twice before you shoot your mouth irresponsibly.

I didn’t find anything “publicly criticizing” in what Haap Wangchuk wrote for Dasho to narrate whole law on defamation with section number in the Penal code of Bhutan. He was just asking a few questions to his fellow haaps like anyone of us would do. He was also presenting his opinion as “neutral” since he seems to have some grievance, which if possible Dasho could have ask and clarified. But the threatening reply confused me totally- aren’t we allowed to question about the work of our representatives?