The Magnificent Norzang Phoobchen

In his article titled “Coinage in Bhutan”, the coin collector and historian Mr. Nicholas Rhodes credits Trongsa Poenlop Jigme Namgyel as the originator of the incomparable coin affectionately nick-named "Norzang Phoobchen". These uncommonly large and beautiful coins were hammered in silver as well as in copper. They are among the very few of Bhutan’s hammered coins that bear 100% Bhutanese motifs – 95% of our other ancient coins bear Bengali motifs and alphabets.

Quoting late Karma Gayleg, Mr. Nicholas Rhodes writes that the coins were hammered for Trongsa Poenlop Jigme Namgyel by Muslim metal workers - supposedly captured by him from Cooch Behar. I am not too sure of that – but unless something else more definite emerges, I am willing to accept that it is very likely that Jigme Namgyel may have produced those coins. Also, Nicholas Rhodes goes on to say that Gongsa Ugyen Wangchuck (son of Jigme Namgyel) continued to hammer the Norzang Phoobchen at Yudrong Choeling – even after he became King. Ofcourse, that would be until he introduced his own variety of coins sometime in 1909 - 1910 from machine-cut coin dies he had ordered with the Government of India Mint during his trip to Calcutta, in 1906 to meet the Prince of Wales.

The reason for my doubt is that there exists written proof that Trongsa Poenlop Jigme Namgyel DID NOT HAVE A MINT – even as late as 1863. He used to send copper to Jakar Poenlop Tsundru Gyaltshen – for hammering his coins for him.

For now, what I have been able to establish beyond doubt is that the coins Norzang Phoobchen were most definitely in existence during the reign of Trongsa Poenlop/Druk Desi Jigme Namgyel. This fact is validated by the mention of the coin by its name – in the soulful Lozey (ballad) immortalizing the tragic hero Pemi Tshewang Tashi in the employ of the then Wangzop Angdru Nyim. Other characters who find mention in the Lozey and the timeframe during which the event was supposed to have taken place – are spot on!

In the process of doing my research on the subject, I had to read, and attempt to translate, a small section of the Lozey …. which was an eye opener for me. Before I did so, I had never imagined that our vernacular Dzongkha was/is so rich, highly communicative and incredibly expressive! For proof, read the following:

The above is a verbatim reproduction of the section of Lozey from a book titled "Druk-Gi Pawi-Tamzoed" published in 1983, by the Department of Education, Royal Government of Bhutan.

Of Star-spangled Night Skies and Cute Little Mushrooms

In June of 2008 I embarked on a marathon 48 days trek – the trek would been even longer, had it not been for the sudden demise of my 103 years old granny who decided to pass away when I was in Merak, trudging up the mist-shrouded Jomo Kuengkhar peak – supposedly the abode of the local deity – Aum Jomo who, I was told, took on a human lover. The locals are full of raunchy tales of the most unlikely liaison between a Goddess and a human.

I had to break my trek to attend my granny’s funeral which took place at Tamzhing Lhakhang in Bumthang. Immediately after the funeral, I resumed my trek – starting with Dhur Tsachu Trek. Thereafter, I veered off to do the beautiful Gungkhar Puensoom Trek. At 7,570 Mtrs., Gungkhar Puensoom is Bhutan’s tallest peak and the world’s highest unclimbed mountain. Located to the north of Bumthang bordering China, the trek is beautiful but can get rather sloshy during the month of June when I did the trek. The mighty Chamkhar Chu begins its journey at the base of this peak.

While the night skies were breathtaking – ablaze with a few trillion stars jostling for space - days were rather uneventful. But there was something that kept me busy – some pretty mushrooms with unusual colors and shapes could be found all along the trek route. The following are some that I photographed - I wish I had carried along my ball-head tripod head – for sure the images could have been captured with better sharpness!

ENJOY!

March of History: Flight Information Display System (FIDS) at Paro International Airport

History records that construction of Paro International Airport was completed and inaugurated in the year 1968.

Bhutan’s National Flag Carrier - Druk Air - was created in 1981 - primarily as a bold statement of nationhood - but with commercial functions.

Exactly 15 years later, Paro International Airport began to function as the country’s one and only international airport - upon Druk Air starting to operate its commercial flights beginning February of 1983 - between Paro and Calcutta, India.

Sadly, even after 56 years of its establishment, Paro International Airport remained without a Flight Information Display System (FIDS) - thus forcing me to blog about the shameful state of affairs on Sunday, June 9, 2024 under the title “The World’s Most Inhospitable International Airport”. The blog can be read at:

https://yesheydorji.blogspot.com/2024/06/the-worlds-most-inhospitable.html

Subsequently, sometime in August of 2024, the Department of Air Transport announced the installation of the much-needed Flight Information Display System (FIDS) with the following notification:

The announcement of the epochal event of the birth of FIDS at Paro International Airport during August, 2024

My sense of relief that a useful service has finally been put in place after over half a century, was short-lived. On 1st March, 2025, the display of information on the Paro International Airport’s FIDS read as follows:

The information displayed on the top right hand of the FIDS shows that the system has not been updated since 19th February, 2025.

Instead of serving a useful purpose, this FIDS has the potential to misinform and mislead. So, perhaps we are better off without it!

Few of Bhutan's Cute Little Birds

Bhutan has close to 800 bird species. My favourite are the little fellows - they are cute and flighty and tough as hell to photograph. The following are 10 of the cuties that I have photographed over the years:

Fire-tailed Myzornis

Plumbeous Water Redstart (Juvenile)

Plumbeous Water Redstart - Oldman Dad feeding the chics

Rufous-bellied Niltava

Rufous-fronted Tit

Rufous-vented Tit

Rufous-winged Fulvetta

Ultramarine Flycatcher

Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker

Yellow-browed Tit

Little Forktail

Some of these birds are indicator birds - their existence is proof that our environment is 👍

12 of Over 1,900++

Bhutan is home to a staggering 2,000 - well almost - moth species. That is almost three times the number of butterflies we have. Not that I understand these lepidopterans - but I love them because they are beautiful. As a nature photographer, I love beauty - in any form: I see them and if I do not see them, I create them in my mind's eyes and reproduce them in graphic form.

The following are 12 of the moths I photographed in Dechencholing areas of Thimphu in the past 6 months.

ENJOY!

Abraxas persimplex

Actias selene

Brahmaea hearseyi

Timandra correspondens

Erebabraxas metachromata

Deroca hidda

Rhodinia newara

Mesastrape fulguraria

Metapercnia ductaria

Ourapteryx sambucaria

Thinopteryx crocoptera

Tyana marina

The ID of the moths were confirmed by Mr. Karma Wangdi, a published author and Moth/Butterfly researcher at the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Conservation and Environment Research (UWICER), Bumthang.

Recording History: No Casual Matter

I never expected that the enterprise of writing a book about Bhutan’s ancient coinage would be easy. But not in my wildest dreams did I foresee it would be so daunting and perplexing. Of course, I knew I had to deal with history—passed down by word-of-mouth over the centuries and recorded in the form of books and journals by a multitude of historians, both locals and visiting foreigners. Still, an undertaking born of a hobby should have been fun and enjoyable. Yet as I went along, I realized that grappling with the historical record is anything but easy; there is nothing casual about such scholarly work.

Recording history, I realized, is not for the half-hearted or irresponsible. It is a job that requires one to be determined, unrelenting and dogged, both in research methods and in pursuit of truth. Even more important, it has to be undertaken with humility and with acceptance that there are others who know far more. My efforts have also taught me that it is unwise to place total faith in those reputed to be the best in the field—because these esteemed exemplars are not without their share of biases and lazy thinking.

The case of the perplexing Neoli Maartang

It is accepted by collectors and writers around the world that one of Bhutan’s rarest coins is the following Maartang (copper coin):

Maartang Neoli – one of the three known copies of the coin. The one shown above is in the collection of late N. Rhodes, currently lodged at the SPINK auction house in London, UK. Another one is with a collector in Germany - third one? Well, I don't know.

Based on the image of a Neoli (mongoose) depicted on the obverse of the coin, Mr. Nicholas Rhodes, widely considered the most learned authority on Bhutanese coinage, dubbed this rare artifact the Neoli Coin.

But given the uncommon design of the coin, I began to develop doubts about its antecedents. In particular, I harbored the following questions:

Is the image on the obverse of the coin really a Neoli (mongoose)?
I am inclined to believe that the image is most likely that of a Neoli. The reason is that the Neoli depicted on the obverse of the Neoli Maartang is shown spewing Norbu (jewels). This is how the Neoli is portrayed on the Bhutanese/Tibetan Thangka - being held in the left arm of the Buddhist mythical God of Wealth—the Zambalha, as seen below:

Thangka painting of Zambalha, the God of Wealth.

Was the coin used as money or something else?
Given the uncommon design of the Neoli Coin, I am also doubtful that the coin is really a coin. Can it be that it is not a coin but an Exonumia?

Exonumia are numismatic items that include all kinds of coin-like items, but are not actual coins; they are not issued to serve as money nor are they used in monetary transections. They are rarely, if ever, issued by national governments. They are more popularly known as Temple Tokens. Many countries and cultures around the world produce them. In India, where our coins originate, most of these coin lookalikes are called Ramtanka. The following are some examples of exonumia:

Exonumia from India and France

Here's another telling fact: the Neoli Coin has a monolithic front with one solitary image on its obverse—unlike all Bhutanese coins, which bear multiple figures/motifs/alphabets on both their obverse and reverse, as seen here:

Traditional design of Bhutanese coins. All of them have multiple motifs/alphabets/conjuncts — both on the obverse as well as on the reverse.

Where was the Neoli Coin produced?
The coin collector and historian Mr. Nicholas Rhodes, in one of his journals titled “Coinage in Bhutan” which was submitted to the Centre for Bhutan Studies, asserts that the Neoli Coin may have been struck at Bhutan House, Kalimpong by the Dorji family. He writes: 

A cut-out from the journal submitted to the CBS by Mr. Nicholas Rhodes.

But Mr. Rhodes was completely in error. Years later, the supposed “old minting machine” was retrieved from Bhutan House by Dasho Benji Dorji. It turns out that it was not a minting machine at all, but a book binder! The following photos make this clear:

Comparison of the supposed minting machine from Bhutan House, Kalimpong and the antique cast iron book press auctioned by the Dominic Winter Auctioneers of UK. 

Mr. Rhodes’ misinformed conclusion that the coin was produced from a coin-minting machine—more precisely, a coin screw press—may have arisen from the fact that the Neoli Coin has a “rim” around the perimeter. Normally, only machine-struck coins have raised rims or reeded edges.

Machine struck coin's Edge & Rim.

Is it possible that the Neoli Coin is not Bhutanese?
I know of no other Bhutanese coin – other than the Neoli Coin that is under discussion here that bear the image of mongoose on it. But Mr. Wolfgang Bertsch of Germany, recognized as one of the most established historians and collector of Tibetan currency brought to my notice that Tibet did issue a coin that bore the image of a pair of mongooses on it:

The Tibetan 10 Srang coin issued in 1950 bearing, what is believed to be, a pair of mongooses on its reverse. The above coin is in the collection of retired Ambassador Tobgye Sonam Dorji

Mr. Bertsch accepts that the Neoli coin – if it is a coin at all – is most likely Tibetan. That said, he does not believe that it would have been struck with the intention of using it as money. In his experience, all Tibetan coins struck in the 20th century (other than the Gaden Tangkas and related "monk Tangkas") bear a date and are denominated in Skar, Sho or Srang. The Neoli Coin, on the other hand, neither has a date nor a denomination meaning that it is not a coin - not atleast a Tibetan one.

So where does all this confusion lead me? As of now, I am undecided as to what the Neoli Maartang really is: a coin or an exonumia. I will have to wait and see if more substantive findings emerge in the coming months and years. Until the matter is settled, I will be content to simply admire the Neoli Coin’s beauty, history—and mystery.

A Foot Soldier Without Compare

On the morning of 23rd of December, 2024—bound and adorned in silk and brocade, draped on all five sides by the national flag, enveloped by the soulful melody of the bugle, commemorated by the sharp reverberations of gun salutes—one of Bhutan’s most outstanding sons was reduced to ashes. Dasho Tsering Wangda was honored with a state funeral worthy of a foot soldier without compare.

A youthful Dasho Tsering Wangda

Even as the funeral pyre crackled and blazed with an uncommon ferocity, consuming his last remains, more than 700 mourners stood immobile and grief-stricken—their eyes fixed on the blazing pyre as it systematically reduced to nothingness the physical remains of someone they had come to love, respect and admire.

For me, as I confessed to some close family members, the sadness was not in the fact that his life had come to an end, but that it was snuffed out by the same beings in whose cause Dasho Wangda was set to do battle. The problem of wild elephants in the Special Administrative Region of the Gelephu Mindfulness City has been hanging fire for decades. Even as the Royal Government of Bhutan was aware of the increasingly aggressive animals who had lost their natural habitat, it has done little to resolve the issue.

When I last spoke to Dasho Wangda on Friday the 13th December, 2024 (he was on his way to Bhangtar, in eastern Bhutan), he said that he hoped to sit with me when he came up to Thimphu to participate in one of the events during the National Day celebrations. He wanted us to jointly fine-tune a proposal that he would soon be submitting to the RGoB—a bold and daring proposal that laid out a mindful solution to the dangerous situation brewing between the people domiciled within GeSAR and the burgeoning wild elephant population. It was a document that truly lived up to the values our country espouses.

To be sure, the RGoB did us all proud by honoring Dasho Wangda with a fitting send-off. In doing so, it demonstrated that it will not be found wanting in its duty to those who are deserving. But will the official response end there?

It may sound strange, but I am wont to believe that Dasho Wangda’s untimely death was an act contrived by Providence. Almighty God may have decided that the only way to get Bhutanese authorities to wake up and act was by engineering a devastating tragedy of this scale.

But what will change going forward? Will the government finally take action on this chronic and perilous problem? Or will Dasho Wangda’s ultimate sacrifice be in vain?

TechWomen 2025

As an active Member of the privileged Rotary International Presidents & Members Group comprising of 534 Rotary leaders across the globe, I receive news on a number of global issues – mainly to do with humanitarian services. This morning, I received the following notification:

Do we have any women/girls in our midst who might qualify to participate in the above event being sponsored by the Government of USA? If yes, please browse through the following, and register if you think you quality:

https://bit.ly/techwomen2025

https://www.techwomen.org/participants/award-details

This seems like an opportunity to network at a global level – ladies, please give it a shot! Given our popularity among the global community, I believe that an aspiring participant from Bhutan has a good chance of winning a slot.

The Shuijab: A Parting Gift

It was close to a quarter of a century back that it all began…..

My late Dad would insist that I visit the community Lhakhang (Temple/Monastery) in Taagma village - my ancestral home and birthplace - every time I was home to visit him in Tingtibi.

So it was that one time I drove up to the Lhakhang to offer my prayers. The Lhakhang Caretake saw me arrive …. he hastily scurried in to open the temple door. After I was done doing my 6 prostrations to Aum Pelden Lhamo, supposedly our village’s protecting deity, I stood in front of the alter lined with statues of Gods and Goddesses.

The final act that completes the process of offering prayers to the Gods is that you offer Ngendar - a cash offering. But I was truly overawed by the scene in front of me – that of the statues of a number of Gods and Goddesses shimmering in all their finery – decked in silk and brocade and adorned with jewelry of gold and precious stones such as Pearls, Cat’s-Eyes and Coral and Gemstones of various colors, shapes and sizes.

I am thinking ….. Oh my dear Gods, what can I, a poor man, offer you? You are already abundant with so much riches.

But I do have to complete the process. Thus, I pulled out a Nu.100.00 note and placed it inside the offering box in front of the statues – as my Ngendar.

The formalities duly completed, the caretaker and I headed for his dwellings for a cup of tea that he insisted I must have. Upon entering his one-bedroom home, I noticed that there were a number of tin bowls placed at various locations on the floor. I asked him why the bowls were spread all across the floor.

“The roof leaks …. So I place the bowls in order to prevent rainwater from splattering all over the floor.”

I looked at him in amazement. Only then did I notice that the man had no shoes on his feet …. and his Gho was threadbare and patched up at a number of places. I did not say anything - but as I got up to leave, I handed Nu.3,000.00 to his wife who was sitting by the hearth, serving us tea.

And, this is something I have done ever since - for the past 25 years or so - offer Nu.100.00 to the Gods and Nu.3,000.00 to their Care Taker couple - twice every year.

But I was disturbed by the experience. Upon reaching Tingtibi, I told my Dad of the pathetic condition of the Care Taker - I told him that I would like to build a small dwelling for the couple - something that did not leak - with one bedroom, one Choesham, one common room with kitchen …. and a porch. I asked if he knew anyone who could undertake the task. He said he did …. So next day we closed the deal with a carpenter from our village - to build the dwelling for the poor Care Taker couple.

This year, yet again, I was in Tingtibi to attend the Bhutan Bird Festival that was being held there during mid-November, 2024. True to tradition, although my Dad is no longer alive, I visited the community Lhakhang in Taagma, nonetheless. After the offering of prayers and the prostrations and the customary Nu.100.00 Ngendar, the Care Taker and his wife and I sat down on the periphery wall of the temple - to talk of this and that, over a cup of tea. Suddenly, the wife said;

“Repa ngat lo warey - I will come back in a minute”.

Upon return, she said:

“Yishi Dooji …. I am now 85 years old and I can sense that my health is failing me - I may not be here next year when you come visiting. Thus - I want to leave this for you - this is the only thing that I have of any value to my name”.

“Osokai ngat na Pon gey Nungpamen wen - this was gifted to me by the King”.

“When I die, I don’t know who will take it or what will become of it - so now that you are here - I want to give it to you as my Shuijab (parting gift) for your kindness to me and my husband over the years”.

What she gently placed in my palm was the following:

Nu.100.00 Coronation Coin of His Majesty the Vth King of Bhutan, 2008

I accepted it without a murmur because I realized that this was a tender moment of great poignancy - a moment of realization, and acceptance, that her time in this world may be coming to an end.

As I drove back to Tingtibi, I was overcome with a sense of Déjà vu - I mean I have lived this moment before.

Hours before my Mom passed away sometime in the 70’s – that is exactly what she did – held my hand in hers and inserted her gold ring into my finger and whispered:

“Know that I go a happy person - happy in the knowledge that I had a son like you. I leave this ring as my Shuijab to you - wi amai drin jorpa warey.”

Within hours – she breathed her last.