Unfurling the Loongtah of Mindfulness

In 1973, an Indian Christian evangelist - I don’t know what else to call him – a shop owner based in the border town of Jaigaon, attempted to convert me into the Christian faith. The poor blighter had no idea that he had taken on the original dyed-in-the-wool atheist!!! 😛

At the end of close to an hour of futile attempt, he was ready to give up – but not before delivering the following totally un-Christian exit line:

“Either you are a very rich young man and you have no need for God in your life or, you are so bloody poor that you have lost faith in Him.”

What a bigoted view – so darn typical of an uneducated religious fanatic!

More than half a century later, an evolved and learned friend from USA made an observation about me – on the morning of 7th February, 2026 - quoted verbatim as follows:

“I think you are the most religious-minded person in Bhutan — and you hate religion!”

Kuche wai, please, I do not hate religion --- I actually love it for all the good things it teaches us. Here I make no distinction …. I am speaking of every single religion practiced by every human society around the world. My sin – I have been reminded umpteen times that I am a sinful fellow - is that I choose to interpret and practice religion in vastly different ways from those of the do-gooders.

And, because I believe that the “Path” I walk is the right path, I am adamant that I have no need to take refuge in any Gods or Godesses … because only those who accept that they have taken the wrong path, has the need to seek refuge. It is for the same reason that I believe that I have no need to perform any acts of atonement ---- such as burning a thousand butter lamps, reading numerous volumes of scriptures or visiting a hundred holy sites in far-flung locations. My act of veneration to honor the enlightened beings who propagated many versions of the same brand of religion, is not by prostrating before them – but by walking the virtuous path advocated by them.

Sadly, it is my experience that not all those who practice religion are evolved beings – a large number of them are of the conviction that they can do no wrong in the practice of their religion. They forget that some of what was relevant centuries back are no longer so in the present times. They forget that a meaningful religion or culture is one that evolves with time – that which remains relevant in the times in which we live.

Religion is a powerful thing – but some have tended to harness its power for all the wrong reasons. To compound the problem even further, our religious protagonists – including our community leaders and government administrators – have proven to be equally ill-informed and irresponsible. They have failed to perform their duties and responsibilities – they have failed to provide much needed leadership and guidance. The consequence has been that our living spaces and the natural world has come under increasing abuse. To a large extent, the unmindful practice of religion has been responsible for some of the environmental degradation that we are seeing all around us.

And we in Bhutan pride ourselves as a nation at the forefront of environmental conservation - a carbon negative nation - a GNH country proudly proclaiming to be steeped in a culture of mindful behavior and healthy living.

It is in this context that my accidental visit to the VAST Bhutan, Thimphu few days back was heartwarming. I am hugely encouraged by their ongoing “Lungta Art Festival 2026” ….. and the powerful message that they are attempting to convey to the Bhutanese people. It is my hope that it will provide an awakening that we so sorely need - to the perils associated with unmindful and inappropriate materials used in the production and unfurling of the much touted Loongtah - prayer flags printed and hoisted in the holiest of holy places and pristine locations.

VAST Bhutan's aspirations and message to the Bhutanese people.

The “Lungta Art Festival 2026” exposes with haunting live images how these acts of religious fervor have been the source of much environmental degradation and, in some cases, went on to cause premature deaths to the animals in the remote and far-flung wilderness such as Laya and Lunana ---- as a result of getting entangled in the grip of these indestructible weaves of synthetic fiber, laced with chemical paints.

The world community looks at Bhutan with unabashed admiration at our unrelenting stewardship of the environment. Let us keep it that way – let us be responsible in the practice of our religion.

Let us accept that there can be no merit in the practice of a religion that results in the destruction of our natural world and the environment! Let us understand that safeguarding our environment is a religious act at its most sublime!

The Big One Is Coming

For decades, scientists have been warning of the inevitable: a “Great Himalayan Earthquake” of magnitude 8 or more that could tear through northern India. And the signs are everywhere.

India's updated 2025 Seismic Zonation Map encompasses most of the Himalayan range countries, including Bhutan, under the highest ZONE VI Category.

Mr. Roger Bilham, a prominent American geophysicist stated that “India slides 2 meters beneath the southern edge of Tibet every century. Unfortunately, its northern edge does not slide smoothly but is hung-up (by friction) for hundreds of years and catches up in minutes when this friction is overcome. The slip events, which we call earthquakes, are the inevitable and unavoidable consequence of this motion.”

Bilham is on record that quakes exceeding magnitude 8 have struck the Himalayas every few hundred years. But for the last 70 years, there hasn’t been one large enough to release the pressure building up in the Himalayan arc. He is certain beyond any doubt that they will occur. In his considered view, it is not a matter of “IF” but of “WHEN”.

On 25th April, 2015, neighboring Nepal was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed by two large aftershocks of magnitude 6.6 and 6.7 on Richter's Magnitude Scale, the next day. These seismic events resulted in the death of 9,000 people including tens of thousands of injuries. In Kathmandu and nearby towns alone, 600,000 structures were leveled to the ground.

In relation to our next-door neighbor - Sikkim - the following is reported: 

“Over the past one year, around 13-15 earthquakes of significant magnitude (generally above 4.0) was experienced in Sikkim and the areas around it.”

“In early February 2026, a series of tremors hit the state, with one report indicating 12 earthquakes felt in a single night, and another report mentioning as many as 33 tremors in a 13-hour span on February 7, 2026.”

Closer to home, we are reminded of the futility of trying to contain the GLOF that will result from the breaching of the combined lakes of Thorthorme and Rapstreng:

The siphoning efforts by the National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology is said to be ineffective

Three of my trekking support team atop the Thorthorme Tso when I trekked to Lunana to photograph the high peaks in the areas.

Regardless of all the repeated indicators forewarning us of the coming catastrophe, the PHPA-I authorities will have us believe that they can prop up the gigantic Gaselo mountain from collapsing into the ravine, by impregnating the mountainside with motor and grout.

Pile-driving the Gaselo mountain side in an effort to stitch together the unstable rock formation that go to make the PHPA-I dam site where three major slides have already occurred - one each in 2013, 2016 and 2019.

It will take only a minor jolt to bring the Gaselo mountain tumbling down into the ravine, and for the fragile barrier that keeps the two lakes of Thorthorme and Rapstreng separated, to collapse. When that happens, the deluge of water that will be released will be so formidable and voluminous that it will sweep away everything in its path - all the way to the Bay of Bengal!

Bhutan’s Farcical Punatsangchu-I Hydro Power Project

It is simply unbelievable!!! I mean, pray tell me, for how long can the PHPA Project people hope to continue to feed the Bhutanese people their cock and bull story about being able to stabilize a whole mountain with mortar and grout?

The absurdity of it all is so incredible that you begin to wonder – what really is happening here? What are the Bhutanese people not understanding that the Project people are so cock sure about?

This is how the PHPA people hopes to stabilize the whole Gaselo mountain - by driving some hundred odd RCC piles and metal bolts into the mountain side. They tell us that this will stitch together the unstable rock formation that has already seen three major slides.

When the first slide on the right bank of P-I dam site occurred during July of 2013, it became clear to me that the location of the dam and, therefore, the project itself, was unsafe and doomed to failure. Thereafter, year after year, I have been calling for its shutting down. Alas, today, 17 years since the project construction began in 2008, and after the project cost has escalated to close to a staggering Nu.88 billion from its initial budgetary allocation of Nu.35 billion, the project remains stalled – ten years beyond its planned date of completion slated for 2016!!!

Can it be that we are so naïve that we got the stick by its wrong end?

What is the possibility that the Punatsangchu-I Hydro Power Project will be considered a SUCCESS if, and only when, it FAILS and causes untold losses to life and property?

Back Home Safe & Sound!

I just got back from a grueling 5 days trip out to the East of the country – Trashiyangtse to be precise. As the Fund Administrator for a USA-based Fund that has been supporting the education of 4 Bhutanese school children for the past four years - three of whom are based in Trashiyangtse, I had to undertake the trip in order that I may deliver supplies to the children before the start of the 2026 academic session - beginning mid of this month.

I truly dreaded the trip – I mean this is thick of winter and I have to pass a number of seriously high mountain passes - such as the Thrumshing-La Pass located at an elevation close to 4,000 Mtrs.. I did not fancy the idea of having to negotiate the many snow-bound and ice-caked passes en route to the East. But man! one has gotta do what one has gotta do ….!

But I was in luck! The weather was beautiful …. The skies were sparkling blue and the road surfaces were devoid of snow or ice. For proof, see the following images I took during the trip:

Mt. Gungkhar Puensoom - Bhutan's highest mountain and the world's highest unclimbed peak - shinning bright in the morning sun - as seen from atop Shingner village close to Ura.

The beautiful Buddhist Chorten (stupa) atop the dreaded Throomshing-La Pass at close to 4,000 Mtrs. high. This mountain Pass is Bhutan's second highest motorable Pass.

Well, this year my luck held – I hope and pray that I am as lucky next year as well … and the year following next and the next and the next!!!! Or, may be … just may be … I can relocate the children to a less perilous location!

Starkly Contrarian Views

It is interesting how two Bhutanese newspapers of repute – Business Bhutan and TheBhutanese – pursues two starkly contrarian line of thinking on a common subject of national concern: Punatsangchu Hydropower Project-I.

In their issue of 17th January, 2026, Business Bhutan eulogizes the PHPA-I in following glowing terms:

“The Punatsangchhu-I project is a story of ambition, perseverance, and regional partnership – an engineering marvel that is poised to leave a lasting mark on the hydropower landscape of South Asia. As the final block rises on the right side of the dam, Bhutan edges ever closer to realizing one of its most ambitious energy dreams.”

TheBhutanese, on the other hand, leaves nothing to imagination when, in their paper dated October 12, 2024 quotes the following as having been said by Dr Yash Pal Shardha, a retired, senior Engineering Geologist of the Geological Survey of India:

“This project (referring to PHPA-I) is the best example of deceit and dishonesty by project people. A very good investigative Detailed Project Report at one place was done but the project was shifted to another place without conducting any investigation and whatever investigations were done were cooked up data knowing fully well we are going to face problems and we went for the tender stage and drilled a few holes and the project started for construction and now see fate of the project and will it ever be completed.”

As for me, I have already written 81 blogs on the subject of our hydroelectric projects .... to say any more would be nothing short of flogging the dead horse!