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. Draksho Tsering Wangda was honored with a state funeral worthy of a foot soldier without compare.

A youthful Draksho 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 Draksho 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 Draksho 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 Draksho 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 Draksho 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 Draksho Wangda’s ultimate sacrifice be in vain?

A Well-Deserved Honor And Recognition

When I got to learn of the award of the title of Doctor of Philosophy to Lam Kezang Chhoephel by the Thames International University of France, I felt a sense of pride and triumph! To be chosen to rise head and shoulder above the teaming billions, particularly from a minuscule country that more than 99% of the human population would not have heard about - it is a praiseworthy achievement.

Dr. Lam Kezang Chhoephel

By no means I am competent, or even qualified, to pass judgment on his academic or scholastic abilities - I will leave that to people and organizations such as the Thames International University to decide. But I dare say that I have had a number of occasions when I was awestruck by his uncanny ability to provide answers to my questions that I most likely would not have gotten from anyone else in Bhutan, or elsewhere. He has unfailingly proven to be a source, and a depository, for a vast and uncommon knowledge and information on Bhutan and most things Bhutanese.

Over the years since I began my research journey in matters related to our ancient coinage, I have gotten used to making him my first stop - in the pursuit of answers and explanations. For sure he has enriched my documentation of Bhutan's coinage with rare terms such as: “Tsa-Thue”, “Karshapani”, “Ngingtang Ghatikap”, “Grab Tsring .... Grab Tsring”, “Luna Yar Mathop – Ghatika Mar Shorsong” etc. etc.

Thus, day before yesterday, I went to see Lam Kezang Chhoephel - to offer him my congratulatory Dhar. Along with it, I also offered him the following statue of the Golden Buddha gifted to me by the Most Venerable Lam Phra Kruba Bunchum Yannasangvaro Aranyavasi Bhikku of Thailand, in 2016. Certainly Lam Kezang is a more worthy person to own a sculpture of such exquisite craftsmanship:

The exquisite statue of the Golden Buddha

Upon being conferred the following Recognition, as of 14th April, 2024, Lam Kezang Chhoephel earns the right to be addressed as:

Dr. Lam Kezang Chhoephel

The Certificate of Award issued by the Thames International University, France

Dr. Lam Kezang Chhoephel makes us all proud!

A Bhutanese among 100 most influential women of 2018

As of writing this post (Thursday, November 22, 2018 10:26 AM) the world population stands at 7,658,811,110. Of this total, female population stands at 3,795,646,969.

Now tell me - what does it take to be named one among 100 most influential women of the year, from among 3,795,646,969 women?

It takes someone like Dr. Tashi Zangmo of Bhutan Nuns Foundation. That is correct - she has been named as one among the 100 most influential women of 2018!

Dr. Tashi Zangmo - Photo from http://www.bhutannuns.org/mud-house-for-nuns/

And, I am one proud Bhutanese - among 735,600++ - who is privileged to know Dr. Tashi personally. I had known her since the time she was working in the Ministry of Agriculture - few decades back.

She does Bhutan proud. I have, few minutes back, offered her my CONGRATULATIONS, which she richly deserves!

Hail To The Modern World’s Most Tested Monarch

Today is November 11, 2014. More significantly, it is the 59th Birth Anniversary of His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, IVth Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan. Numerous celebrations are being planned around the country to honor the nation’s and the modern world’s most tested Monarch. Sadly, I will not be fortunate enough to participate in the celebrations because, even as I write this, I am camped by a dusty farm road somewhere in the wilderness between Yadi and Chaskhar in Mongar, Eastern Bhutan.

On this happy occasion, I am trying to attempt to compose an article to pay tribute to my King but the conditions are not the most idyllic! I am distracted by a cacophony of bird calls - three of which I can recognize - those of the Collared Owlet, Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler and White-crested Laughing Thrush. Even worse, the monstrosity called Bolero - an Indian SUV - keeps screeching past my campsite - spewing dust and smell of burnt rubber. To top it off, my PowerBook battery is about to run out and Yadi town is experiencing a power outage. And I remember that my headlamp had already been flashing out three short red blinks in quick succession - indicating that it is running out of juice too! Way to go!

This is a most tumultuous setting in which to compose a tribute to a beloved King and yet, perhaps, this is most fitting. For, this is a King who has lived, and survived, all the tumultuous phases since his coronation. And there have been many such times. Suffice it to say that His Majesty has fulfilled His duties to the hilt - and some more. He has overcome every single challenge thrown His way - to preserve the nationhood of this country - His most important and challenging duty. Therefore, it is perhaps proper, and appropriate, that we honor Him for not having failed in His duty - rather than for performing it. After all, accolades are offered to those who perform beyond their duties, not merely for performing it.

Few perhaps understand what it would have taken to “preserve the nationhood of this country”.

Bhutan is a small landlocked country with neither economic power nor military muscle and with a population size comparable to that of a small Indian gully. Even worse, it is wedged between two of Asia’s most fractious nations of proven atomic capability and with competing ambitions for regional dominance. Bhutan’s geographical positioning as a buffer state (supposedly) between these two giants makes our position even more perilous.

Bhutan’s positioning as a buffer state between China and India is most often spoken as something of an advantage - in Bhutan’s favour. Sadly, not many understand that therein lay our vulnerability! This is where I am stuck by a sense of wonder - at the skillfulness and the political and diplomatic finesse with which our monarchs dealt with the giant to the North as well as to the South. While Tibet and Sikkim got selectively gobbled up by China and India, Bhutan to this day remains an independent state - all thanks to the superior minds and statesmanship of the Wangchucks. During this occasion of celebration and merry making, let us give ourselves a moment of quiet and stillness, close our eyes and contemplate: can we fathom even a fraction of what it would have taken our Kings to “preserve the nationhood of this country?” I doubt it.

Big and powerful nations such as the US employ economic might and military muscle to dictate their terms on other less powerful nations. If economic sanctions do not work, they carpet-bomb the erring states into submission. The powerful nations of this world are back to the primeval ways - smash and grab. Rich and powerful nations have it easy.

By contrast, for small poor nation states such as Bhutan, without the benefit of military muscle or economic might, the task is more difficult. We have to depend on more subtle and civilized ways to fend off the ever-present threat to our nationhood from colonialist designs of more powerful nations. We have to depend on our guile, craftiness, shrewdness, intelligence, sense of anticipation and diplomatic skills, to navigate our way out of the many entrapments laid out on our path.

If Bhutan today survives as a proud, independent state and Bhutanese as a race, we owe it to our successive Monarchs who have been selfless and vigilant in the discharge of their duties. Those of us with a sense of history know that our IVth Druk Gyalpo remains the most tested, but no less credit is due to our past Monarchs. Therefore, on this auspicious day, let us pay homage to the Wangchuck Dynasty as a whole and His Majesty the IVth Druk Gyalpo in particular, for the many silent battles he fought, and won - unknown to his subjects.

May our Kings live long and continue to direct our future.

Tengney Police Namgay

On the morning of 22nd February, 2014, I was on my way to Paro Rinpung Dzong - but was undecided as to how to approach it - whether on foot over the Paro Ngami Zampa cantilever bridge or, by motor road running through the Paro Tshongdu. While I struggled with the indecision, I had parked my car by the roadside close to the Chortens at Ngami Zampa - to contemplate the merits and demerits of the two approaches to the Dzong.

Then I saw him - the dreaded Police Namgay - the bane of most Bhutanese motorists. He was in civilian clothing, smeared in white paint and he had a surgical glove covering his palms.  He was hovering over a number of people engaged in painting white lines on the paved space that served as parking lot. Intrigued, I got out of my car and walked over to him and asked:

“Wai Lobey Namgay, gachi bedo?”

“Aaaaa …. I am trying to create an orderly parking space saa. In the absence of a properly defined parking space, it is madness at this spot. People park haphazardly and there is chaos every time. As in-charge of the traffic in these areas, maintaining order is a problem. Once in a while I have to pull up some drivers for poor road sense --- but in the absence of a well-defined parking spots, I believe that it is not fair to penalize people. So I am marking out the space for organized parking”.

“OK … but why is a Traffic Police Officer responsible for painting the white boxes?”

“Actually it is the responsibility of the Thromde … but they have this excuse that they do not have budget to do the job. I am so fed up that I decided to take on the job myself with help from some of my johnnies. Those guys doing the painting are traffic policemen. I got the Thromde to give us the white paint … and I encouraged some of my team of traffic policemen to put in the labor. We started the work last Saturday … but it rained in the night and washed away all the paintwork. So we are redoing it today. Once the markings are carried out, the parking will be lot more organized and as you can see, we can now fit in more than double the number of vehicles that would usually occupy the parking area. Once the parking lot is well defined, there is no excuse for anyone to be errant in the way they park their vehicles. If they do, I can kick their butts without feeling guilty about it”.

What a pleasure to come face-to-face with a rare Bhutanese who goes beyond the call of duty! Whenever one refers to Namgay, people have a tendency to say; “Aani Tengney Police Namgay ya?”

A few more Tengney like Police Namgay would certainly be welcome. I salute him for his service and initiative.