Even as I write this post, I have one of my eyes on the TV screen where the proceedings of the Royal Wedding that is currently underway in Punakha are being broadcast live by the BBS. It is a beautiful event. The color, the pomp and the pageantry is simply fabulous!
I am told that His Majesty had willed that the event should be a very subdued affair. When I look on the TV screen, I cannot fathom how such an event can ever be subdued - the profusion of colors, the solemnity of the occasion, the rituals, the reverberating resonance of the drums and the cymbals and the deep throated gurgling of the Dhung and the soulful musical sounds of the Jaling - they all combine to make the ceremony into something of a monumental celebration. And it should be rightly so, after all, this ceremony goes beyond the formalization of a matrimonial union of two beings. This event is the public legitimization of the appointment of the Queen of Bhutan.
As of today, Ashi Jetsun Pema is no longer an ordinary person. She now enters a life of discipline, of commitment and sacrifice, of renouncement and surrender - a life steeped in ceremony and officialdom. The crown comes at a heavy price and I hope she is up to it - for her own sake and for the sake of her subjects - the people of Bhutan.
On this momentous occasion, I pray that she is able to fulfill her duties as Her Majesty Ashi Jetsun Pema Wangchuck the Queen of Bhutan. May this day prove to be as joyous as the people of Bhutan believe it to be.
The wedding ceremony was really a massive celebration. I had a good time watching too.
ReplyDeleteIt is a landmark for your country, wish I could have seen it. Do post some photos pls.
ReplyDeleteWollo
Hi Carlos
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment .. I hope you are keeping well.
I decided to enjoy the event on the TV rather than be out there chasing photos and getting nowhere and missing out on all the celebrations :)
Thanx for the post. It is indeed a wonderful moment in Bhutan's history and we are so very fortunate to witness it and be a part of it no matter how indirectly. Anon.
ReplyDeleteWai Dasho, please check out the piece. You are very much a part of it :)
ReplyDeletehttp://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/10/14/bhutan-royal-wedding-gifts-country-a-queen/
Madam Sonam,
ReplyDeleteI have already read that post of yours .. your blog is among the 8 blogs I open atleast 5 times a day to see if there are updates :)
Congratulations to your country of the new queen. May she brings in more wisdom in building an even better and stronger Bhutan.
ReplyDelete