My Conversation With The Ghost!

For me, anything without proper identity is a ghost and you will get to see many such ghosts in online forms. In my recent past I have had the privilege of meeting with one such ghost in "The Bhutanese" online form. Discussion on "Denchi land compensation scam" as reported my 'TheBhutanese' paper was at its height. Of the many faceless ghosts, there was one particular ghost that drew my attention under the tag "the monk". I saw him spending sleepless nights defending the accused. Through his relentless responses to attackers, I sensed him getting exhausted and getting even vulgar. Although his voice was getting suppressed by attacks from all sides, he never looked defeated. So I took the initiative of inviting him on Facebook, where issues of National importance are normally discussed amicably with faces and substance. I did it because that is where your voices are immediately heard by the PM, the OL, Ministers and almost all the MPs. And this was what the monk wrote: 

By the way, Peldhen Sonam Nima is my Facebook profile name and there is nothing to worry. Its just the combined names of my three little daughters. I even used this on my blog too. The Ghost monk looked more frightened with my name than my request I sent. In his confused and wimpy state he was easily going vulgar. In response to his fast fading voice, I left my response on Facebook page 'Social democracy in Bhutan'. But sensing his reluctance, I just removed my comments from there and the following was what the Monk, in his most proudest moment wrote again:

Interestingly, he extended his invitation for me to become a ghost like him. Well, it is not in my blood to become a ghost, face less and arrogant. I believe in sharing my opinions openly with my face and identity. Although I nearly paid a hefty price for being open in my recent past, this thing can hardly deter me. So following was what I wrote:

And in response, he wrote the following lines:

After those comments, The monk disappeared. I am now thinking that even the ghost monks go for meditation or else hibernation. I may be wimp but I am ready to read him more.

Of Diplomatic Relations and Mercury Level(s)

I had this topic in my mind for quite sometime, -nearly a year!

You see, I had a heated argument (so to say) between me and one of my room mate whom I met last year (2011). But I don't know whether this would qualify to be called as a "debate" in the first place. Since this was the very first.....debate of its kind between us, I never felt comfortable blogging and had to forgo it for some other topics. And in course of one year, I have seen him fall into many such debates with many other friends. Now that I have already blogged about my other room mate, I don't find any reason to postpone it any further.

It was one casual evening. I remember it was after our dinner, -the time we mostly devote for casual and some senseless talks. The infamous 'diplomatic relations' was one such topic that evening.  Although I still do not remember as to how that sensitive topic came to the fore, I remember what I spoke that night with crystal clarity. I spoke about the the guiding role, yes the "guiding role", India plays in Bhutanese foreign relations. I also said that at the moment, Bhutan has diplomatic relations with over 29 or so nations and that all most all visas to Bhutanese nationals travelling to various countries in the world are being issued in India and not in Bhutan.

Strange and to my utter disappointment, my friend found my knowledge, absolutely unacceptable, grotesque and vague. He defiantly said that India plays no "guiding" role in Bhutan's foreign policy and that Bhutan has a diplomatic relation with over 169 countries already! What was more disgraceful was that, he supported his points by telling me that, he is RCSC select graduate and it was how he prepared for the RCSC examination!

Taken aback and shocked to my core, I told him that that he is mistaking diplomatic relations to international associations like friendship associations and other such organizational bodies. I also told him that he will understand more about it once he have a passport of his own and start travelling to ex-countries. I am not a foreign relation expert and hence I risk saying senseless points, but here, I was thousand percent sure about the right thing I spoke. I also told him about how I cleared the same exam some 6 years before him.

And the other thing, i.e "Mercury leve(s)" debate happened in my absence and hence I don't have a first hand information as to what actually transpired. It was all I heard from my other friends. My friend who discarded my knowledge about "diplomatic relations" also discarded the "Mercury level" knowledge of other friends too. They told me about he how he supported his view of thermometer with two mercury levels, -one showing maximum and the other showing minimum! I went wordless once again.

Confused and skeptical about my general knowledge, I latched the door from inside and started cross checking with Google and Wikipedia. But at the back of my mind, I knew he was not being silly but rather teasing our intellectual capacity.

Have a nice day folks.

For My Daughter, On Her sixth Birthday

Peldhen 2006

Peldhen 2007

Peldhen 2008

Peldhen 2009

Peldhen 2010

Peldhen 2011

Peldhen 2012

Dear sweetie, 

I am happy you are six now.

In time, you will grow up 

and become seven, eight, nine, ten 

and finally you will, 

fully grow up to read and understand 

a brief message papa wrote for you  

on your sixth Birthday. 

Remember few things:

Be happy with who you are 

and what you have

Life is not long 

therefore

 Treat every day as precious gift

Do not preach 

what you cannot practice yourself

Always remember that 

Success and failures are the ingredients of life;

do not get deluded by the former 

and deterred by the latter. 

Dream big but 

know that being ambitious

can be sometimes dangerous as well.

Check the road ahead.

Before you walk, 

and learn to say "I don't know" 

even when you think you know all.

Love and Trust

are entity, that are totally different.

Dear Sweetie, 

Let me not sermonize further 

for you will be bored 

But always bear in mind that 

you and your two little sisters are

everything for mummy and papa.

You are all eternal flowers

that bloom forever in the garden of our soul

Love you so much.

&

Miss you so much.

With Love 

Papa

Of peeing and Shitting Dogs

As I have said in my earlier post, many things have indeed transpired around me in a brief period of time. The immediate thing that comes to my mind is a (sick) buffalo that died in a swamp some hundred yards away from my room. At first glace I thought the beast was cooling off his body from the scorching heat. But Later I realized that the beast actually died. I think the beast died a very painful death though. As crows and vultures and dogs from every nook and corner gathered and devoured the corpse, I thought to myself  that the corpse would have made a fortune, if only it were in a place other than this veggie Gujarat.

And few weeks ago, I also saw a corpse of a dog. I don't know how it died but I did not regret a bit. In fact I have developed a strong sense of dislike for dogs here in Gujarat (especially in my campus) In my recent times, they have become the most annoying and disgusting creature. It might sound like an exaggeration, but these dogs in my campus have a very wired habit. Of all the places on earth, they all come to pee and shit right in front of my door!  I could sense my intense hatred for dog exceeding my hatred for mosquitos and house flies! darn!  And one fine day I was busy planning to bring those beasts to justice. But fortunately for those dogs, it coincided with the birthday of Lord Krishna and I had to call off my plan. And the shitting and peeing continues and we have a entry that stinks worse than our university toilet.

Now that we had a good rain fall here in Gujarat, the weather is lot better these days. The cools breeze in the evening and mornings just reminds me of my morning and evening walk in Paro. I often join one of my friend who frequents the terrace, especially in the evening and night to enjoy the  freshness of breeze and the beauty of the night sky. 

Since we see airplanes and stars, we often end up talking a lot about those objects. I could make out from his expression that airplanes have really fascinated him and on many occasions, I saw him go nuts with is imaginations. As for me, having worked in international airport for more than six years, it was not a topic that warranted my attention. But surprisingly his wild theory did draw my attention. You know what he said? He told me with full conviction that an airplane he was flying in actually did not fly forward and was in stationary position on two different occasion. He baffled me and I went wordless.

And the other night, we talked about the English as a language and medium of instruction. I think we also discussed about grammar too. I told him that I know not much about grammar and hence I make lot of grammatical errors. He told me that he used to be a grammar guru in his school and that many teachers would come and seek his assistance in grammar. I told him it is well and good.  And the next thing he said baffled me even  more.  He told me that he doesn't like reading and writing at all! Confused and lost, I asked him "sir, then where do u show your grammatical talents"  

He reminded me of my nephew in my village, who once talked to me a lot about flying airplane and how he wished to become Kalam Singh one day. I felt happy thinking about my innocent nephew and his blissful green days. 

Well guys, I will write about other things in my next post and its going to be about mercury levels and diplomatic relations. 

After a Long Gap

In a very brief period of time, many things have transpired around me. Although busy in my own world and not being able to blog, silently I was closely observing all the forces of evolution in my periphery with utmost consciousness and presence of mind.

Firstly, There were some miscommunications between the office of the dean and Bhutanese students here in Gujarat. Those miscommunications have obviously created an atmosphere of animosity between the staffs and students. It worsened, when some of our senior friends left the University with uncleared dues. As for me and my batch mates were concerned, we left for summer break with lot of inconveniences. Firstly we were fully engaged till 6pm with our exams but had a train to catch at 9pm and in which case we failed to submit our room keys to the office. It appeared to me that people in the dean's office took our inconvenience as disobedience to the office. To further heighten the distrust and suspicion, the dean's office later announced a rental hike of more than one hundred and sixty six percent! 

It was not a happy feeling at all. More than a sudden rental hike, what made me sad was the fact that in a foreign land, we were perceived as mere untrustworthy people. They were also of the opinion that we were taking their generosity little too lavishly. 

There was a genuine need for us to talk to the dean. So we proposed for a meeting and accordingly made an appointment. All we wanted was to clear the skepticism and ambiguities hovering in between. So on 22nd August, 2012, we had our first formal meeting with our dean in years time. I took the lead. I apologized her and her office on behalf our seniors and on our own behalf. I expressed our remorse and regret simultaneously. With that, I also gave her an assurance that such things would never happen in future and that she and her office should not interpret our inconvenience as our disobedience. 

At last our dean spoke. She spoke with such a grace and elegance that it moved my heart. She was really a a person worthy of her position and office. She said, there was no need for us to apologize her. She told us that people do not become bad out of choice and that people become bad due to circumstantial events. She also expressed her regard and esteem for Bhutanese scholars. It was an impressive one! She told us not to take rent revision as a penalty! 

I think my apology changed the entire atmosphere. Everyone in the meeting smiled and had lot of funny stories to tell. In fact, I came to know that we (had) have a lively and supportive dean behind us. I also realized that there is a magic in apologizing people; -it brings people closer. More, it doesn't make anyone smaller.

That evening, I came to my room feeling satisfied and happy. The out come of the meeting was such that , we were not only able to restore our cohesive and friendly atmosphere with her office, but were also able to restore their faith and trust in us. She graciously exempted us from paying our previous year's rent. She further said she would do her best to provide us subsidy for our power consumption.

I will write about other things in my next post..

The Real Happy Face

The REAL HAPPY FACE

Mr. Jean Paul Jasperse thinks this is a "Real HAPPY FACE". I was told by one of my friend that Jean is an artist himself. My friend even showed me some of his fascinating art works. Even though I couldn't grasp the real meaning hidden in some of his art work, they all looked really amazing. Honestly, I have never seen many people like Jean. All his art works invokes an immense sense of mystery and magic. 

I never met Jean personally, but I have always sensed him following me either in my facebook or on my blog. It's been while that Jean has been liking all my post on facebook and I am happy for that. I thank him immensely for all the 'like' button he pressed for me....   :)

Today I feel more happy for the fact that Jean has left a very beautiful comment befitting my daughters photograph. -The Real HAPPY FACE. Well, I will leave that entirely to Jean. 

As for me, this picture has always brought me smile and laughter. Every time I went broke and sick in the heat of tropical India, I looked at this picture. The smile in the picture brought me immediate joy. It helped me wipe off those miserable feelings.  Every time I felt cheated by autowallas and fish sellers, a mere look at this picture soothed me. The smile in the picture always gave me the strength to overcome those hard times. All in all her smile gave me less reason to worry and more reason to live and celebrate life. 

Last but not the least, every time I get confused defining happiness, I look at this picture and I could hear my daughter with the "real HAPPY FACE" whispering into my ears "daddy, don't you think happiness was much easier to define without those pillars, domains ...............and......... and....and I forgot the rest"

Monsoon Football Thoughts

Sonam Sir has written about the most awaited and most celebrated monsoon football tournament somewhere in Bumthang. His short essay reminded me of my glorious footballing days. Memories came rushing through my spine and I felt nostalgic. I felt energized and reinvigorated and here is what I wrote on his blog. 

Sonam Sir,

All the best.

your essay reminded me of my footballing days in Paro. Yes, as you have mentioned, I also used to celebrate myself like you....and I tell you it gave me lot of confidence.... I can't remember the year but It was a game where Bumthangpas in paro with hired Bumthap players from Thimphu played against an army team in airport. with game at stalemate, I nearly had a fight with ref when i found him being bias with his decisions. It was quite a game even though we didn't have ref after that moment.

Those days, I hardly knew how to drop the ball but, I considered my self nothing less than a player who has the potential being a "strike" force. But sadly many a time, I was made to play as goal keeper....slowly but painfully, i got promoted to defense....I have many painful experience playing as defense.....

Later that thing was to change, It was in Changjiji ground where we outplayed, combined team of RCSC and DRC of Thimphu. i scored the opening goal for our team! and my other friend, who had the same painful history, scored the winning goal!....with that game, I finally saw myself being promoted in the forward (That was more of a self promotion though) LOL.....

and the last time I played football was in June,2012 (I was on my summer break) I played a warm-up game siding Customs and Immigration team. (and those days, I used to be the team captain and manager myself) I had my boot Which I bought it for more than thousand bugs. I think we lost the game, but I did my part, - I scored one goal playing in the wing position....and i thought I was included in the team for the real match.......but sadly not.... my successor wasn't impressed with my performance..... I was not even included in the bench warmers list......  It was bitter moment for me. But when they lost the first game by a large margin, I thought to my self that they missed the gold in me.....he he 

But nevertheless, I am working hard here in India now, I want to keep myself fit and strong so that i can perform better next time. Me and my friend already bought a skipping rope and I am making full use of it.

Anyways, all the best for your upcoming match on Tuesday... and yea, buy one boot......I think it will give u an additional reason to celebrate yourslef.....