Setting The Record Straight!

I am not sure when Bhutan came to be called the “Land Of The Thunder Dragon”. Like everyone else, I found no reason to question the origins of the nomenclature - I just adopted it - as everyone else did. Then one day, a writer friend from Belgium sent me a photo of an impression of an old seal with the word “Druk” inscribed in Dzongkha script in the center of it.

Impression of the seal supposedly belonging to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal with the word "Druk" on the Doongkar in the center

He wanted to know; “Does Druk mean Bhutan? Do you think this seal belonged to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, as it is claimed?”

For a moment I was tempted to tell him “Yes - we are known as the “Land of The Thunder Dragon”, and that Druk means Dragon - the animal after which our country was supposedly named. But I am not sure if the seal belonged to Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal".

The only seal I know of that was supposedly issued by the Zhabdrung was the following:

The Nga Chudrukma Seal of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal

I hesitated - because, in my knowledge, the dragon that roared like the thunder is a mythical animal that existed only in legends and mythologies - both in Bhutan as well as across the globe. In reality, it did not exist. And yet, when I started my Blog, its banner was worded thus:

But my sense of curiosity was tickled by the Belgian friend and, after pondering for days, and weeks, I concluded that the word “Druk” could have been used to signify Druk Yuel - country of the people of Drukpa Kagyu faith - accepted as Bhutan’s state religion. So, I changed my Blog’s Banner to read as follows:

Over time though, I realized that this simply cannot be true - agreed that Drukpa Kagyu sect of Buddhism is accepted as the state religion practiced by Bhutan's State Monk Body (Zhung Dratsang). But side by side, we also have followers of the Nyingma sect - we have Christians, we have Hindus, Muslims and, quite surprisingly, even practitioners of a religious faith few would have heard of - the Baha’i faith.

So, once again, my Blog’s Banner went through a change - now, as you can see above, it reads:

I think the above is more appropriate and just - it encompasses the whole spectrum of people who are bona fide Bhutanese - and it leaves out the fire-spewing, jewel clutching reptilian that never existed!

Guarantor for the Terminators

“Dad, do you know any gold smugglers in Bhutan?”

“No, I don’t - but come to think of it - I did know few silver smugglers in my life”.

That abrupt, out-of-turn exchange of conversations transported my mind to the misty past - to a time when I was, willy-nilly, drawn into a situation that was truly - out of normal.

One morning sometime around 1991 - 1993, my phone rang (those days there was no mobile - we used the landline). From the other end of the phone line, I was asked ….

“Hi … is this Yeshey? Police SP Maj. Indra Pradhan here”

“Oh Hi Dasho … yes la, this is Yeshey”

“OK good … can you please come to Draduelmakhang RBP Headquarters?”

“Gachibey?”

“You have been identified as the surety/guarantor by one of your good friends currently under remand here at the Draduelmakhang”

“Remand??? Who? What for?”

“Come to the station … you will know everything”.

Bloody funny …. I did not fancy the idea of going to the police station – only criminals went there – or get taken there!! Anyway, I went.

At the police SP Indra Pradhan’s office, I was explained that my friend Neng Neng Dorji was taken into custody - for smuggling silver. There was a total of about 16 or 19 of them remanded for the same supposed crime of silver smuggling.

Regardless, either because of the wrong application of the written law, or because there was no law against carriage of silver into the country, or if there was any - there was no clearly defined punishment for it, or as a consequence of intervention from higher up, the RBP was ready to release the Terminators - upon paying fines or fees or penalties or duties - I think there was huge confusion as to what they were liable for - even of the fact that whether what they did was a crime.

Anyway, it seems that it was decided that the remandees would be let go - upon assurance of payment of some set amount of money. All that the RBP asked was that someone worthy sign a document - on behalf of the remandees - that in the event of non-realization of the amount, the guarantor signing on behalf of the remandee would make good the payment.

That is how good old Q Yeshey was drawn into the scene.

Ofcourse, I agreed to sign on behalf of my friend Neng Neng Dorji - not as an act of validation of his probity - but for the sake of our friendship that spanned over quarter of a century.

That settled, the police SP suggested something totally unexpected:

“Yeshey, come to think of it - now that you are here and are agreeable, why can’t you sign the document as guarantor for all of the 16/19 other Terminators who are held here for the same reason?”

I gawked!!

“Dasho Indra - are you suggesting that I am worthy of standing guarantor for 16/19 of the country’s biggest smugglers? Am I that good?”

“Yeshey, do not worry - it is merely a formality - we need the paper work”.

“But what if they decide to scoot and do not pay up? - my goose would be cooked, No?”

“I can assure you - you have nothing to fear. These guys are loaded to their eyeballs - you are in rock solid company - take a look here.”

He placed a leaf out of a bank cheque book on the table in front of me. The cheque was counter-signed and sealed by the Branch Manager of the Bank of Bhutan’s Paro Branch - the box where the amount is generally written in numbers was an absolute BLANK!

Police SP Indra gloated:

“See? This here is a blank cheque! This person on whose behalf the bank has counter-signed the cheque is so certain of the smuggler’s financial liquidity that the Bank of Bhutan guarantees any amount that we write on the cheque - just any amount!”

WOW!! Well, faced with that level of certainty and assurance, I had nothing to fear. So I agreed and signed the document - thereby making history for being the only person in the country - to be good enough to stand surety for 16/19 of the country's biggest smugglers!

That is how one hits one’s HIGH NOTE! Boy, am I proud of myself!

NOTE:

• Terminator: I use this term here because it was said that during those days when the smugglers walked in into the arrival hall of Paro airport, they would be noticed walking with the peculiar gait that resembled that of the Terminator – a Cyborg in the science fiction movie “The Terminator”. Apparently, the funny gait was caused by the weight of some 70-80 KGs of silver bars weighing down on them - concealed within their clothing.
• Much later I learnt that I was also on the verge of being pulled in for questioning by the RBP. Given my more than frequent travels to Singapore those days - so much so that Christopher Francis of Druk Air had named me CIP: Commercially Important Person - there was suspicion that I too may be involved in the silver smuggling affair. But the erstwhile senior Customs Officer T B Chettri is said to have assured the RBP that I was unlikely to be involved in the business of silver smuggling, or anything illegal.

10,000 Bird Species Seen …. and Counting!

Retired American diplomate - Mr. Peter G. Kaestner has recently been recognized as the first birder in the world to have seen 10,000 bird species. He achieved that recognition on 9th February, 2024 when he sighted the Orange-tufted Spiderhunter in Eastern Mindanao, the Philippines. This is an unbelievable 90% of all birds recorded in the world – the latest version (14.1) of the IOC World Bird List lists a total of 11,194 species.

Orange-tufted Spiderhunter - Peter's milestone bird

I sent him the following mail – by way of CONGRATULATIONS:

Hi Peter,

I just read the news that you have become the first person in the world to see 10,000 bird species. I write to offer you my congratulations - This is certainly a rare achievement.

So, your bird count now stands at 10,002 as of today?

Bye and take care .... here is wishing that you will record some more birds .... although I know that your quest will get harder as you climb higher.

Bye and take care

Yeshey

Incredibly, he appears to have further improved his record, since!! In reply to my above congratulatory mail, his reply yesterday (15 March 2024, 11:41) informs me as follows:

Thank you so much for your thoughtful note. My number today is 10,011. And yes, it is getting harder as I see more birds.

What an achievement - this is close to one new bird every two days of his waking life!

I take pride in the fact that Bhutan, and I, have contributed in a small way towards Peter’s phenomenal record. During an official visit to Bhutan in October of 2009 (Peter was than the Deputy Ambassador of the USA in India), the Bhutanese Embassy in New Delhi and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thimphu, requested me to help him sight two of his life birds – the world’s rarest heron: White-bellied Heron and the illusive Fulvous Parrotbill.

The Man and his two lifebirds recorded in Lekithang, Punakha and Dochu-La, Thimphu

In less than two days of his arrival in Bhutan, I guided him to sight both his lifebirds (some birders take a lifetime to sight their life birds - that is why they are called lifebirds - because sighting them is their life's quest). Please read all about it at:

https://yesheydorji.blogspot.com/2017/04/great-achievers-who-came-along-in-my.html

It may not be fair to say that Peter is a lucky fellow to have been able to achieve this level of success …. Saying so would be to undermine his life-long passion, hard work and determination. Then again, an achievement at this level can only be attributed to luck ….. I mean it is an almost impossible achievement! But the fact remains that he did achieve it!

So then, is he a super being? May be not – but certainly he can qualify as super normal!

The Dream Million $$ Deal That Never Was: FINAL PART IV

Five months on the ball, and I am yet again back to Phuntsholing - plodding the dusty corridors of the Corporate Headquarters of Tashi Group of Companies - hoping to break the ice. Mr. G C Bhura is proving to be a difficult person to meet - hopefully not on purpose. But I am not the type who will give up that easily - if I am good at anything at all - I am, at being dogged!

On the third day I managed to meet the God Almighty Mr. G C Bhura. He heard me out - my exhaustive research into the latest packaging material and technology, my trip to Singapore for a tie-up with Metal Box Singapore and our management’s decision to pursue the export potential, even if we had to invest in the enterprise.

After close to an hour of intense discussions, it became clear to me that the man was more interested in giving me the cock-and-bull story rather than see my point of view. He argued that he could not risk putting the entire eggs into a single basket. I countered that the Export Division of the Royal Government of Bhutan was willing to underwrite his company’s entire orange and mango juice production. We were willing to absolve him of all risks, with firm written commitments!

It became clear to me that the MD of the Group was leading me up the garden path ---- so I resolved to take the matter final notch up - to the owner himself! Sadly, Dasho Rimp seemed even more elusive. Two days into the endeavor, I still did not have a meeting with him. But I was willing to wait him out forever, if that was what it took!

Then on the morning of the fifth day of my doing the rounds of the Tashi Corporate office, one Indian official of the company struck up a conversation with me.

“Good Morning Sir …. I have noticed that you have been visiting our office for a number of days now. I understand that you are chasing a deal with our MD - for the export of our orange and mango juice to Europe”.

“Yes La, indeed I am trying to get your management to agree to export your produce … but I have a hard time convincing the MD. So I am now hoping to take the matter to the owner. I hope to be able to convince him that there is a good deal to be had”.

“I fear that you will never have a deal”.

“Why not? I am offering the best of terms that will benefit not only the company, but also the country as well”.

“Sir, you have to understand that there are forces at play that are outside your fathoming. The opposition you will face will be near impossible.”

“What kind of forces and what kind of opposition?”

“Sir, can you keep a secret?”

“Yes, I can”

“Diverting our produce to a none-traditional market would be tantamount to depriving the Lord of the Harvests the First Fruits that He had traditionally claimed as his due. Take it from me ---- you will face the stiffest of resistance. I believe that you are wasting your time”.

To The Lord must be offered the first harvests

I was aghast!

“Are you sure that you mean what I understand you mean? And who is the Lord of the Harvests?”

“Yes Sir, I mean exactly what I am implying. As to who the Lord of the Harvest is, I will leave that to your imagination”.

Saying that the man sauntered off - leaving me totally dumb struck! - effectively ending my five months’ chase of the million dollars export dream.

What the man implied, in no uncertain terms, was that someone powerful was skimming it off the top and that he would never allow a deal that I was after, because that would mean that his fruit basket would be left with a gaping hole.

I did not need any further convincing - of the futility of any further endeavors.

END OF THE STORY

......................

END NOTE: This wasn’t the only incidence where I was faced with the cruel facts of life. I was faced with a similar situation - in the case of Food Corporation of Bhutan (FCB). But in this case, I didn’t take it lying down – simply because FCB is a public enterprise and their first obligation is to the nation and the people of Bhutan. I brought powerful muscle to bear on them - eventually they had to surrender every single bag of cardamom I desired. In time, export of Brown Jacket Cardamom went on to rank as the largest exportable surplus - and the highest grosser of foreign exchange for the Kingdom of Bhutan.

The Dream Million $$ Deal That Never Was: PART III

Preparing to head for the scheduled meeting with the Marketing Head of Metal Box Singapore, I am looking out the window of my hotel - the Miramar Hotel. I am amazed - during my last visit in 1979, I was kept awake half the night by the roar of the bike gang that then ruled Singapore’s streets - called the Hellrider Gangs - the piercing din of the unsilenced bikes was unbearable. Now the bikes were nowhere to be seen or heard. I am told the government clamp down on the gangs was so complete and effective that they were now off the streets. That is how effective and iron-fisted uncle Lee Kwan Yew was!

Sitting across the Marketing Manager of Metal Box Singapore, I outlined my need and aspirations to the man who immediately realized that I was a complete novice in the field of packaging. But like the good marking man that he was, he laboriously explained to me the whole process of canning and what is involved - processes, machineries, approximate costs etc.

He explained to me that the cans as we knew then were made of thin steel sheets plated with a thin layer of tin. The cans are supplied in flattened state – to reduce bulk during shipment. At the juice factory the flattened cans are run through a kind of spindle machine that opens the tins up to a round shape….. thereafter rest of the processes are completed, including filling, sealing, printing and labeling of the cans etc.

Sprucing up rusty tin can - Preparing for the European Market

I realized that it was not going to be as simple as I had thought. In particular I realized that a number of automated machines needed to be acquired and installed at the factory - operators trained etc. It was going to be daunting but by NO MEANS IMPOSSIBLE!

Back in the office in Calcutta - I explained the whole rigmarole to my boss. He was aghast! He did not think that we should get into it - he felt that it was outside of our mandate.

I argued that someone had to do it - the factory wasn’t willing to do it. So, since we were charged with the responsibility of exports, it fell upon us to take the initiative. For me, here was an opportunity to boost the country’s exports, that too by being able to export to a developed country - so I told him that I was willing to take on the challenge.

My boss: OK then - you get on it pronto - it is your baby.

And I was ready for it - if I had the guts to conspire to thwart the global trade embargo on the South African Apartheid Regime, this was child’s play 😛

The Dream Million $$ Deal That Never Was: PART I

As a surviving member of the dream-weaver troupe from Bhutan’s golden years - the early 80’s - I have memories of both success and toil that give courage and hope during these tumultuous times of uncertainty and doubt. It was a time when we faced challenges head on - rather than abandon ship by bolting to distant shores. It was a time when we exported Raw Timber Logs to Switzerland, Gum Rosin to South Africa, Milled Wooden Rods to Germany, Brown Jacket Cardamom to the Middle East and Pakistan, Woven Textiles to Sweden, and Fresh Fruits to Bangladesh and Thailand.

Simple was not simple and strange was stranger than fiction. The following narrative from that era should be good for some chuckles.

One fine morning during 1981-82, a suited-booted, dignified looking gentleman was ushered into my office located at 51, Tivoli Court, Calcutta, India. He introduced himself as the CEO of a family-owned Swedish company called Arvid Nordquist HAB.

I cannot remember his name - but the man gingerly placed an empty can of Druk brand Mango Juice on my table, while telling me;

“I want to import this brand of juices into Sweden and sell it through my chain of stores spread across the whole of Europe. I understand your office handles Bhutan’s external trade”.

“Indeed Sir ---- we do. Please take a seat.”

“Your Druk brand of Orange and Mango Juices are absolutely super - the taste and flavor are better than anything I have ever tasted before in my life”.

“Thank You Sir ….. I am glad that you like the juices - we produce them from top quality, naturally grown raw materials, without the use of additives. We would be happy to export them to you. What kind of quantities do you have in mind?”

“I will take every single can of the juices you produce in your factory ---- all year round.”

I gawked at the man in disbelief - he was dead serious!

“Sir, I will need few days to discuss the matter with the management at the factory - details like quantity, price, regularity of supply etc. etc. Can I get back to you in about a week to ten days’ time?”

“One other detail though - will you accept palletized break-bulk cargo or does it have to be containerized shipments only?”

“Palletized containerized shipments only, please”.

The man wasn’t done:

“One other thing - the packaging of the juices is unacceptable. Rust is visible around the top and bottom of the can’s rims …. and the labelling is too crude - European consumers will not accept them in their present state of packaging. You need to improve them”.

“What is your suggestion?”

“I suggest that you migrate to canning the juices in pop-top, pre-printed aluminum or tin-coated steel sheet cans.”

“OK Sir ---- we will look into the matter and get back to you in about a week to ten days’ time”.

“OK … please work on it …. I really want to carry your produce in my stores ----- their taste is unmatched. You can understand that I have close to a hundred product managers to handle this kind of stuff …. But your juices are so good - I, the CEO, is personally talking to you”.

“We are greatly honored, Sir”.

Bhutan's entire production of orange and mango juices to be destined for the export market?  Dang hell! What a break!

A Jog Down The Memory Lane

Few days back, someone from out of the blue - rather a contact from about ten years back, sent me an eMail and asked:

“Do you happen to know where the attached QTH is located in Thimphu?”

Zoro's QTH inside the compound of the Royal Thimphu College, Nabephu, Thimphu. He set it up there so that he may have free access to it whenever he visited Bhutan.

I visited him and his family at his home in Japan in 2001, as his guest. He was a person of unparalleled passion and resilience - what he was willing to do for his hobby is simply mind-boggling!

The sender of the mail was Mr. Jim McCook, a ham radio operator from the USA – with a CallSign W6YA.

A Ham Radio CallSign is a uniquely composed alpha-numeric tag given to a legally registered ham radio operator - no one in the world may use it - it is like the finger print of the operator. My CallSign is A51AA - I could have chosen to take A51YD - but I like "AA" - it means I am "Numero Uno" 😜

Ofourse I was clueless as to where that ham radio shack, or “QTH” in ham parlance, was located - but if I am worth any salt at all, I damn well ought to know where the location was most likely to be: I WhatsApp’ed the President of RTC and asked him:

“Is that structure located within your college compound? Was it activated by a person called “Zoro” – or a Japanese named Mr. Miyazawa?"

“Yes” he confirmed! Including the fact that after the demise of the famous “Zoro”, the disused facility had since been turned into the “Indo-Bhutan Satellite Receiver”.

That established, I logged on to my Blog and went through the posts on “Ham Radio”. It was only then that I realized just how much historical material there was on my blog - on a profuse of subjects.

With particular reference to “Zoro”, please read the following:

https://yesheydorji.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-famous-zoro-is-silent-key.html

I made a resolve to visit my blog more often, from henceforth.

Doongchoong Taagla Thrikar: Bhutanese Army General In The Employ Of Gesar Of Ling

Years of relentless research into the history of coinage in Bhutan has taken me to destinations never before imagined, and connected me to people I had never before known or heard of. But all of them were rewarding and wondrous to say the least. What is even more phenomenal is that my quest put me face to face with a piece of incredible history that dealt with the history of my family and lineage – that of Taagma Doong.

A year or two back, one Bhutanese scholar had told me that the only Bhutanese who qualified to serve in the army of Gesar of Ling was from the family of Taagma Doong, that his name was Doongchoong Taagla Thrikar.

Gesar of Ling

Since I am the surviving head of one branch of Taagma Doong, I kept a look out for any material related to the issue. Then a week back I got to know of a western scholar/researcher/historian doing research on the Epic of Gesar of Ling. I wrote to the person for validation on the matter and the following is the response I got:

Hi Yeshey,

I hope you will excuse how long this took me. I've been busy and spending time with family (a rare treat.)

I was able to find the general you were speaking of. His name in Tibetan is:

and according to my notes he is "originally from Mön but a brother of Gesar."  So the "brother" thing isn't a blood lineage, this will refer to previous life and karmic connections. As for being Bhutanese, it's important to remember that 1000 years ago borders were different and often didn't matter: it was your tribe and community. So we know that Taklha Trikar was from Mön, but this wasn't really a region at the time so much as a kingdom united by ethnicity. According to what I can find there was a "monyul" or "lhomon" at the time of Gesar located partially in Modern Bhutan and that in the 11th century they converted to Buddhism, which matches with Gesar's timeline of Buddhist conversions in the region.

What does this mean? Nothing 100% solid. As a historian, I believe there is very good evidence for the existence of King Gesar and for his conquests. And this timeline definitely defends a general from Mon becoming a member of Gesar's kingdom. It's not proof for or against, but it's definitely possible and I would even argue likely. So basically what you've been told about your family clan and lineage is absolutely possible! The name is there, the history matches, the locations are correct.  I don't have a time machine, so I can't say 100% if something is true or not, but the info matches.

What a cool family history!

I hope this helps!

Sincerely,

Bhutan's Ancient Handcrafted Leather Coin Pouch

Every society around the world has their own versions of currency purses and pouches in which to carry around their money. Not to be outdone, we Bhutanese too had our version of coin pouches - handcrafted leather pouches with draw strings!

Sangey Wangchuk of Dumra Farm Resort, Punakha, gifted me the following ancient leather coin pouch. It cannot be said with any degree of certainty what kind of coins may have been carried around in this antique pouch. But no doubt if it had belonged to a rich or powerful Bhutanese, the pouch may have held coins from Assam, Bhutan, British East India Company, China, Cooch Behar, Crown British India, French East India Company, Nepal, Tibet, etc. Coins from all these countries were current in Bhutan those ancient times.

Bhutan's own handcrafted leather coin pouch. The pouch could have carried some of the coins mentioned in the image - but not likely the machine milled "SA Maartangs" of 1950 & 1955 because by then we may have moved on to modern, tailored purses.

According to available records, people of present day Chhukha Dzongkhag may be among the earliest Bhutanese who possessed coins. Written records confirm that during the visit of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel to Chapcha in 1619, a rich resident of Chapcha, including the Maharaja of Cooch Behar, had offered him thousands of silver coins.

However, it is doubtful that the Zhabdrung would have used such a leather pouch to store the coins he received as offering. The reason is that it is said that all the silver coins he received from the trip were melted down – to build a silver reliquary for his deceased father which was then housed inside Tango Monastery.

Greed Clouds Your Judgment – Contain It! II

Some readers called up to request me to continue with the sequel to my last blog post on the Weigh Bridge debacle. So here goes.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Bhutan pushed hard to export our, what we called those days “Exportable Surpluses” - surplus home grown products/produces such as Gum Rosin, Gypsum, Fruit Juices, Apples, Oranges, Potatoes, Dolomite, Woven Textiles etc. What is heartwarming is that those days we exported raw lumber, including semi-processed wood products such as wood Shuttle Blocks and wooden Milled Rods, to far flung markets such as Bangladesh, India, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the Middle East, and Thailand, to name a few. Sadly today even timber is imported into the country from producers as far away as Malaysia (Nu.3.0 billion worth during 2019), while claiming that we are a country with forest coverage ranging between 71 - 81%.

Bhutan’s highest value exports then was the Brown Jacket Cardamom. Even those early days the cardamom brought in $$ by the millions. But it was also the cause for my greatest angst! The reason was that we had to deal with the Food Corporation of Bhutan (FCB) because under the government’s support price system in place those days, FCB was mandated to purchase all the cardamom from the growers, meaning that they held the largest stock of cardamom in the country.

Brown Jacket Cardamom - highest foreign exchange earner for the country. At one point in history, Bhutan was erroneously ranked as the largest grower of this spice that did not feature in our cuisine.

In early 1980 my organization - Export Division - cut a deal with a re-exporter in Singapore for the export of a large cardamom consignment to Pakistan, to be transshipped through the port of Singapore. That was perhaps the biggest single export order Bhutan handled during those days - the Letter of Credit was in excess of US$ one million. As the head honcho of the export section of the Export Division, I began the process of gathering the export item.

My first stop was the FCB since they held the largest stock of cardamom.

Quite strangely the then Managing Director Mr. Hadi Ali refused to sell me the cardamoms - point blank - his excuse was that the FCB did not have any stock of cardamom. I countered that I was not asking him to commit any specific quantity - but that FCB commit to whatever stock they held with them so that the country might fulfill our large export commitment. He absolutely refused to budge.

In desperation, I called up the then Police Chief in Thimphu and requested him to allow two of my staff to bore through the cargo movement records maintained by them at the Phuentsholing main gate. He passed on the order that my staff should be allowed unrestricted access to the police records - in particular all of the FCB’s IN/OUT movement of cardamom consignment for the past one year. At the end of the laborious exercise, I ascertained that the FCB should have a physical stock of over 13 MT of cardamom in their central store in Phuentsholing. Through my friendship with an official of the FCB – Mr. R B Rai, I gained access into their store and quietly carried out a physical count of the bags of cardamom piled inside the FCB store.

At the end of the clandestine exercise lasting close to two weeks, I concluded that the stock in the FCB store amounted to only 9++ MT of cardamom, revealing a physical shortage of 3++ MT of cardamom, valued at over ngultrums half a million - a huge sum those days. Equipped with these facts and figures, I confronted the MD of the FCB and told him that it is not true that FCB did not have the stock – they had over 9MT. I said I want them all. He accused me of espionage - I said I don’t care. That FCB is a government institution and so is the Export Division. If the FCB was the arms, we were the legs - so it is import that each institution belonging to the same body should render support to one another, particularly during times of crisis. I reasoned that not being able to fulfill the export order is tantamount to a crisis for the Export Division, and a great loss of face for the country. I threatened that if I did not get the stock, I would report him to the Royal Audit, informing them of the shortage that remained a closely guarded secret.

Ultimately, after few more arm-twisting tactics, I got the entire stock of cardamom from the FCB and managed to fulfill our export order.  But it was in the process of all these covert activities that I stumbled onto the Weigh Bridge fiasco.

Those days the police constables were not adequately educated. Thus I was not sure that what they recorded in the registers maintained at the Phuentsholing Check Gate represented the true numbers - I was worried that they may have made mistakes in their recordings. Now since I was taking on the MD of the FCB, I could not risk a mistake. The only way I could verify was to cross check the records that should have been maintained at the Weigh Bridge Station that was installed by the Ministry of Finance. I headed for the Weigh Bride Station.

That is when I discovered the disaster of the Weigh Bridge. But in a way it was good because if I could not verify the records from the Station, no one else could. Thus it would be hard for any one to contest the veracity of my figures 😛

Those days we did not abandon ship – we stood our ground and fought our battles - without fear or favour.

Greed Clouds Your Judgment - Contain It!

Eight years shy of half a century back, a rule was passed by the Ministry of Finance that is symptomatic of how the Bhutanese mind works or, more accurately, does not work.

I do not know if this rule still exists but it did in the late 1970s/early 1980s. The rule was that trucks plying on the hilly roads of Bhutan cannot carry load of more than net weight of 5 MT, irrespective of the truck’s carrying capacity. Net weight is the weight derived after deducting the tare weight from the gross weight.

But there was a problem: how to find out if a truck’s load was within the permitted limit? The answer: Weigh Bridge. Weigh Bridges are designed to weigh fully laden trucks by placing the truck atop the mechanical contraptions.

How a Weigh Bride looks. These are installed and used in places where there is huge movement of cargo.

Given that there were not much traffic those days, the Ministry of Finance ordered and installed one single unit of the Weigh Bridge - in Phuentsholing, which even then was the commercial hub of Bhutan. The installation came into use and things began to work smoothly, until one day, a smart fellow in the Ministry of Finance decide that here was an opportunity to generate some additional revenue.

Consequently a rule was passed that required all trucks heading out of Phuentsholing into India, also to be weighed, and pay the weighing fee.

This is when the fun began - the smart aleck at the Ministry of Finance (I know the person but will not name him) forgot that the Weigh Bridge ordered by the Ministry of Finance was intended to weigh trucks carrying net weights not exceeding 5 MT. The reason being that trucks heading to Thimphu and the western regions in the north was not allowed to carry loads in excess of 5 MT. By contrast, the tare weight of the huge trucks, then known as “Punjab Body” trucks destined for India, weighed in excess of 7 MT.

Thus, on the first day the rule came into effect, the first Punjab Body truck destined for Hapur in India, fully laden with raw lumber blocks from the stock yards of the Export Division of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Forests, positioned itself on the Weigh Bridge - with a combined gross weight in excess of 25 MT! The result was that the Weigh Bridge was crushed to the shape of a pancake - forever maimed and turned into a pile of scrap metal!

Now here it gets even more hilarious. Because the Weigh Bridge was smashed out of shape - no trucks could be weighed - but the truckers needed the wieghment slip to comply with the rules and to show to the police at the check gates. No problem - the person manning the Weigh Bridge station diligently wrote out hand-written weighment slips, with imaginary weights on them, and pocketed the fees - and no one was the wiser.

Moral behind the episode: Greed clouds your judgment - contain it!

The account of how I happened to stumble onto this peculiar occurrence is another interesting story to be told another day.

A Little Known History

Enough is enough - I am giving it a break for a while. No more cries in the wilderness, no more wails of futility. I am changing track. I cannot handle the present because it is a whirlpool. The future is steeped in uncertainty - I am not even sure that I will arrive there because I am not sure that I will survive the present. That leaves me with the past - a period in which I am a child, one in which I have lived, rejoiced, pooh-poohed the idea of leaving for Australia, played tootsie and survived long enough to arrive at the present - a present that is the continuation of the past and the reason for the future. No period in the journey of a nation is antithetical to another. The past, present and future are indivisible - each existing in relation to the other two. 

Lest the present and the future generations of Bhutanese forget the legacy of the past, I would like to present to you a piece of little-known history of Bhutan’s survival as a proud, independent nation. As I wrote in my blog titled “The People’s Pandemic”, this country did not survive by accident.

On 1st of August 1955, in a letter marked “TOP SECRET”, the External Affairs Ministry of the Government of India was made aware of a report that Bhutan intended to print its own postage stamps. In addition, Bhutan hoped to join the Universal Postal Union (UPU).

India was aware that this two-pronged approach was intended to assert Bhutan’s independence. While India was aware of the implications this strategy would have on the long-term relations between Bhutan and India, there was no legitimate grounds on which India could object. Thus India decided that it would help Bhutan in the Himalayan kingdom’s endeavors. Ultimately, Bhutan did print our postage stamps - in 1962. Consequently, it became a member of the UPU in 1969 - Bhutan’s second membership to an international body, the first being the Colombo Plan in 1962, to be followed by membership to the United Nations (UN) in 1971. Today Bhutan’s diplomatic and bilateral/multilateral relations number over a hundred.

From a gingerly taken step in 1949, we have come a long way in our journey of asserting our independence.

The ruse: Set of four fiscals that launched Bhutan's relentless drive towards asserting itself as an independent nation.

Historical records show that Bhutan embarked on making a different statement of independence also in 1949, when we are supposed to have issued our first printed adhesive stamps - called the Revenue Stamps. It is a mystery why a fiscal stamp was issued instead of a postage stamp. The mystery deepens even further upon discovering that the fiscals were authorized to be used as postage stamps on 17th September, 1955 under the authority of the Third King. What’s funny is that we did not even have a postal service in 1955 - we had postal runners! So why the need for postage stamps? Apparently, because Bhutanese officials put out the idea that the country could make lots of money selling its handsome stamps to international collectors. Yet even that explanation does not make sense, since Bhutan’s fiscals were not accepted as postage stamps good for use in international mailing.

From all this, it now becomes clear that the move to issue our own stamps was not intended as an initiative to launch a formal postal service or to make money selling the stamps to international collectors, but as a signal that we were beginning to assert ourselves as an independent nation, with an independent postal system. Unfortunately, it would take years to establish a true postal system.

The next phase of the journey was precisely just that: to create a postal system with postage stamps internationally recognized as belonging to a sovereign nation. To this end, Burt Kerr Todd, an American trailblazer, was enlisted to help Bhutan gain membership to the UPU. Bhutan soon learned that the membership had to be sponsored by a member state, not private individuals or institutions. Additionally, UPU rules required that the stamps carry the monetary value of an independent country, and that the postage stamps and a postal service already be in existence.

Bhutan systematically began fulfilling these provisions. Our first postage stamp was released in 1962. That same year, Bhutan’s first post office was set up in Phuentsholing. The next step was to seek admission as a member of the UPU. Here Indian help was sought. With the help of the giants of the era - Triloki N. Kaul (Tikki Kaul) of India’s MEA and diplomat Apa Pant, two of Bhutan’s staunchest friends - Bhutan finally gained UPU membership in 1969.

In the shaping of the independent nation state of Bhutan, many have contributed - foremost, His Majesty the Second Druk Gyalpo, His Majesty the Third Druk Gyalpo, Her Majesty the Royal Grand Mother Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo, Sir Basil John Gould, CMG, CIE, a British-India Political Officer, late Prime Minister Jigme Palden Dorji, American Burt Kerr Todd, India’s Tikki Kaul and Apa Pant, and Dr. K. Ramamurti, Bhutan’s first postal advisor.

Bhutan needs to honor all of these transformers. But in an age that seems indifferent to the past, careless about the present, and myopic about the future, I do not know how.

PS:

Sir Basil John Gould (he was the British Political Officer for Bhutan, Sikkim and Tibet based in Gangtok, Sikkim from 1935 to 1945) finds mention because it was supposedly him who first proposed the idea of stamps.

Burt Kerr Todd is credited with making the Bhutanese postage stamps famous and much sought after among the international stamp collectors.

........ With most information sourced from Leo Van der Velden and Aranya Dutta Choudhury.

Bhutan’s Rotting Treasure-trove I

When His Majesty the IVth Druk Gyalpo banned the harvesting of timber from our forests in 1979, I was the man about town to implement the ban. I was the head honcho at the Export Section of the Export Division of the Ministry of Trade, Industries and Forests. My section was charged with the responsibility to dispose off the timber logs/sawn lumber that became available when the ban came into effect. That year, sawn Blue Pine (Pinus wallichiana) blocks were sold across the border in Jaigaon at Nu.72.00 per cubic foot. The price for the same timber is currently fixed by the government at Nu.340.50 per cft.

Pile of Pine logs ready for the export market. The above stock photo shows the lumber from a well-managed forest stand - the boles are clean, even sized and pencil-straight. By comparison, our lumber would look severely gnarled and grotesque - through overstocking and lack of management, such as thinning.

Strangely, close to half a century since, there prevails a misconception that the act of banning the harvesting of timber from our forests was a conservation initiative. IT WAS NOT! In fact the term we employed those days was NOT ban – we knew it as “Nationalization of Timber”.

It was necessitated as a consequence of the wanton destruction caused to our forests - by the private logging contractors of the era, and as a result of the total irresponsibility and corruption among the custodians of our forests – the Department of Forests.

For the record – most of today’s rich and the upwardly mobile have their humble beginnings in timber and timber trade.

Another one for the record: when nationalization was contemplated to be implemented, the Department of Forests reported to the government that there may be about 30,000 cft. of sawn timber and logs in the hands of the private operators in the Western region - there was no NRDCL then. That grossly erroneous quantity was perceived to be a manageable quantity and thus the Export Division was charged with the responsibility to dispose off the stocks. We prepared to receive the nationalized timbers at a stockyard in Phuentsholing.

However, when finally the nationalized lumber started to arrive at Phuentsholing, the volume amounted to many hundred thousand cubic feet of timber - it was so overwhelming that the entire Phuentsholing Industrial Estate could not accommodate the stock. We created another stockyard above the Estate – that was not enough either. We then hired the open spaces around Norgay Cinema Hall – even that proved to be insufficient.

The problem was not limited to space to accommodate the illegal timbers – transporting them from the production centers in Thimphu, Haa and Paro to our stockyard in Phuentsholing was a bigger hurdle.

The problem: the whole of Bhutan did not have enough trucks capable of transporting the stock of timber that became available.

You can imagine the scale of corruption that may have existed then! The stock of illegal timbers that were held by the private operators was few hundred folds in excess of the official figure that the Department of Forests presented to the government.

There was no way we were going to be able to transport all the timbers that became available - the country did not have the carrying capacity. Thus, for the first and last time in the history of Bhutan - we opted to transport the timbers through the riverine route - we resorted to floating the timbers over and down the Wangchhu river! Bhutan imported skilled manpower from Jammu in North India for the job.

The ensuing disaster is another story to be told another day.

Timber – whether sawn or in log form is a perishable commodity – thus they need to be sold off in time before the rot sets in. But selling few hundred thousand cubic feet of timber - at one go - posed a danger of a different kind. Unfortunately, the rules in place then did not allow us to engage in direct selling. We proposed that we be allowed to sell through direct negotiations with select Indian importers, to enable us to maintain a level of price that we wanted. Our Ministry did not permit it - we were ordered to take the designated route - sale through auction. His Royal Highness, then the Trade Minister preferred to protect us: he preferred to spare us the axe of the Royal Audit - over the risk of lower prices for our stock of timber.

We finally fixed the minimum bid prices, and put the timbers on auction in Phuentsholing.

The ensuing disaster is yet another story to be told another day.

The Magic Figure of One Million

Reading through the Kuensel’s INFOGRAPHIC page of 6th August, 2022, I was transported back to a period when something that did not ring true - but that which could not be verified - came to be accepted and endorsed as official.

Bhutan’s population during late 1960s and early 1970s was deliberately and officially stated as one million++. Accordingly, UN agencies presumed that Bhutan’s population would be two million by the year 2000 - based on the average annual increase rate of 2-3%.

When Bhutan carried out our national census in 2005, it was found that the population was merely 672,000++ – barely one third of the oft-repeated figure.

While on the one hand the severely shell-shocked United Nations Population Division had to laboriously recalculate Bhutan’s population for the whole period up to the year 2000, it was causing consternation among some Bhutanese bureaucrats and planners, including some UN agencies involved in development activities in the country.

The numbers simply did not tally - for our stated population size, we consumed less than 3/4th what we ought to. Similarly, our production in all areas was way too lower than they ought to be, based on our population figures. Donors and development partners kept insisting that there was serious mismatch in the numbers - to the point that they hinted that we were fudging the numbers! Our officials were adamant that they were presenting the absolute true picture - Koencho Soom and Lama Khenno and all that!

Obviously everybody was puzzled - but all remained uneering in the presentation of their numbers. Consternation reigned supreme!

But the burning question remains: WHY was the magic population figure of one million++ came to be quoted - when evidently the real number was perhaps less than one-third?

The truth actually is pretty funny - it finds its origins in an UNTRUTH. And the conjurer was supposedly none other than Bhutan’s most brilliant mind - the matchless Drukgyal Soompa - 3rd King of Bhutan.

For obvious reasons, His Majesty the 3rd King’s single minded and all consuming focus beginning mid 1960s was for Bhutan to gain admission to the UN as a Member State. It took him many years of maneuverings through murky waters to finally realize his dream. After having held observer status for three years, Bhutan was finally admitted to the UN on 21st September 1971, as its 128th Member.

Under orders from the Drukgyal Soompa, HRH Prince Namgyal Wanghuk became the first Bhutanese to address the General Assembly (GA) of the United Nations in New York. Exactly at 5PM GMT, His Royal Highness delivered Bhutan’s epochal address during the 26th Session of the UN’s General Assembly.

At long last, His Majesty the Drukgyal Soompa’s dream was realized. But what remain unknown are the many hurdles that he had to overcome during the long and arduous journey to the finish line. There were many detractors. Incredibly one of them told His Majesty that one of the qualifying requirements was that an aspiring State had to have a minimum population of one million people – a total UNTRUTH. Of the five requisite conditions to qualify to become a Member of the UN, this WAS, and IS NOT, one of them.

But the brilliant man that he was, the Drukgyal Soompa turned around and said; “Ofcourse we do have one million people in Bhutan”.

From that day on and until the census exercise in 2005, Bhutan’s population came to be misquoted at one million, and counting.

Why For Art Thou Q Yeshey?

Hi ………….. ,

LOL …. that is right …. To this day most Bhutanese in Bhutan know me as, and call me - “Q Yeshey”. And like you, most are intrigued – why “Q Yeshey”?.

"Q Yeshey" photographed atop one of the original World Trade Center buildings, New York in 1984. The photograph was taken by Ms. Sherlene Spingler - Bhutan's agent in New York for the supply of Bhutan's Gum Rosin - a resin extract from Chir Pine - to South Africa. Ofcourse the business never took off since the world had an embargo in place on the apartheid regime in South Africa and countries were forbidden to do business there.

In truth – the tag “Q Yeshey” is a tag of honor and accomplishment. The story begins in the mid-1980s.

I became entitled to a car quota in 1979 but I did not have the money to buy one. Then sometime during the early 80s, I got the bright idea of asking my uncle who loved me dearly – for a loan to buy my Toyota Corona car - all my friends were buying cars. The Bank of Bhutan was financing 50% of the car cost – the Toyota Corona was then priced at Nu.62,000.00 – so I needed to make a down payment of Nu.31,000.00.

My uncle asked; “So, if I do give you the loan, how do you hope to repay me?” He did not believe that I was in any position to repay him the loan.

I said; “I will repay you somehow”.

He said; “Bullshit you will repay me. Anyway – you can have the money – it is my gift to you - free”.

With Nu.31,000.00 firmly in my pocket, I went back to Phuentsholing STCB (State Trading Corporation of Bhutan – the in-country distributor of Toyota cars) office to make the down payment – only to find that the price of the car had gone up to Nu.68,000.00. I found myself short of Nu.3,000.00. This money I did not have.

I was in a fix. I spent sleepless nights worrying what to do with the money. I certainly did not want to spend it on something that it was not intended for. My uncle would be truly disappointed with me if I spent the money on something else - other than for the purchase of a car. I did not want that on my memory.

A bright idea struck - I decided I will use the money to start a business - what business did not bother me - I mean I did not have a clue. I travelled to Thimphu (those days I was based in Calcutta, India) and applied to my parent Ministry (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Forests) - for resignation. Quite predictably, the Ministry did not want to let me go - but I was adamant that either they release me or I walk out.

A compromise was reached: they would allow me to resign on the condition that I remain for six months beyond the date of resignation - on full salary. The reason was that Bhutan was negotiating trade routes and trade prospects with Bangladesh and I was a team member doing the ground work.

Mr. Richen Dorji who was then the Managing Director of Penden Cement Authority, Pugli heard that I was resigning. He flew to Calcutta to speak with me.

He said; “Yeshey – I understand you are resigning. Why don’t you join Penden Cement as my Deputy?”

I said; “No Thank You - I am not resigning because I am unhappy with my present job - I am resigning because I want to go into business”.

He asked; “Alright - what business are you going to do?”

I said; “No idea as of now - but I will think of something”.

He said; “OK - then why don’t you become our Cement Distributor for the State of Assam?”.

Now that idea appealed to me - so I accepted. When my six months over-stay with the government was done with, I started the cement distribution business which necessitated the opening of an office in Guwahati, Assam. I placed my good Indian friend as the head in the office. The business did so well that Penden Cement could not fulfill our offtake – the business we offered them far exceeded their daily production - it was quite a problem.

When I started business first thing I needed to do was get a business license and give a name to the business entity. Most business houses in Bhutan were either “Bhutan this …. Or Druk that ……”. Such run-of-the-mill names did not appeal to me - I wanted something different - something off-beat.

Thus I named my business entity “Q - Systems & Sales”.

My company and I were trail-blazers – “Q Yeshey” pioneered the IT trade in the country – I was one among three people in Bhutan who owned a computer those day - other two being His Majesty the Fourth King and His Excellency Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering – who bought one when he was our Ambassador in the UN in New York. I also personally installed the Apple Macintosh computer at the Samteling Palace.

Q Yeshey also pioneered electronic Desk Top Publishing business - even before the KUENSEL. I had a full set of desktop publishing equipment - computers, desktop off-set printer, desktop collating machine, desktop binding machine and six photocopiers. Q was capable of mass producing documents by the thousands in a day. Over time Q became the center for production for government documents and binding them into books. Q became famous with every ministry and departments not only in Thimphu but also across the country.

Q - Systems was the lone supplier of IT equipment such as computers, printers, photocopiers, electronic typewriters, word processors and photocopy papers. I supplied to every one in Bhutan. Q supplied and implemented the networking at the KUENSEL, under two separate grants from Denmark. I was even pivotal in securing the second DANIDA project for the Kuensel, when I convinced the Parliamentarians from Denmark why their project with the KUENSEL was meaningful in the development of media in Bhutan. Those days Q Yeshey was the darling of the international organizations based in Bhutan – such as UNDP, WHO and DANIDA. When Dr. Kan Tun’s (Head of WHO Bhutan Office) laptop crashed a day before his planned travel to Geneva to attend a WHO meeting, I sent him off on his journey - with the guarantee that a new laptop would be waiting for him in his hotel room in Geneva - before his arrival. He was amazed that the laptop indeed was waiting for him - duly delivered by DHL, by my suppliers in Singapore.

Over time, other players entered the computer trade – which suffocated me – Bhutan being a minuscule market. Thus I told the new entrants into the trade:

“Guys – the field is all yours. I am out of here”.

Q Yeshey exited the crowded bazaar – but the prefix “Q” stuck - for life!.

Bye and take care.

Yeshey