The Last of the Mohicans

No, the following image is not that of a Mohican - let alone that of the last of them. It is that of a Moth, that I believe, is called Trichopterigia cf. decorate.

Still alive and kicking - even beyond two months of its specified lifespan!

So?? Why is it so important that it deserves a post on my Blog?

It is important because it is the ABSOLUTE LAST MOTH that I photographed for the year 2025 – it was acquired at the Pangrizampa Bazam, Dechencholing, on 3rd of December, 2025 at 9:38 AM.

Really?? Still, why is that newsworthy?

It is newsworthy because, according to Lepidopterology, the Moth should have been long DEAD! According to the science, the Moth season at Thimphu’s elevations usually begins around April and ends by September.

The fact that the Moth was still alive - even after two months of its date of expiry - goes to validate an important life-lesson that I learnt in the jungles of Yongkala, some 10-15 years back:

That there are rules and there are laws – but as rigid as they are – they are not without EXCEPTIONS! That there are always exceptions …. and those exceptions help keep the most draconian of laws and rules honest, and humane.

……………………………

BACKGROUND:

It was during one early morning of April some 10-15 years back. I was chasing one of Bhutan’s prettiest Pheasants – called the Satyr Tragopan  (Tragopan satyra). But I found myself involuntarily confined inside my tent – by the wayside of a forest in Yongkala – a bird rich habitat in the East of the country. I was waiting for the torrential rain to pass - so that I may drive over to a particular spot in Sengore – some distance away from where I was camped.

I was waiting for the rain to pass because I believed that if it rained in Yongkala, it would surely be raining in Sengore as well – just 15-20 minutes’ drive away from where I was tented.

When, finally, the rain stopped and the sky started to clear, I began driving towards Sengore – only to find, to my surprise, that the place was bone dry and the skies were sparkling blue in the morning sun. Apparently, it did not rain a drizzle in the area!

That day I learnt a very important life-lesson:

!! DO NOT BE PRESUMPTUOUS !!

Thanks to the lesson I learnt that soggy morning in Sengore more than a decade back - that nature does not always follow a set course of pattern or behavior – this year I was able to photograph a beautiful Moth – two months outside its season! Had I believed in the absoluteness of the accepted rules, or laws, I would be dearer by one beautiful Moth!

In Any Garb, Bhutanese are Bhutanese

While the autocrats inside the House of Democracy in the Happy Kingdom of Bhutan is driving the country’s five political parties bonkers with their undemocratic diktats, it appears that our UN Mission in the Big Apple has been driving a different breed of humanoids completely NUTS! - in the world’s most democratic nation.

The harangued neighbors of Bhutan's UN Mission in New York is now appealing to our Buddhist sense of compassion - to spare them the high decibal noise from a malfunctioning air conditioning unit that is making their life hell for them.

Bhutan to Import 200 Truckloads of Chilies!

I was stunned by the BBS announcement yesterday that Bhutan is going to import 200 truckloads of chilies a year, from India. This is a chilling revelation. This means that the land of Ema Datsi has been importing huge amounts of chilies all this while. In other words, the one item of food that most Bhutanese eat every breakfast, lunch and dinner on a daily basis - has no in-country production base, to meet the demand? This truly is pathetic!

This revelation is perplexing at all levels. Let us do some mathematics.

Two hundred truckloads would be 1,400 Metric Tons of chilies calculated at a truck's carrying capacity of 7MT per truck. 1,400 MT broken down to Kgs. would translate to 1,400,000 Kgs. of the fiery stuff.

Now, lets consider that the import of 200 truckloads of chilies from India would constitute 10% of our annual consumption. This would mean that Bhutanese people consume a total of 14,000,000 Kgs. of chilies a year.

Let us now make an educated assumption that a total of 40% of the resident Bhutanese population do not eat chilies. That segment would include the population that is still not of age to eat chilies, those that do not eat the stuff on medical grounds, and those group of population that are past the age when they no longer find eating chilies palatable. It would also include those that have been driven to paranoia by Dr. Sonam – about eating chilies.

In addition, let us presume that 20% of the Bhutanese population are working outside or are not resident in the country. Add to that 1.46% of the population - under constant labour pain and childbirth, in some maternity wards (based on Bhutan’s 2015 population growth rate). This means that effectively 61.46% of the Bhutanese population DO NOT splurge on the fiery capsaicinoids loaded Capsicum.

Based on these assumptions, we get a figure of 305,083 actively chili eating Bhutanese, computed at today’s total Bhutanese population of 791,600.

Now divide 14,000,000 Kgs. of chilies by 305,083 chili eating Bhutanese and you get a tidy sum of 45.89 Kgs. of chilies per Bhutanese per year. Break it further down to per Bhutanese per day and you get: 0.13 Kgs. of chilies per Bhutanese per day.

This means a Bhutanese consumes a Kg. of chilies every 8 days!

The question is: given this humongous captive market, why isn't the Bhutanese people growing more chilies? Why cardamom?

Even at Nu.50.00 per Kg., 14,000,000 Kgs. of chilies would translate into Nu.700,000,000.00 per year - SEVEN HUNDRED MILLION Nuggies for a lot of Drups! - while at the same time saving Indian Rs.70,000,000.00 per annum.

The Soldiers’ Logic

This morning I had to visit the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) Headquarters in Lungtenphu, to apply for trekking permit for a trekking group wanting to trek in the Jumolhari basecamp area.

Now, I pride myself as a thinking man. Thus, regardless of how difficult or choked a parking space may be, or how constrained I am for time, I make sure that I park my car - head out. This is what I did this morning at the RBA parking: parked my car - head out.

As I was walking away from my car, a Johnny - obviously the parking attendant - walked up to me and asked that I park my car - head in. I said why??? He said because that is how it is required to be done in the RBA parking lot.

All cars must be parked - head in!

I pulled the Johnny aside and explained to him my logic and the merit of parking ones car - head out. I explained to him that if there is an emergency or if there is a fire or an earthquake and buildings are crumbling all around me, first thing I need to do is to pull out of the area in a jiffy. I can do so if my car is parked - head out. I told him that if I park my car head in, I will not be able to get out pronto because backing the car out of the parking lot requires me to drive the car backward and forward few times, before I can get out.

I asked him to give me his side of the logic as to why the RBA requires visitors to park their cars - head in. He explained to me that it has been the RBA’s experience that not many drivers are skilled at parking their cars - head out. Thus, in fairness to those poor unskilled drivers, the RBA has decided to impose this standardized rule that requires every one to park their cars - head in. I was nonplussed! But I know one does not reason with soldiers - so I turned my car and re-parked it - head in.

Dremtoen! Soldiers, how about some tactical thinking?

Wangchuk Lo Dzong of Haa

Two popular Bhutanese Bloggers - Wangcha Sangey and Passang Tshering (both have their origins in Haa) have written on the issue of Wangchuk Lo Dzong of Haa, within days of each other. The issue was also discussed in the just concluded Parliament. It would seem that the topic is currently in vogue - so, let me add my two Chettrum’s bit. I wanted to post my comments on their Blogs instead of writing out a new article but it was going to be a long one - so here goes.

Wangchuk Lo Dzong of Haa

Many have been infuriated and incensed by the matter concerning the Wangchuk Lo Dzong being handed over and used by the IMTRAT for the past many decades. Not me. I am cool about it. I absolutely do not doubt the imperatives behind such an act. But certainly it has intrigued me for years.

We supposedly needed IMTRAT to train our military. But why was Haa chosen? It is not a suitable location for a training center. It is cold, it is frigid, it was far removed from the main centers of activity and the logistical challenges were numerous.

Why was the Dzong handed over to house the IMTRAT? Didn’t IMTRAT have money to build their own lodgings? Wasn’t there any free, open space in Haa valley that could have been allocated to the IMTRAT, to build their lodging facilities?

The RBA has established its training center at Tencholing for the past few decades. So what is IMTRAT still doing there in Haa? Aren’t they a redundant organization with their key function out of their hands?

One other question that gnaws at my guts is this: if the IMTRAT is adamant about hanging on to the old Dzong, why aren’t the people of Haa and the Royal Government of Bhutan asking the GoI to build a new Dzong in place of the old one? I am sure that if the GoI can give money to build a Supreme Court building big enough to house the entire population of the country, they will be happy to give funds to construct a new Dzong for the Haaps - as compensation for the confiscation of their poor old Wangchuk Lo Dzong.

I think we need to go beyond the rhetoric and look at the issue with a sense of intrigue, rather than a feeling of loathing.

PS: Please note that I spell the name of the Dzong without “c” in Wangchuk.

Viagra versus Cordyceps

Most of you know Viagra as a wonder pill that helps correct erectile dysfunction in human males. But how many of you know that mountain climbers who climb Mount Everest also take it? That is right - they do! The reason is simple: the drug dilates the pulmonary vessels, which in turn helps to move more blood into the pulmonary veins that result in improved exchange of oxygen in the lungs. In plain English, it means it gives the mountaineers much needed stamina.

Don’t ask me if the mountaineers suffer from any embarrassing side effects such as: erectile over-function. I have no idea.

I cannot afford Viagra or know where to buy them locally - so I depend on good old home grown Cordyceps. When I am trekking the high altitudes - like my last Snowman Trek when I trekked 28 days continuously - I take half a teaspoon full of ground Cordyceps, every night.

 In the case of this wonder worm, I can vouch that it is effective - and has no side effects whatsoever!

The Guile of the Snow Leopard

-->Aap Drugey is a yak herder and a pony driver from Soe Yaktsa who I take along with me during my treks into the northern Alpine regions. I do not really need him but trekking at high altitudes during the thick of winter is dangerous and unpredictable. I take him along because in times of emergency, his experience and knowledge of the region can be invaluable.

One bitter cold night in February, 2011, we were camped in Soe Yaktsa, a village on the fringes of the Snow Leopard habitat. Sitting by the campfire, he narrated to me the following ingenious way a Snow Leopard employs, to hunt for and capture Blue Sheep.

The Blue Sheep is the primary food source for the Snow Leopard, a big, beautiful endangered cat living in the Alpine regions of Bhutan. The Blue Sheep move in herds. The cat is fast but not fast enough to outrun the sheep. So the cat employs a brilliantly ingenious strategy to prey on the Blue Sheep.

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Snow Leopard (Photo courtesy: Wikipedia)

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When the Snow Leopard sees a herd of sheep feeding on a mountain side, it will climb to a higher ground, about 200 – 300 ft. above the herd, concealed by the rocks and boulders that make up the landscape. Then, when it is certain that it is close enough, from behind a boulder, it will roll down a small pebble directly towards the center of the herd. The herd will be alerted but they realize that it is merely a small stone pebble accidentally rolling down .. so they will resume feeding. After a while, the cat will roll down another stone, this time a much bigger one than the earlier stone. Alerted, the sheep will look up at the approaching pebble and ignore it and continue feeding, indifferent and unhindered.

The leopard will continue to roll down stone after stone, each time bigger and bigger ones. After a while the sheep will completely ignore the rolling stones and not even look up what is coming down. Then, when the Snow Leopard is completely certain that the sheep have been lured and numbed into complacency, it will turn itself into a round ball of fur and come rolling down towards the unsuspecting herd. When he is in the middle of the herd, it will suddenly unfurl itself and grab the closest sheep in a strangulating grip on the sheep’s throat!

Ouch! The Rupee Crunch

The recent belt-tightening measures announced by the Royal Monetary Authority, following the Rupee crunch, have thrown a large number of Bhutanese people into a high state of anxiety. Unerringly reactive, it was comical to see a huge number of Bhutanese people queuing up at the fuel pumps - in an effort to top up their vehicle fuel tanks - proof that they have not really understood the extent of our problems.

Regulating the outflow of Rupee isn’t going to solve our problems - not even in the short term. However, it is a start. But we need to go beyond that - we need to make some serious structural adjustments. It is time for some hard decisions. It is time that we are shameless about admitting that the pursuit of our past and present economic polices, if there was one, need a 360° turn around.

While we tinker with our economic, fiscal and monetary policies and redirect our focus to some fresh thinking and perspective, an inconspicuous article in an obscure Blog may hold one among many answers to the mystery surrounding the inexplicable Rupee crunch.

An article headlined "Food For Thought…..” in the Blog authored by K B Wakhley (http://www.kbwakhley.blogspot.com) contains a strangely alarming and intriguing insinuation. He reveals that the Bhutan Power Corporation Limited is paying the Indian contractors a whopping Nu.37.08 million for every KM of the combined 159.1 Km of the two 400kV double-circuit transmission lines that run from Punatsangchhu-I Hydroelectric Project site to the Bhutan-Indo border.

As corroborated by an Indian expert in an email addressed to K B Wakhley, the cost of construction/installation of the transmission lines should not exceed Nu.15.00 million per KM. As opposed to that, the Bhutan Power Corporation Limited has paid a sum of Nu.37.08 million per KM - more than one and a half times what it should cost us! 

At first glance, overpayment on a project component that represents merely 5% of the overall project cost should not be a cause for concern. However, as I delved deeper into the issue, my thought process enters the realm of the seriously bizarre and the whacky.

What, for instance, if the overpayment is not an isolated case? In other words, what for instance, if we were to discover that over-design and exaggerated costs are inherent in all of the hydropower projects in Bhutan? What, for instance, if we were to discover that the hydropower projects should cost us less than half the current projections?

Besides other even more devastating implications that boggle the mind, could it be that our much touted hydropower projects are at the core of our Rupee crunch woes?

Ouch!

The Mystery Of The Pebbles Atop The Dreaded Ngele-La Pass

Ngele-La pass is the strangest, almost unreal high mountain pass that I have crossed in all my treks in the alpine regions. It is strange because at an altitude of 4,702 Meters, this pass does not have a spec of snow or a tiny patch of ice or a single blade of grass growing at its top. It does not even have a fistful of earth! At this height and at this time of the year, the pass should be covered in snow. Something was seriously amiss here!

As you can see from the photo below, the top of the pass is draped in a continuous sheath of flat, splintered pebbles as far as the eyes can see. Strangely, there are no boulders or stones or granites anywhere around. So then where did the flat, splintered stone gravels come from?

As I looked on incredulously, my horse contractor informed me that the Ngele-La pass experiences some strangely powerful windy conditions. He said that the ferocity of the wind is so strong that horses are known to have been lifted off their feet and pushed off the pass to be deposited few hundred meters below the pass. He narrated an incident when, at one time, he was returning from Lingzhi on his way to Soe-Yaktsa when he ran into a serious windy condition as he was ascending to the top of the Ngele-La Pass. Half way through to the top, he was felled by the strong gusts of wind that was blowing and he ended up, not once, but thrice at the bottom of the valley. Finally, he clawed his way up to the pass and then attempted to roll down the other side of the pass - only to be pushed right back all the way to the top. He had no other way but to bury his head into his Gho and wait for the wind to subside and then roll down once again.

Is it possible that the winds have lifted the pebbles off the bottom of the valley below and deposited them at the top of the pass? I think this is very likely because, half way down the pass, one can see the same pebbles strewn all over the grassy slopes. This would also explain why there is no snow or ice or grass there - the strong wind must be blowing them off to kingdom come!

I was lucky to have been able to cross the pass - both ways - without being caught in the dreaded windy condition of the Ngele-Las pass.

Do You Have A Phallus

Getting calls from perfect strangers on my mobile phone does not surprise me any more - I get so many of them and quite regularly that I have now come to accept them as additional price I have to pay - in addition to the premium I paid BMobile - for wanting a number that is out of the ordinary. In fact one time I got a call from a young girl from Rangshikhar in the East who admitted to dialing my number randomly because she hoped to soothe her nerves that have been frayed with a sense of anxiety over the outcome of her class XII exams. But the call from another stranger girl last Friday had me speechless for a while, literally.

“Hello, is this Mr. Yeshey Dorji the photographer?”

“Yes, this is I”

“Kuzuzangpo la, my name is Karma and I got your number from Mr. Kinley Dhendup of the Tourism Council of Bhutan”

“Lass, how can I help you, Karma?”

“Actually I called to find out if you have a phallus”.

Huh? Do I have a phallus? What kind of a question is that? More importantly, what the hell did she mean by that? I mean, I was born without any known deformity which means that I am a perfectly formed male species with all my manly organs intact and in the right places where they are supposed to be. Then why the question? I was mildly insulted and intrigued at the same time. However, the voice on the other end of the phone was very matter-of-fact and without any trace of sarcasm or mockery. There was not a hint of coyness in her voice. In truth, I am unnerved by the fact that a girl can discuss male organ with a male with such candor and directness. Obviously, time has come for me to shed that idea about the female species being the shy-and-retiring types - I think they have evolved to a higher plane, without my knowing about it.

“Well, I do have a phallus somewhere. Why do you ask?”

Her next question left me feeling even more incredulous.

“Will you allow me the use of it, please?”

Oh God, what have I gotten myself into? I mean it isn’t abnormal that a girl might desire a phallus once in a while - it is perfectly within the natural order of things. But how feasible is it that a girl might want the use of a phallus? It is a horrendous thought but is it possible that she might want to use it to badger someone or something like that? Other than that, and a very specific purpose for which it was designed, what else can the poor phallus be useful for?

“You see my cousin runs a store in Paro that cater to the tourists and she tells me that this year the phallus is in great demand among the tourists. She wants to cash in on that”.

Ah … now I see it. She hopes to be able to send my phallus frolicking among the tourists in Paro so that her cousin can make some extra buck. Do I want to be so chivalrous? Before I can answer that to myself, she continues:

“I am told that you have a very good high resolution image of a wooden phallus. Will you please allow me to print one thousand copies of Post Cards out of the image? It will be a one time use and I will be happy to give you credit for the image”.

Touché! She will be generous to give me credit for my own image and she does not make any mention about payment for the image - meaning she thinks I am the Salvation Army.

I am speechless.