In Loving Memory Of My Late Aunt

Last Saturday one of my cousins posted a photograph of her late mother - who was also the mother of late Draksho Tsering Wangda. I am clueless as to why she decided to do that - but it set into motion a train of loving, warm thoughts in my mind … going back all the way to 1959, the year I was first enrolled in Zhemgang school.

My late Aunt Yangzom

I recall that I used to get regularly spanked by her - for stealing her stock of sugar, in connivance with her eldest daughter - we used to sneak away and munch the raw white sugar - YUCK!

Amazingly, now that I recollect, she used to run a small shop as far back as 1959 - until now, I had held the view that Tashi Group had pioneered business/shop keeping in Bhutan. Although the official website of Tashi Group states that the Group was formed in 1959, I was told, in no uncertain terms, by a retired RAW Agent of Government of India from Nagaland, that Dasho Rimp actually started business sometime in 1958.

I was my late aunt Yangzom’s most favorite nephew - she loved me dearly - perhaps even more than her own children. Every once in a while, to counter the occasional bickering by my other close relatives in the family, she would warn them:

"Ngai Yishi Dooji na zhang labtoh mechok warey win gungpo – gonoi la gamigumi burang mibu – ngui kaachen buzey bran!"

(Don’t any one of you dare - none of you are permitted to speak ill of my Yishi Dooji - I know very well that he will do no wrong).

Sometime in 1990 I had some cash to spare … so I wanted by buy some land to build a house. Well, my late cousin Draksho Wangda had a substantial land holding at Langjopakha …. so I asked him to sell me some of it - I was willing to pay any asking price. But months passed and while he did not refuse outright, he would not commit to sell me either - perhaps under the influence of others or for whatever reason.

I ran out of patience …. So one day I drove down to Gelephu where his mother, my aunt, was domiciled - to complain to her that her son was not selling me a piece of his land that I wanted.

She said:

"Doesh khith ---- Ngui labcho ---- migey tokpamen ra. Wera loktse galai … ngui ra cho khitna labtoh".

(OK … you just wait ... I will deal with him … you go back … I will come and talk to him … may be others are influencing him ….)

Few days later … my aunt turned up in Thimphu and got Draksho Wangda and me together. She thundered at Draksho Wangda:

"Waith aatoh buzey Yishi Dooji na saa mibiloyo - waithna sa lungtoh na - dararung biyo - waith gong awrey goparey bigey rey. Werai noh wen minya, aaah …. Rig machiigpai mi ney min - werai noh wenta --- dararung biyo wera, wartii!"

(Why aren’t you selling a small piece of land to Yishi Dooji … you have more than enough --- he is willing to pay any asking price …. Give him now - he is not a stranger to you - he is your brother - give him now, immediately!!!)

End of matter - it took a little arm twisting - but I got my land 😛 - curtesy of my late aunt who headed one branch of the Taagma Doong family.

The Shuijab: A Parting Gift

It was close to a quarter of a century back that it all began…..

My late Dad would insist that I visit the community Lhakhang (Temple/Monastery) in Taagma village - my ancestral home and birthplace - every time I was home to visit him in Tingtibi.

So it was that one time I drove up to the Lhakhang to offer my prayers. The Lhakhang Caretake saw me arrive …. he hastily scurried in to open the temple door. After I was done doing my 6 prostrations to Aum Pelden Lhamo, supposedly our village’s protecting deity, I stood in front of the alter lined with statues of Gods and Goddesses.

The final act that completes the process of offering prayers to the Gods is that you offer Ngendar - a cash offering. But I was truly overawed by the scene in front of me – that of the statues of a number of Gods and Goddesses shimmering in all their finery – decked in silk and brocade and adorned with jewelry of gold and precious stones such as Pearls, Cat’s-Eyes and Coral and Gemstones of various colors, shapes and sizes.

I am thinking ….. Oh my dear Gods, what can I, a poor man, offer you? You are already abundant with so much riches.

But I do have to complete the process. Thus, I pulled out a Nu.100.00 note and placed it inside the offering box in front of the statues – as my Ngendar.

The formalities duly completed, the caretaker and I headed for his dwellings for a cup of tea that he insisted I must have. Upon entering his one-bedroom home, I noticed that there were a number of tin bowls placed at various locations on the floor. I asked him why the bowls were spread all across the floor.

“The roof leaks …. So I place the bowls in order to prevent rainwater from splattering all over the floor.”

I looked at him in amazement. Only then did I notice that the man had no shoes on his feet …. and his Gho was threadbare and patched up at a number of places. I did not say anything - but as I got up to leave, I handed Nu.3,000.00 to his wife who was sitting by the hearth, serving us tea.

And, this is something I have done ever since - for the past 25 years or so - offer Nu.100.00 to the Gods and Nu.3,000.00 to their Care Taker couple - twice every year.

But I was disturbed by the experience. Upon reaching Tingtibi, I told my Dad of the pathetic condition of the Care Taker - I told him that I would like to build a small dwelling for the couple - something that did not leak - with one bedroom, one Choesham, one common room with kitchen …. and a porch. I asked if he knew anyone who could undertake the task. He said he did …. So next day we closed the deal with a carpenter from our village - to build the dwelling for the poor Care Taker couple.

This year, yet again, I was in Tingtibi to attend the Bhutan Bird Festival that was being held there during mid-November, 2024. True to tradition, although my Dad is no longer alive, I visited the community Lhakhang in Taagma, nonetheless. After the offering of prayers and the prostrations and the customary Nu.100.00 Ngendar, the Care Taker and his wife and I sat down on the periphery wall of the temple - to talk of this and that, over a cup of tea. Suddenly, the wife said;

“Repa ngat lo warey - I will come back in a minute”.

Upon return, she said:

“Yishi Dooji …. I am now 85 years old and I can sense that my health is failing me - I may not be here next year when you come visiting. Thus - I want to leave this for you - this is the only thing that I have of any value to my name”.

“Osokai ngat na Pon gey Nungpamen wen - this was gifted to me by the King”.

“When I die, I don’t know who will take it or what will become of it - so now that you are here - I want to give it to you as my Shuijab (parting gift) for your kindness to me and my husband over the years”.

What she gently placed in my palm was the following:

Nu.100.00 Coronation Coin of His Majesty the Vth King of Bhutan, 2008

I accepted it without a murmur because I realized that this was a tender moment of great poignancy - a moment of realization, and acceptance, that her time in this world may be coming to an end.

As I drove back to Tingtibi, I was overcome with a sense of Déjà vu - I mean I have lived this moment before.

Hours before my Mom passed away sometime in the 70’s – that is exactly what she did – held my hand in hers and inserted her gold ring into my finger and whispered:

“Know that I go a happy person - happy in the knowledge that I had a son like you. I leave this ring as my Shuijab to you - wi amai drin jorpa warey.”

Within hours – she breathed her last.

The Home Fires Are Still Burning

It is so heartwarming to see our Monarch in Australia – among his subjects who have gone to great lengths to demonstrate to Him that despite the distance - they were never really detached from Him.

Their Royal Majesties among the Bhutanese diaspora in Canberra, Australia

Photo credit: Kuensel 13/10/2024

I would like to think that I am perhaps the happiest among other few hundred thousand Bhutanese – that His Majesty made the journey to Australia. For, on Sunday the 7th of August, 2022, I wrote as follows:

“Does the Bhutanese Ambassador Sonam Tobgay in Australia have the wherewithal to provide quality leadership to inspire and instill a sense of continued nationalism in the minds of the Bhutanese lot in Australia? Are there other Bhutanese capable of keeping the brood herded and on track - and the home fires burning in the minds and hearts of their fellow Bhutanese?

Recently I chatted a senior and respected person who too seems to have landed herself in Australia – I encouraged her to provide leadership and guidance - every opportunity she got, for the sake of the nation.

It is about time that the Royal Government of Bhutan sends someone to Australia – a person who is respected, a person with charisma and proven capability – to remind the Bhutanese there that WE NEED THEM BACK IN THE COUNTRY, when their stint there is done.

The late Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew declared that should there be a demographic imbalance in Singapore, he would import Chinese from China to make up the numbers. Unfortunately such an option is NOT open to us. Thus we have to hang on to what little we have”.

https://yesheydorji.blogspot.com/2022/08/continue-to-keep-in-straight-and-narrow.html

The reception that the Bhutanese diaspora gave to their Majesties upon arrival in Australia is proof that the home fire that I spoke of is still burning in the hearts and minds of the Bhutanese in Australia. Kadrinche to all of you Bhutanese down under!

I believe that in a long while His Majesty would have felt truly at home.

The Man Who Overrode His Boss

I knew Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba from the time I was in the civil service. The news that he is no more comes to me as a matter of great loss - not of sadness.

Following on the footsteps of another incomparable Bhutanese - Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering - the nation has a reason for deep mourning - because God no longer creates men like them and their contemporaries - Lyoenchen JYT, Lyonpo Khandu and few others - they are/were a breed apart.

My personal knowledge of the man was as a person who possessed that rare and uncommon talent of being able to keep up people’s hope. Even in the face of insurmountable odds, Lyonpo somehow never allowed anyone to go away feeling hopeless. He may never be able to do what is asked of him - but he gave assurance that he would give his best which had a comforting effect on people in need of help. For me personally though - he was a man who had the guts to do what needed to be done.

It was during the mid 1990s when he was the Finance Secretary that there was an incident that left a lasting impression in my heart.

One particular Bhutanese importer had indulged in deflection of dutiable goods to India - meaning that import cargo intended to enter Bhutan never did - it was deflected to Indian market - duty free. Obviously, India objected with customary vehemence - with the result that Bhutan was forced to act firmly - to demonstrate to India that action was being taken.

The action that was taken was that the Ministry of Finance took over the responsibility and the authority - of issuing and signing the Import Licenses - it was earlier in the domain of Royal Bhutan Customs. True to character, the government officials were obviously clueless about the import documentation procedures that was pre-agreed between the GoI and the RGoB.

One of the specified conditions was that the signatory(s) of the Bhutanese authority(s) who signed the Import License should be registered with the Indian Customs in Calcutta. So, it happened that the Finance Ministry took over the authority to issue and sign the Import License - but they forgot about that minor detail about registering the signatures of the new signatories with the Indian Customs - with the result that Import Licenses issued and signed by the Finance Ministry officials got rejected. You can imagine the ensuing problems for the Bhutanese importers!

In the middle of all this mess, I had a problem of my own. I had ordered a sizeable number of container loads of photocopy papers from Malaysia. The goods were fully paid for and the consignment duly loaded on board the ship bound for Calcutta port - Bhutan's designated port of discharge.

I went to the Finance Minister to request for the issue of an Import License for my photocopy papers. He refused pointblank - on the grounds that the Bhutanese businessmen were irresponsible and that we were causing the country great harm!

“But Lyonpo, my cargo is already on the high seas and they have been fully paid for.”

“Nga Meshey - now leave me alone.”

I got out of his office and headed for the Finance Secretary’s office. The PA informed me that the Secretary was having his lunch …. I told her - no problem - please report to him that Q Yeshey is here to see him. As luck would have it …. the Secretary just then happened to stick out his head out of his office - and noticed that I was there ….

 “Wai Yeshey iimbey tey … are you here to see me?”

“Yes Sir … I need to see you.

“Please come in … I am in the middle of my lunch …. Do you want some?”

“Mizhu la … I had mine”

“OK then … what can I do for you”

“I am in need of an Import License for the import of some container loads of photocopy paper but the Finance Minister is adamant that I cannot have it”

“Why”

“He says the Bhutanese business people are tramaship. I would not have bothered – except that the cargo is already on the high seas and I have paid for them 100%”

“Wai, if the Lyonpo has refused you …. Are you asking me to override my boss?”

“Yes Dasho I am asking that --- because your boss has hot stone in his head - he is being irrational. The import documentation requirement may have changed - only to the extent that the Import License will hence forth be issued and signed by the Ministry of Finance. The rules and import procedures have not changed - they remain the same. So, it is unreasonable and unjustified that the Minister finds it necessary to refuse me Import License - just because he is irritated”.

The Secretary thought for a while and said;

“Iimbey mo - you have a point. There is no justification in refusing you. But what if the Lyonpo comes to know and questions me?”

“Please tell him that you were not aware that he had already refused.”

“Haha … this must be a first - that someone overrides his boss. But I believe that I will not be wrong to do it. Beygey tey mosh - I will see what happens!”

Those days, life was truly haphazard …. But the existence of people the likes of late Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba made it tolerable.

Druk Yuel: A Country Still Worth Fighting For

In my capacity as the Head of Export Section of the Export Division, Ministry of Trade, Industries and Forests, I had to be posted in Kolkata, India. As a landlocked country without access to our own seaport, under a Trade & Transit Agreement with the Government of India, we used, as we still do, India’s Calcutta Port as our port of loading and discharge - for most of our Export/Import cargo.

One night sometime in 1982/1983, I got very late coming home from a dinner engagement. The main Entry Gate to my building was locked and so I could not take my car inside into the covered Parking Lot - I was forced to park it outside on the street.

The following morning, I went to start the car to head for office - but there was not a squeak from the car’s engine - the engine simply would not fire up. I opened the car’s bonnet to take a peek inside - only to find that the car’s battery was missing - it had simply disappeared!

While I looked on in consternation, a Bengali Babu happened to pass by. He wanted to know what was wrong with the car. I told him that someone had stolen my car’s battery in the night.

“Bah re bah …. Aapne khoob bhagyaban manoosh" (You are an extremely lucky man).

“Aapni kii bolte chan?” (What are you trying to say?)

“Mathalaab – whoever that idiot thief was, he took only a battery. If I were the one passing by yesterday night and had found the car parked here, I would have stripped your car bare of all the four tires, and the spare one, including the battery and that jazzy Fog Lamp”.

With a wicket smirk on his face, the thug sauntered off – leaving me totally rattled! I mean how did the thief manage to gain access to the battery, without any visible signs of a break-in?

The above four-decades old incident came flooding back to me because yesterday afternoon I went through an incident that was similar, and yet completely contradictory, at Thimphu’s Kaja Throm.

I had run out of Lemons for my morning cuppa and thus had gone to the Kaja Throm to buy some. After foraging through over 30 shops, I finally ended up with a shop that had the kind of Lemons I prefer. I made my selection of a number of Lemons from the pile - but the storekeeper was no were to be seen. I waited, and waited and waited …. No sign of the storekeeper.

After more than half an hour had passed, the Lhotsampa lady at the nearby shop seems to have noticed that I was waiting and waiting and waiting …. She came over and asked:

"You have been waiting here for an awfully long time … is there something that you are interest in in this shop? The lady storekeeper went across the river for some work … looks like she is going to be a while. Maybe I can help".

"I want to buy these Lemons …. "

"You can have them …. She charges Nu.100.00 per 10 pieces …."

"But how do I pay for them?"

"You can leave the money with me …. I will pass it on to her".

"OK".

As I walked away from the market …. I was perturbed … how could any person leave her store unattended for such long periods of time? Isn’t she worried that people might walk away with her stuff?

And that, it dawned on me, was at the core of the matter ---- Bhutan is perhaps the only place in the world today where you can leave your store unattended for hours at a stretch - without the fear that someone might rob it. Think of it …. where else can you feel this level of safety and security – of peace and tranquility ….?

It is for this reason - the dread that things are going wrong - that people like us take courage to ring the alarm bells - to rouse the sounds of reason …. to plead for course correction.

Like I told one NBC broadcaster some years back - no doubt that Bhutan is as unique as every other country on this planet. But we do realize that there is simply no way that we can bypass the trodden path - like every other human being elsewhere, we too shall eventually get where everyone else is – in the rut!

Our attempt, in the meanwhile, is to delay the process - for as long as we possibly can.

Who Will Care For The Birds?

By late evening of last Saturday (10.08.2024), the risk of the flooding river that runs through Dechencholing had passed and I was back to my place of domicile, from the hill top to which I had evacuated myself and my family. Not all in the area was reassured though - they were still jittery and were moving out of the areas - just in case. Despite my assurance to all and sundry that whatever water was there had since been emptied and that there was no further risk, not many were convinced - some of them were temporally relocating themselves.

That is the tragedy of disasters - usually it is not the disaster that is unmanageable - it is most often the unfounded panic that is the cause of greater crisis. Some nervous people make irresponsible and ill-informed remarks that cause unnecessary panic among people.

Anyway, after a restful sleep, I woke up the next morning and the first thing I did was train my ears for the sound of the river that passes about 400 - 500 ft. away to the north of the building where I live. I was relieved to hear that there was nothing abnormal about the sound of the rush of the river …. I was relieved. But I heard a familiar bird call that I had never heard before – not in the areas where I live.

The call was distinctly that of the Crested Kingfisher. I know that the bird is resident in Thimphu and the surrounding areas …. But until now, I do not recall ever hearing the call - not in the two years that I have been resident in the areas.

Then it dawned on me – I believe that the flooding river would have destroyed the bird’s habitat and its usual feeding grounds. The flooding river’s muddy waters would have caused its fishing grounds to be devastated and bereft of food. Obviously, the bird is now out hunting for breakfast, and fresh fishing grounds.

It is a pity - there were a few thousand people and more than a dozen agencies frantically coming to the aid of the humans - the very beings that caused the calamity in the first place. Sadly, no one has a thought for the poor birds and the aquatic lives that would have suffered the most, in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Lessons From An Uncommon Monk

Sometimes I wonder if I am doing any good at all - most of what I write tend to be critical - giving the impression that there is nothing quite right about Bhutan and the Bhutanese people. This is ofcourse not true - no single society is so bad.

But people do tend to confuse about being critical as being negative - some through ignorance and yet others, sadly, premeditated - for personal gain and false fame. Luckily, there are those who know that only those who care enough has the courage to be critical - those who do not care - they let it pass because, in their reckoning, being critical does not translate to money into their pockets.

I too pine to put out positive and heartwarming stories - stories that tell of care, mindfulness, of service and dedication - of love for the King and country and passion for their wellbeing. Stories of broken promises and dashed dreams do not give hope and encouragement - they permeate a sense of hopelessness and doom - not the intended message.

And, sure enough, recently I heard a story that is so heartwarming and positive - so enthralling and progressive - that I need to narrate it to others so that people may draw inspiration from it - on how to be tolerant, open minded, and accommodative.

A friend from Sweden, on his latest trip to Bhutan which is his 10th, narrated to me his following humbling personal experience.

It was during his 7th trip some years back, that he decided to go on a morning jog to Taktsang Monastery - he is a Judoka and likes to keep himself fit. Upon reaching Taktsang, he decided that he wanted to see what it was like inside the Monastery’s temples.

Taktsang - the abode of an enlightened monk!

He was dressed in his jogging sneakers and shorts - so the monk at the temple gate denied him entry, for the reason that he was inappropriately dressed. He was a little disappointed but decided to turn back and start his return jog to Paro. But the monk stopped him - he gesticulated:

“Hold on …. wait here a minute … I will be right back.”

After a while the monk returned, clutching a full set of woman’s clothing comprising of: Kira, Wonju, Kera, Koma and Toego. Without much ado …. the monk proceeded to wrap him up - and ushered him into the sanctum sanctorum of the temples - prim and proper - dressed up as a blonde-haired Bhutanese woman!

Inside, he saw rows upon rows of chanting monks - sheepishly giggling at him and his appearance in an uncommon attire.

But what mattered was that he was able to gain entry to one of Buddhist world’s most revered religious sites - even if dressed as a woman. Even more important, he had unknowingly stumbled upon a novitiate monk with that rare liberated mind, unbound by dogma and rigid cultural and religious tyranny - a rarity!

A priceless experience, and a lesson of a life time!

Lost and Confused

Mr. Michael Rutland OBE, NOM (Gold), has lived in Bhutan for the past 53 years. He has been a witness to most of Bhutan’s many stages of development and change – our idyllic seventies, the idealistic eighties, the perilous nineties and now the tumultuous 2000s. Thus, he is qualified to pass judgement on Bhutan and our state of affairs. During my meeting with him on 10th July, 2024, that is what he did precisely, and most emphatically! In the course of our conversations, he declared:

“There is no other country in this world with the level of peace, tranquility, stability and sense of security – as we have here in Bhutan.”

I agreed with him absolutely and totally! My tireless rantings notwithstanding, I know that we have it better than most. It is for this very reason - the fear that we might lose what we have achieved thus far, that some of us are frantic!

Lost and confused! What do I do? Where do I go? Who do I talk to?

It is the dread that this heaven on earth is at risk of being led asunder by those who have tended to exhibit tendencies that border on the skewed and the twisted - those who think nothing of demolishing truths spoken in good faith and with good intension - in order that their own falsehood and triviality may prevail.

It is sad to see hundred upon thousands abandon homes and families - to traverse the turbulent seas and oceans - in pursuit of livelihood - only to find that all that they have succeeded to do is - forfeit LIFE.

What exactly is triggering this human exodus? What is that which drives hoards upon hordes of our youth to brave the unknown and the untested; that they are willing to abandon the safety and security of home and family? I am unwilling to believe that they are all of them driven by the allure of the promise of gold in distant lands.

Then what is it? How, and why, are they different from those of us who see meaning and purpose in holding steadfast and remain optimistic and confident – that our pot of gold is here in this land of happiness?

What must we do to re-engineer the thought process of a generation that seems lost and confused?

A penny for your thoughts?

The Gift

Imagine the joy of the news that I am due to receive an unexpected gift of unparalleled meaning and value – I was delighted and absolutely WOWed! Surely, with this, I would have had to have hit my life’s High Note!

Then, one day, unseen and shielded from envious eyes, the gift arrived – meticulously draped inside a bundle of shimmering red silk, containing the following:

The Gift: Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera body with all the essential paraphernalia that will enable me to couple my older generation EF lenses to the latest RF lens mount on the R5 camera body. The camera projects a delicate and slender look - but the beauty comes with a whooping  45 MPEG full frame sensor encased inside a body crafted from magnesium alloy and poly carbonate with glass fiber!

There are no words that can accurately describe the joy and honor I feel – suffice it to say that I am well and truly speechless!

But this uncommon angle visit finally makes me decide on something that I have been dithering for the past one year. I can now resolve to do it, with my eyes firmly shut. It is only just - and fair, that I should share my good fortune with those who are less fortunate.

During my visit to Trashi Yangtse last year to administer a grant to support the education of three little girls, I met a school teacher who had started a bird watching club in his school. I donated a number of Field Guide Books of the wild birds of Bhutan – a handbook authored by me. But I wanted to do more, for a cause that is after my own heart. Now I need no further encouragement - the above gift encourages me not to delay the act of giving any longer. So, during my upcoming visit to the areas, I am giving away the following complete assemblage of camera gear suitable for bird photography - for the use of the school’s Bird-Watching Club at the Trashi Yangtse Primary School:

Sharing my good fortune: My gift of a complete set of camera body and lenses suitable for bird photography at a mid-pro level.

In the olden days, a joke used to be told that the only person in Iceland who knew how to make Ice Cream died without passing on the recipe to any one - resulting in a situation where no Ice Cream could be had in Iceland for many generations. It is my hope that we can prevent such a thing from coming to pass in Bhutan – I would like to encourage some kids in Trashi Yangtse to perpetuate the joy of bird photography many generations into the future – an act of conservation that may be the only means by which we can ensure that some of the bird species that are bound to go extinct, are recorded and conserved/preserved in digital format, for the benefit of future generations of Bhutanese.

A Super-Natural Story

Miracles, like the proverbial Angle’s visit, do seem to occur. As incredible as they seem, I know of some stray incidences that can only be explained as “miraculous”. Not that this should serve as an encouragement – but the following is proof that there are things in nature that can only be called super-normal – the other name for miracle.

Past President of the Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset of Hawaii, USA - PP Dr. James Ham and his wife were married for many years. For years they were childless.

Then, in November of 2018, the couple visited Bhutan. During the visit, someone suggested that the couple visit Chimmi Lhakhang known as the Temple of Fertility. They did, and quite extraordinarily, the wife was pregnant on the first moth of the visit to the temple.

Exactly nine months later, at 6:54AM on 10th August, 2019 a healthy son weighing 5 pounds 13 ounces, 20 inches was born to the couple.

They named their son Kinley Jin Ham. The following is how he looked at birth:

The mini Drukpa Kinley in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

Over the years, although I am no longer a member of the Rotary Club of Thimphu – not even of the venerable Rotary institution - I kept in touch with the good doctor. On 14th December, 2023, Dr. James sent me the following photograph of his growing up son - Kinley Jin Ham, who is now a hulking 4 years, 4 months old!

Kinley Jin Ham - all of 4 years and 4 months as of this month

I encouraged the good doctor to bring his son to Bhutan for a visit to Chimmi Lhakhang – so that the boy may receive blessings from Drukpa Kinley’s relic at the temple.

CONTEXT: In my capacity as the Club Secretary of Rotary Club of Thimphu, I met Dr. James when he attended our Club Meeting at the Druk Hotel in 2018. Our association developed over the next years that resulted in a Global Grant Project that saw the implementation of a  training program for the trainers at KGUMSB and some select trekking guides - in wilderness emergency evacuation and treatment. Dr. James was the driving force behind the project.

The Waning Ngar & The Failing Bhutanese GenZ

I do not expect that it will make much difference even if I should climb atop the Mt. Gungkhar Puensoom and yell from its peak - in all likelihood it would be no more than a cry in the wilderness. And yet, no person with any conscience can remain calm and unaffected, in the face of so much recklessness. It is not that I find fault behind the reason or the cause of the sudden stampede for Australia - it is the fact that it appears that most of the dream chasers are doing so with their EYES SHUT TIGHT.

It is sad. I am aware - and I have said this so many times in the past - that the Bhutanese are not a thinking lot. But we do have a mind - although even that is now becoming doubtful. No one appointed me moral guardian of the Bhutanese people - unfortunately I cannot help but worry that what is happening today has the potential to completely derail the country and cause it mortal injury.

The mindless chase for the Australian Visa seems to have awoken the hitherto slumbering Lucifer in us - the latent scoundrel has risen. Our moral probity has fallen so low that parents and siblings think nothing of condoning adultery and even incest. Even the law seems to willingly put its stamp of approval on the many cases of false declarations. Our immorality knows no bound - I am told that some stoop so low as to allow his/her spouse to be pronounced legally wedded to someone else - merely for the sake of a piece of paper called Australian Visa, and to be able to embark on a journey of infinite uncertainty.

Money? Human decency? I think we know which one will win over the other. The question then arises: Is it worth losing sleep over something that apparently is already a lost cause?

I believe that it may still be worth it, despite the apparent hopelessness. Some people have finally begun to speak of the dark side of the great Australian dream - as opposed to the fairy tale that has so far been put out. At last, some conversation is happening. The Kuensel’s last Friday issue (15/07/2023) carried the following front-page article:

The start of the rumblings

In response to my last post titled “The Irresistible Bhutanese Itch”, a retired senior member of the society decided to finally squeak a few words - he wrote:

     “Is it fair for children born as Bhutanese who were educated by the state to leave everything to the

     head of the state?”

One anonymous reader commented on my blog:

     “I beg to differ from the negative outlook on the Aussie exodus but shall not argue my case here”

In response to the above comment, a brilliant reader from the USA sends me a WhatsApp message that reads:

     “I wish the anonymous commenter would have argued his case in public on your blog. I’d be curious

     how he is justifying the exodus to Australia”.

Another friend outside the country commented:

     “It may be time Bhutan opens up. Or there may be no Bhutan GenZs left”.

Yet another reader comments:

     “Bhutan should seriously consider dual citizenship to attract that ‘70%’ back home”.

We need to talk about this and we need to do it yesterday - tomorrow may be too late. Perhaps one way to halt the zombie-like march is to counter it with what lies hidden underneath the carpet - expose the inconvenient truths! Or, may be we are destined, like I said in my last post, to wait for nature’s curative ways to come to our rescue.

Most will likely say that there is no opportunity within the country. That would be too simplistic a viewpoint to take. For a change we could learn to look at the issue from another point of view: opportunities do not exist - we create them for ourselves!

Now you know where His Majesty’s talk of waning of the “Ngar” comes from - and the letdown by the GenZ that my friend spoke about above.

I know that the issue is very complex and taking the moral high ground is least of the answer to solving our many problems. The human animal has always been a habitual wanderer - journeying across the far-flung continents and the seven seas. It would be so terribly wrong to see fault in our modern day fortune seekers. But we have to remember that we never failed to balance our priorities - the voyages have always brought back home wealth, prosperity, and human progress.

We need to make sure hat we remain true to our basic nature.

The Irresistible Bhutanese Itch

Hi Nel,

Thank you for your WhatsApp message - I chose to reply to you in an eMail since your questions call for lengthy answers. And thank you for asking ---- I am well, including all my family members.

I am surprised that the matter got reported in the local papers in the UK - amazing that a pint-sized Bhutan gets to feature in international news - actually we also made it to a respectable newspaper in Australia - on the 5th of this month.

As much as I wish I could deny it, the reports are true --- there has been a steady exodus of young and educated Bhutanese to Australia. It is a worrisome trend that does not look like it is going to halt until the country is completely drained of the young and the educated. And you are right - it is a disturbing problem - even worst, it is a complex problem. Tiny Bhutan is now straddled with a problem so COLOSSAL that we are not sure that we have the wherewithal to handle it. Any which way we look at it, it does not seem like there is one single magic formula to solve the problem that confronts us. In fact indications are that desperation is now beginning to cloud our better judgment. And yet there is no sign that the glitter and sparkle in the eyes of the Bhutanese youth are going to dim anytime soon.

WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS?

You ask what my thoughts are. May be a little jumbled and haphazard but the following are the ones that mostly invade my mind - first thing in the morning as I wake up, and through out the rest of the day.

At the core of our problem is the famous Bhutanese herd mentality - we cannot help but succumb to a nature that is intrinsic to our personality. Like the Army Ants, we march because every one else is marching - unmindful of what is being trampled on our path. It is easy to trigger an itch in us - we do not need a reason or a justification - we just need an excuse - an excuse that every one else is itching.

And that proves my long held belief - that we Bhutanese are as unique as every one else; that Bhutan will embrace modernity as every one else have done before us - that we will get where everyone already have - it is just a matter of time. Give us time and the Bhutanese will do even worst!

I believe that behind the exodus to Australia there is no sound logic, it is not a result of a properly researched outcome - it is not a quest driven by reason. I fear that a large number of them are going simply because everyone else are seen to be going. It will not be fair to say that they have been driven by greed - I am told that there are a variety of reasons, some of them even justifiable.

Unfortunately the reality will be that the country they love will suffer; over the long haul, their kith and kin will feel the impact of their unfounded haste and, perhaps, the very life most of them had hoped for, and the dreams they choose to dream - will turn out be just that - a distant dream.

From all accounts Bhutan is headed for a seriously rough time. All the signs are that we have already hit the stormy waters. People even opine that there is already a palpable air of doom - certainly there is cause for worry. But I believe that the moment of despair is not yet upon us.

Your connection with Bhutan dates back to the 1960’s - but the truth is that your connection to Bhutan has been, at best, superficial. I do not believe that you have had any reason, or occasion, to study Bhutan from close quarters.

Officially the Wangchuck Dynasty has ruled us since 1907 - unofficially they have been doing so since 1853. Since then, Bhutan has survived natural and man-made calamities galore, external threats and internal strife - but we have emerged unscathed. The Bhutanese people have every reason and faith that this time too, we will be ably steered to safety by our Monarch. He is working tirelessly - and He understands that He is the King - and that it is not in His job description to give up.

And, like my blog masthead reads, we all pray that He Never Gives Up Hope!

As to the problem of the exodus, I do not see how we can solve it without upsetting the apple cart. Perhaps nature will do it for us - I have great faith in it - nature is a great equalizer. And nature has always been kind to Bhutan. May be there will be a great natural calamity - may be there will be another devastating pandemic that will cause and kick off the reversal of Bhutanese migration. One never knows - nature has been unfailing in its well-timed interventions - it gave us Genghis Khan, the Black Death, Mata Hari, Rasputin, Hitler, Mussolini, WW I & II, The Little Boy and The Fat Man, Mahatma Gandhi, Israel, Osama bin Laden etc.

The unspoken and unwritten financial burden (outside of the borrowings from financial institutions) caused by the migration is massive - not many have an understanding of its extent and enormity. Regardless, there is increasing indication that the country and the people of Bhutan may not be able to recoup the financial outlay that has gone behind financing the migration. This doubt arises out of most people’s fear that more than 70% of the migrants are unlikely to return home. Couple that with the falling birth rate of the country ….. and you have a perfect recipe for disaster that calls for serious consideration.

But we have not lost our hope - in our Monarch, and history, we trust!

Bye and take care …. I will reply to your other matters in a day or two.

Yeshey

The Terminal Lure of Oz

Twice before on this blog I wrote of the need for monitoring and regulating the overwhelming outflow of Bhutanese, in particular, to Australia. I even suggested that someone should visit Australia and speak to the Bhutanese diaspora there. The Bhutanese exodus to that country is an abnormal phenomenon, implication of which few Bhutanese have stopped to ponder about.

When I was told that even people who own buildings in Thimphu have chosen to migrate to Australia, it dawned on me that the pursuit of livelihood cannot be the sole reason why people chose to abandon homes and families, to travel across the seven seas - in search of whatever they hunger for.

Dreams are lived when you are asleep.

You do not need to risk the perils of the unknown and the untested to make a living - for the willing, opportunity and livelihood are staring at your faces at every corner you turn.

We are a society numbed by a century of Kidu dole out - I am not sure that we are prepared to take on the unknown and the unfamiliar. We are willing to blame the whole world for our own shortcomings - we believe that the world owes us a living and that it will wait for us forever. Such a mental disposition will not find acceptance among other societies. We need to change - but the reality is that that change will not come soon enough, even if it does, eventually.

For a while I was under the impression that the exodus was a systematized affair conducted with planning and foresight. The recent reports of woe emerging from Australia tells me that it is not so - that it is a case of the deaf shadowing the blind. I think people have been victims of the dream merchants and the carpetbaggers.

For those who are due to make the journey in the coming weeks and months, it is not too late to reassess the situation and correct course before it is too late. It appears that the greenery down there is rather prickly - not the stuff of your dreams.

But my bigger worry is something else though. What if Australia suffers a devastating natural calamity brought on by global warming? What if Australia is overwhelmed by a deadly pandemic, the likes of COVID-19 or some other deadly brand new virus?

It is my belief that outside of Bhutan, Australia has the largest population of Bhutanese. Trust me, a catastrophe in Australia will cause shock waves in Bhutan - the likes of which will dwarf that of the COVID-19. The financial and human tragedy will be simply immeasurable!

Think of the financial investment that has gone behind the exodus. You get the picture.

The Tea Girl from Dawakha 2

I located her – my Tea Girl from Dawakha.

She saw me approach her and called out; “Kuzuzangpo la”, with the same beaming smile brightening up her youthful face.

This time she was not selling tea but tending to her sister’s grocery store. This time she did not offer me tea because she obviously remembers from our last tryst that I do not drink tea - particularly not tea with milk.

I asked her; “Where is your tea?”

She replied; “I have it here – do you want to drink?”

I said;  “Yes please.”

She poured me a cup from her Chinese made flask. I began drinking.

An offering of unparalleled value and significance

“So what do you do these days?”

“I help out my sister with her shop here. At other times I help out my mom who runs a store next to our house. My life is just like that.”

“My life is just like that” - do I detect a hint of surrender and submission?

We spoke of the reason for her time in Dawakha, number of years she spent there, her age, name of her village etc. We spoke of the humane conditions of Dawakha Open Air Prison - how the atmosphere there bordered on the normal and the regular - nothing like a prison.

Over time, our conversation veered off to other inmates who were there during her time at Dawakha. In particular we spoke of the young willowy dancer of great talent who moved as if she had no bones in her body. We spoke of the successful entrepreneur gone astray, and her remaining 4-5 years still left to serve. Our conversation moved on to another beautiful young girl who bludgeoned her husband to death. And while we did not speak about her, I remembered a lady inmate who renounced her own life to serve time at Dawakha - in order that she may spare her husband’s son from being consigned to a life of imprisonment at such a tender age, even before his life began. A sublime act of compassion and sacrifice.

Not all inmates are criminals - in many cases they are victims of circumstances. But in every single case they are criminals because they had the misfortune of being caught in the act - if they hadn't been caught, they wouldn't be known as criminals. There are tens of thousands who are bigger and more sinful criminals in Bhutan who roam freely - driving Land Cruisers and living in swanky villas - ridding high horses and dispensing morality. Their only virtue is that they are smart enough not to get caught and, even if they are caught, they are powerful enough to hush things up and move about as if they were God’s gift to humanity.

“So, I hope you will now behave yourself and do nothing that will result in having to go back again to Dawakha.”

“No Sir, I will not.”

“Good - hang on there!”

The Tea Girl From Dawakha

“Sir, please have a cup of tea”; offered a young girl at Bebena’s vegetable market last Saturday - beaming with an unabashed smile bright enough to light up the whole of Bebena Vegetable Market, all the way to Tashichho Dzong.

“No thank you”, I said.

“Sir, you don’t have to pay. I offer it free”.

“No, no, I mean I do not drink tea - particularly not tea with milk”.

“Oh…… Lass La”, said the girl, about to move away - still smiling.

“Hold on ----- do you know me”?

“Yes la, I do. You are Rotary Sir”.

“Where did we meet?”

“In Dawakha la … I was resident there when you visited”.

Dawakha. !!DAWAKHA!! - a locale most would go to great lengths to conceal the fact of ever having been domiciled there.

Dawakha - an open-air prison facility for female convicts serving time, on transfer from Chamgang Central Jail.

Selling tea to regain her dignity & life 

It was a truly humbling experience - to know that I am remembered - not by the rich and the powerful and the all knowing - but by one who is considered a criminal, a social outcast - a stigmatized person.

I am deeply touched and honored - I mean how often does one get offered a free cup of tea in the middle of a huge throng, by a person who may most likely be living on the fringes of law and society?

Obviously the young lady is a remarkable person. Her beaming smile is proof that she has made her peace with life - buried per past and is now trying to regain her dignity and her life - by selling cups of tea at the vegetable market.

Background: In my capacity as the Club Secretary of the Rotary Club of Thimphu, I had to visit the Open Air Prison (OAP) at Dawakha few times, to oversee the implementation of three Rotary projects at the OAP. The young lady tea seller obviously remembered me from one of my visits to the facility.

It took a while to dawn on me that her offer of a free cup of tea was her way of saying Thank You.

Over the days since the incident of last Saturday, I have been thinking: how lucky I am and yet it was so terribly thoughtless and insensitive of me - I should have accepted the cup of tea and drank it.

I hope it is not too late. Beginning from coming Saturday, at the top of my shopping list will be - a cup of tea from that young lady from Dawakha. Hopefully I will bump into her once again and, this time, I will not fail her.

Nuns To The Rescue

Yesterday morning a Ministry of Health worker joked that his Ministry is hoping to enlist the help of the country’s substantial nun population of childbearing age to abandon their vows of celibacy, and start to get pregnant. He sees that as a real possibility for his Ministry to achieve its latest mandate - to restock the country’s plummeting population through increased childbirth.

It is not funny that we are driven to such outlandish thoughts. Beyond funny, we have to begin to worry: how did we allow ourselves to arrive here?

I can think of two reasons: (1) young couples now view the act of procreation as something of an economic burden that they are unwilling or incapable of shouldering; (2) the steady outflow of human capital - as high as 10%.

Demographic imbalance and plummeting population: Case of Japan

Japan’s trade ministry projects that by 2025, around 630,000 profitable businesses could close up shop, costing the economy $165 billion and as many as 6.5 million jobs. The cause: lack of people of right age to continue the business.

Hidekazu Yokoyama, 73, is a poignant example. He built his successful logistics business over three decades. Last year when he wanted to resign, his children were not interested in the business, nor others. Thus he decided to advertise the business and GAVE IT ALL AWAY, FREE, to a 26 years old dark-horse applicant!

Exodus of Bhutanese youth

This is a time bomb waiting to explode. The most galling problem associated with this situation is likely to come from the most unlikely sources.

What if Australia is hit by a natural calamity so horrendous that we need to evacuate our people from there, en masse? What do you think will be the fallout of such an eventuality? Trust me, it will not be as simple as that when we undertook the evacuation of some 17 odd dozen of our girls from the Middle East. The economic devastation that will be caused by a situation in Australia will be few thousand folds more severe. That is likely to be the final straw on the back of the camel.

It is for this reason that I suggested that someone respected, influential and charismatic in Bhutan should go to Australia to talk to our brood there.

https://yesheydorji.blogspot.com/2022/08/continue-to-keep-in-straight-and-narrow.html

I am under no illusion that the Bhutanese who may eventually return will come back with the same face and heart as that with which they departed the country. But it is my hope that there will still be some telltale remnants of Bhutaneseness in them, which is more than what can be expected, given the reality of the situation.