On The Wings of The Dragon: Part I

The year: 1981. The location: Tivoli Court, 1A, Ballygunj Circular Road, Calcutta 700 019, India.

In a small dingy room without windows, sits an elderly sweat-ridden man, stripped down to his waist, hammering away at the keyboards of a battered Godrej manual typewriter placed on a low table. By the typewriter stands a half empty bottle of Bhutanese Changta Whiskey along side which stands a half filled glass. A rickety fan is swirling overhead - creaking furiously and churning out gusts of hot air. The man types away furiously, even as he sweats profusely - but he is oblivious to the oppressive conditions - he keeps smacking away at the typewriter all day long.

From within this dingy little room inside Flat No. 47 of Tivoli Court, Calcutta started the journey of the Kingdom’s "Aerial Ambassador" - Druk Air Corporation. The man was no other than Mr. P S Joseph, Resident Director, Druk Air Corporation. He was an uncommon man - difficult to like but easy to admire. He was brisk, hot-tempered, impatient, hard drinking, driven and dedicated - and feared. When he walked into the Calcutta International Airport Terminal building, airline and Customs and Immigration officials inside the building scurried off to hide behind pillars - so they may be spared his barks.

This is how the Druk Air started. The commercial operations began only in February of 1983, two years later. The management team of the newly formed national airline were:

Chairperson                       : HRH Ashi S. C. Wangchuck

Managing Director            : Ugyen Namgyel

Resident Director              : Late Mr. P. S. Joseph

General Manager (E&O)   : Dasho Sonam Tshering (retired Secretary, MoEA)

Commercial Manager        : Late Pema Tshering (Pema Sen)

The only aircraft it had then was the 18-seater German made Dornier 228-200. It made its epochal touch-down at Paro international airport on January 14, 1983.

I was then posted in Calcutta, as the Head of the Export Section of the Export Division, Ministry of Trade, Industries & Forests. My office was on the 3rd floor of Tivoli Court, Flat No. 51. I became good friends of Mr. P S Joseph.

Before the airline commenced its commercial operations, there was a long period of test flights between Calcutta and Paro. During those times, Mr. Joseph needed passengers to fill the aircraft. He came to me to help out. I volunteered to be on board those test flights. Not only me, I convinced my office clerks, peons, drivers and gatekeepers, even my personal cook to come on board ---  for a free ride to Paro and back. One day I even convinced Professor Kurita of Kobe University, Japan to take the test flight. Upon landing at Paro airport, the flight Captain asked us not to disembark the flight but invited us to take the flight once again so that he could test out different approaches and take off to and from the runway. I declined the offer --- I needed to use the loo. But Professor agreed. What he did not realize was that the pilots would be trying all sorts of maneuvers and landing and taking off - to be prepared for all eventualities. When the good Professor limped out of the aircraft at the end of the test flight, he was a miserable wreck - he was puking - his innards were tied in a knot and his head was a whirlpool - from all that twists and turns and dips and heaves the aircraft was subjected to.

Years later I realized how dangerous those test flights could have been. The aircraft was flying in areas that it had never flown before - the route was untested, the cabin was not pressurized, there was no flight guidance system to direct the flight to safety. But what the hell, youth was on our side and we were bursting with dare-devilry!

I have seen the birth and growth of the Druk Air - the one and only airline in the Kingdom that has the singular privilege and honor to wear the national flag on it’s aircrafts’ rudders. No other aircraft - whether national or international - will ever have the right to wear the national colors of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Because only the Druk Air has the distinction of being called THE NATIONAL FLAG CARRIER OF THE KINGDOM OF BHUTAN.

Druk Air Corporation's jet wearing the national colors only a national flag carrier has the right to wear.

………………… to be continued