Coming Full Circle

My late Dad made his first Rs.100.00 – working as an interpreter to the 1st Chief Engineer of Project DANTAK – Colonel T. V. Jaganathan - at a humongous monthly salary of Rs. 10.00 per month, less Re.1.00 for meals he was served in the common Langar.

Exactly 62 years later, his son - yours truly - accompanied the 27th DANTAK Chief Brigadier Rohit Gupta - not as his interpreter - but as his Man Friday - to Bhutan Bird Festival in Tingtibi, Zhemgang.

Frankly, I did not see the Karmic connection, although, now that I think of it - there is no denying that there really is one. I went because the Chief is a passionate birder and bird photographer and he wanted to attend the Bhutan Bird Festival. He asked me if I was going. I said I wasn’t sure since I had a friend in town from USA. But I told him that I would see to his comfortable stay - given that I am a Bhumiputra from the areas.

Little did I know that there was no accommodation to be had. Berti Ecolodge was fully booked and I did not fancy the idea of the Chief staying in any old shanty. So, I made a decision to accompany him - to ensure that the man who heads one of Bhutan’s longest and most meaningful development partners has a comfortable stay while in my ilakha. DANTAK has been building road communications in Bhutan since 1961. The least I could do – by way of a citizen’s service - is try and show appreciation by being of some small service to the Head of the organization that keeps our road communications flowing like a well-oiled engine!

Happily, I managed to get him a special accommodation to stay in and made sure that he had safe meals while there.

I am not sure if he had fun at the festival - but one thing is for sure - he sighted one of his "lifebirds" during the trip - the rare Rufous-necked Hornbill. That should have given him joy enough to compensate for any failings that he may have experienced during the trip!

Bhutan’s Hotel Industry in Crisis

Going by the following article appearing in the Kuensel of November 15, 2024, it appears that the crisis we had feared was being created is now a reality:

Even as the rumblings of the call for dismantling of the Minimum Daily Package Rate (MDPR) was gaining momentum, sometime during early 2022 a joint meeting was held between some select members of the Bhutan Sustainable Tourism Society (BSTS), Hotel & Restaurant Association of Bhutan (HRAB) and Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO).

Voicing the collective concerns of the BSTS members, I was explicit in making the following point:

“Should the MDPR be dismantled, the hotel owners will stand to suffer the most”.

During a restricted gathering of select media personnel called for by the then Prime Minister Dr. Lotay Tshering, held at ThePema by Realm, on 18th June, 2022, I once again reiterated that the hotel industry would be the most impacted, should the Parliament go ahead and pass the tabled/proposed Tourism Levy Bill of Bhutan 2022.

The government took the stand that going into hotel business was purely a business decision that was outside the purview of the RGoB. I countered that while that would be true, the decision by the hoteliers would have been influenced solely by relevant policies in place, and that when those policies were altered, the government that did it has to bear onus for the ensuing crisis.

In our tireless effort to dissuade the government and the Parliament from enacting a grossly misconceived and poorly directed tourism policy that was foretold to be ruinous for the country, on 23rd June, 2022, some select members of the BSTS met the Members of the National Assembly’s Economic & Finance Committee. During the meeting, I minced no words in declaring:

“I am willing to give you in writing that the Government, the Tourism Council of Bhutan and the Department of Immigration were, not one of them, ready to implement the Tourism Levy Bill of Bhutan 2022.”

Even as the catastrophic Tourism Levy Bill of Bhutan 2022 was at the verge of being passed into law by the Parliament, Bhutan’s one and only Sustainable Tourism Specialist - Dr. Karma Tshering (PhD) - went on record, and wrote the following in the Kuensel issue of June 22, 2022:

“First and foremost, before any change or systemic overhaul is contemplated, it is critical to understand if a change is really necessary; the pertinent question to ask is: is something going wrong? Particularly when one is dealing with an industry that accounts for the highest foreign exchange inflow, and accrual of multifarious benefits that encompass the entire strata of the Bhutanese society, the government needs to exercise extreme caution – before it embarks on an exercise that could very well imperil a system that is perceived to be working. We need some serious thinking on the matter – what exactly is it that we are trying to fix?"

"Are we in a tourism crisis or are we creating one?”

So, are we finally in agreement that a crisis has indeed been created where none had existed? If yes, are we now finally going to Reset, Reboot and Restore?

Bhutan Bird Festival 2024

I just returned from attending the Bhutan Bird Festival 2024 held at Tingtibi, Zhemgang: 13th and 14th November, 2024. It was expected - and the Zhemgang Dzongkhag Administration did not disappoint - that after the less-than-flattering review of the poor show they put up last year, they would do a much better job this year - they did! The ebb and flow of activities was pulsating and the sparkle of the festival ground was palpable, to say the least.

And yet, there is where it all ended - the festival was akin to a bride - all dressed up in her Sunday best - but no takers and nowhere to go! The festival failed to draw in a single international bird watcher or a bird photographer. Meaning that the festival was a waste of time and waste of precious resources - for the purpose for which it was planned and hosted.

Who is to blame? The RGoB and the DoT!

Birdwatching is a long duration tourism activity. For a truly rewarding experience, the activity will require a birder to spend a minimum of 2-3 weeks to be able to cover the country’s various known birding hot spots. To be able to access bird-rich locations, they need to spend anywhere between 4 to 6 days - traveling back and forth.

It is for this reason that certain segments of the country’s tourism industry have been pleading with the government to consider long duration discounts for birdwatching and trekking and any other activities that require visitors to spend long durations in the country.

Zhemgang as a birding destination holds great promise - it is teaming with over 500 bird species - a substantial of them rare and critically endangered. One international resident bird photographer who attend the bird festival went hunting for his lifebird - the Rufous-necked Hornbill. Within less than two hours he sighted his “lifer” at Tama-La - barely 25 KMs away from the festival grounds in Tingtibi. Elsewhere he would have taken a lifetime to sight this rare bird.

Another unique bird photographer who is currently resident in Bhutan who was also at the festival chanced upon a flock of 10 flying Rufous-necked Hornbills - a truly rare, if not impossible, sighting elsewhere in the world.

For events such as Bhutan Bird Festival to be able to bring benefit to local communities and the tourism industry as a whole, we need to take ownership of our own initiatives.

It is sad - how long does the government intend to remain subservient to the rank outsiders and the clueless? It is not fair - please wake up and take control!

Wisdom For The Future

Sitting in the dimmed hall of the RUB in lower Motithang, Thimphu, I looked at the beautifully crafted presentation banner with quizzical eyes…. thinking ….. really???

Inaugural JSW School of Law Lecture Series: "Wisdom for the Future"

What of the WISDOM of, and for, the PRESENT? Whichever way one looks at it, it becomes clear that the wisdom one learns, or do not learn, in the present will most likely mold an individual’s outlook and character or, influence events of the future.

When I was told by one of the country’s Prime Ministers that this generation of Bhutanese should empathize with the government for usurping their present because the government is planning for their future, I responded by saying that what is the use of the future when the citizens are all dead in the present?

But by lunch time I was convinced that the attempt being made by the JSW School of Law was something that is needed and perhaps, even - timely.

There was clarity and conviction when the speaker – Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi – said at one point:

“The first steps to securing the future begins with wisdom of the present”.

I loved it!

Over dinner in the evening of the same day – I continued to listen to him and of his indomitable courage that he exhibited throughout his momentous life. One other important lesson I learnt from him was, something to the effect that:

There may be people who, in an effort to hide their own failings, will attempt to subjugate you and your spirit through subversion and sabotage – but it is important to remain firm and unwavering to your cause – which, in most part, he convinced me - is the freedom empowered by wisdom.

My Tohfa of my Coffee Table book on the wild birds of Bhutan - to an immensely gifted person of global fame

And yet, in spite of being richer, wealthier, more informed, and more knowledgeable, Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi nonetheless acknowledged that the world has never been so broken and divided, and shorn of value and ethics and morality, as it is today.

Meaning that humanity has never been at a greater risk of doom than it is now - caused by our trust in human beings!

Wangduechhoeling Palace Museum and Cultural Centre

For all the serenading we do in praise of our monarchy, our tradition and culture and architectural aesthetics, the shallowness of it became all too evident when not a single Bhutanese had the sense of national pride to stand up and object to the construction of the grotesque Amankora Bumthang Lodge in the vicinity of Wangduechhoeling Palace – a national edifice without compare. I was pained enough to blog about it in 2011.

A reader from abroad reacted as follows:

Hello Yeshey,

“……  The problem of the Jakar Amankora hotel forces me to speak up, however.

For all the talk about protecting Bhutan's culture from foreign influence and controlling the negative impacts of tourism, this is a major, tangible contravention.

There are ways to ensure that if a structure as special as Wangdicholing Palace were to have a development project proposed in its vicinity, it would not be adversely affected. The Amankora hotel, which leaves Wangdicholing Palace literally in its shadow, is clearly out of harmony with its historic context…….”

The blemish of insult notwithstanding, the historic Wangduechhoeling Palace is now a museum dedicated to the Wangchuck Dynasty – its Tashi Rabney was conducted on the 30th of October, 2024.

Wangduechhoeling Palace Museum and Cultural Centre

Photo: Kuensel 31st Oct., 2024

Through this blog I would like to offer Thanks to Bhutan Foundation who thought of it, and spent many years and millions of dollars working on the Palace. Their act of preservation – I chose not to call it restoration – has been remarkable – the result is there for all to see. We must also Thank the selfless donors who assumed the responsibility in which we Bhutanese had failed miserably. I had the good fortune to meet many of them during the Tashi Rabney ceremony. Ofcourse, few of them I had met many decades earlier.

Tashi Rabney of the Museum

Wangduechoeling Palace was built by Choetse Poenlop Jigme Namgyel – sometime during 1858/1859 – after the amicable settlement of the Battle of Shamkharthang with Jakar Dzongpoen (later Jakar Poenlop) Tsundru Gyaltshen. Most know that Choetse Poenlop Jigme Namgyal is the progenitor of the Wangchuck Dynasty – but few know that he is equally important as the man who successfully reunified Sharchog Khorlo Tsipgye in 1850 – when he served as the Trongsa Droenger under the then Trongsa Poenlop Wangchen Dorji (Tshoki Dorji).

Our first Monarch – Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck was born in this Palace.

For some inexplicable reason, I refrained from taking even a single frame of photograph during the entire day of the Tashi Rabney – not of the people, nor of the Palace or the rare artifacts that were on display inside. I do not know - perhaps it was a subconscious way of showing reverence to the sanctity of the occasion, or it may have been a sense of joy and happiness that the bastion of the Wangchuck Dynasty has been reinstated to its rightful place in history.