Images from Gujarat

 A pair of dove who actually wanted to share room with me.
 But I denied their proposal, because they stinks. 

Peacock Dance? I think its also a show of might.

Female Peacock, that frequents my neighborhood

My Home, with no bed, no table, no chair and worse of all no fan.
I tell you I didn't even have toilet
because we did't have running water

Squarrel that fears no Human. They are pampered. They are animals
 that have better living standards compared to those Humans  in the slums

My room Mates. Jurmi, the Historian, who looks much older than his age,
Tashi, the politician who  hardly speaks  and
Jamtsho, who nearly became Psycho after attending
a Psychology class in Gujarati  

My batch mate, Pema, who is learning to eat more
because She doesn't want to look lean and thin like our Indian friends

Looks Terrible!!!  But they are Gentle Giant ants.
They do not believe in attacking Homo sapiens .
 That is the reason why I entertain many of them in my room

Madam Ugyen. I have no words to describe her,
except that she is  lady of her  words.
Perhaps that  is what it takes to be a  Psychologist 

Male Peacock that do not sleep,
but fancies disturbing the entire neighborhood

A Gujarati Lady, who told me to eat more fruits in Gujarat

My Gujarati Friend Mr. Chintan Joshi.
He is not only an Electronic Engineer ,
 but also an English  Teacher in one of the colleges in Gujarat.
I am marking his words,
because he promised to show me the specialties in Ahmedabad. 

My Home Away form Home

Gujarat is Gandhi's Native Place

It's been exactly a week and a day, since I arrived in Gujarat University. The tropical heat is simply too much for a Himalayan man like me. I sweat like a fat pig and people in the town laugh at me. I laugh at them back and they laugh again.  I know they wanted to talk to me, but my Hindi & Gujarati and their English is a great barrier in between.

I have come to know that the Gujarati people are by far the friendliest and honest of Indians. One  of my class mates  also  told  me  that Gujarati People are most enterprising and hard working  people.  They have a  unique way of smiling which makes you feel at ease  and  home.  I get not only laughed at but they also smile at me. Smiling to a stranger, (I guess) is perhaps a basic code of conduct in Gujarti culture, because a fast moving bikers' and autowalas' have all the time at the

ir disposal to smile at me and ask me "you Nepal, Tibet, Korea, China Rangoon?" When I tell them that I am "Bhutan" it again brings abrupt end to our conversation.

I am now very comfortable in my class too, because I got very good friends there. Even though most of them do not speak English, their body language says "Queenza you are most welcome here" Many of my friends, I know are very young but they seem all matured just like me (a father of 3) As much as I wanted to take good things from Gujarat, there are also friends who also o wanted to take something from me; -some of them said they wanted to learn English from me!

Even though a gate keeper at the entrance salutes me for my Asst. Collector's Post, I am the most melancholic and miserable in my room. I still do not have a bed to sleep and a toilet to pee and rest. The absence of a fan in my room makes me more home sick. It's even more saddening thing when I have to do my assignment on the floor only to suffer stomach upset later. The shortage of running water is yet anther predicament.  I  have made  numerous pleas  to the authorities, but have come to know that it's a Government procurement procedure that is delaying things. 

A letter to my dearest wife and daughters from Gujarat.

Main Building, Gujarat University Estd 1949

My dear sweet  Heart(s),

I have landed safe and sound in Gujarat. Me and my fellow friends are being warmly received by our friends in Ahmadabad international  airport.  Except for the tropical heat, the place is wonderful otherwise. The people  are friendly and helpful.

I am done with my University admission process and now waiting  for my College admission process. By the way, the name of my college is Gujarat School of Social Sciences. Our senior friends have even  hosted  a welcome dinner in honor of us ( 6 new  comers,  out  of which 2 are ladies) They are all lovely people in all the counts. 

Currently I am living with our senior friends. Our room is  under renovation. It  looks very spacious and large for 4 of  us. The maintenance unit  said that we  will  soon be issued all amenities in the room. we  are done with shopping. Unfortunately, we had  to buy 2 rice cookers, for we  didn't know that the curry cooker is not available  in India. We also bought plates and mugs for not only ourselves but also for our expecting guests. Since  I cannot wear shoes, I had to again buy a another pair of  slippers. All in all, Gujarat is not a cheap place in India. 

Upon closer consultation with my senior (who is also pursuing masters in Economics) He briefed me to  be mentally prepared, for  economics is not anybody's piece of  cake. More, when some of the toughest papers  like mathematics are taken by some of the Gujarati  major Professors. Nevertheless, I am ready to swim and soak myself in economics  all over again. 

the net work is  not  good. So  I will write more next time.

With love and warm hugs.

Daddy.

Gujarat University.

Ahmadabad.

Farewell Paro Airport.

Paro International airport

Dear Friends,

It was on one cold January morning in 2006, that I first walked to my office; It was my maiden walk to my office; Regional Revenue and Customs Office, Paro. There were two of us, who in the words our ex-boss, 'came with our heads looking for ropes'. After a year long training in financial management, we joined the force of Customs in Paro International airport . 

Initially, with zero knowledge about the job, I honestly had lot of difficulties living up to the expectations of my superiors, clients and colleagues. There were times when my sincere service intentions were equated to  nothing but a harassment. But in five years time I feel I have  progressed a lot. The atmosphere in airport  have truly given me the the opportunity to not only  learn better about my job, but have also enabled me to  learn about other agencies that worked in the same place. These insights have truly made me more humble and  humane for which I wanted to convey my gratitude to all (my friends in airport)

Today, as I leave this place for a cause nobler to me, my family and my country, I would like to take a brief moment to thank all my dear friends with whom I had a very close association, both personally and officially. 

I thank my boss.  Sir Yonten Namgyel, Regional Director, RRCO, Paro for being source of inspiration. He has inspired me to become a humble person in serving our country. Not only that, he was also a motivating factor who inspired me from behind to pursue my writing habits. In him, I saw the traits of not only a leader, but an attributes of a sublime human being.  With this, I would also like to thank my colleagues of RRCO. Paro for being very affectionate and friendly all through my days in Paro.

I thank my supervisor Mrs Yeshey Seldon, for all her feminine wisdoms and intellects. I also thank her for accepting me in my own wholesomeness (blunt and rough). I think she is one person who understands me in and out.

I thank my dear friend Tashi Namgay for standing tall and firm beside me in discharge of our duty as Customs officers. His sense of unity, trust and friendship has always inspired me to work more diligently. I also thank him for being very amusing with his witty jokes.

I thank all my colleagues in airport for being such a wonderful people. They are indeed the reasons of my success. I thank each and every individual for being very open and obedient. Some of them are my very teacher who educated me in my job. Besides, I also thank our office drivers, Aue Dawa and Phuntsho for bearing with me and my way of assigning un planned works for you. You are all commendable comrades.

 I thank Sir Karma Wangchuk, The Joint Director, Civil Aviation  for his dynamic leadership in the airport. He has always been a man who accommodated my suggestions and  pleas. Till date, I may have made over thousands suggestions and recommendations, (both officially and personally) but amazingly he never said no to me on any occasions. 

 I thank Dasho Tshering Penjor, The Chief Security Officer and his team for rendering all the necessary co-operations to my office. I thank all the security officials for being pro customs in the field of enforcement and hope the good relationship will continue to grow and deepen.

I thank the Lieut. Dradul, Officer In-charge of airport Police and Captain Thuji, the former OC, for all the good and friendly relation we had. It was through them, the relationship between Customs and Police actually grew. I hope this relation will further mature and yield a positive result in enforcement field. 

 I thank Mrs. Tshering Doma, Immigration Officer, for being a very good friend all along. I thank her for being very candid and open with me. Personally, I thank her for accommodating with all my nonsense chit chats during our leisure hours too.

I thank the BAFRA team of airport for always being with Customs. We have always shared a common interest and common work place (near same x-ray machine). This apparently said that Customs and BAFRA are inseparable in the field of enforcement. I hope this will remain forever. On the lighter note, I would also like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to BAFRA team for sticking with customs team in the football ground too. We may not have won a single trophy in history, but it was our unity that counted. So do not loose hope. Keep playing.

I thank Mr. Ugyen Namgyel, Catering supervisor and his catering team for all the regard and respect you all had towards me. I thank Mr. Thinley Dorji (captain) for his daily news papers and occasional coffee and snacks. Even though I wasn’t entitled for those facilities, it was all his good heart that counted. So thank you Aue Captain.  On a personal note, I would also like to thank Mr. Ugyen Namgyel for all his support and care during my sickness in 2006. I immensely thank his wife (my distant cousin) and family for accommodating me in their house during my crucial and lonely days.

I thank all the station managers, (Paro station), Drukair, Past and Present for all the good times and co-operation we had together. I thank Mr. Nidup and Mr. Damcho for educating me on the aspects of drukair operation. This knowledge has greatly enabled me to discharge my duty in a more professional manner. I also thank Mr. Ugyen Tashi, the Current station Manager and all his dynamic team of staff for all their co-operation.

I thank Aum Karma Choden, Bank of Bhutan, for all her humanely advices and concerns she had towards me. She was one person who wholeheartedly talked to me about my weakness and flaws. I took her words just like I take my mother’s words. Her words honestly had positive impact in my life I thank her with all my heart. I also thank her for treating me with coffee all the time with imported milk powder.

I thank senior officers like Mr. Tashi Dukpa and Mr.Tashi Penjor of Civil Aviation, for leading us in sports activities in airport. Even though there were some fellas who fancied fighting than footballing, the fact remains as the fact. Every individual enjoyed the game (including me)

I would also like to Thank my friend Mr. Surinder Singh and Mr. Ranga of Indian Air Force Elements (AFE) located in Paro International airport.  These 2 gentlemen have been like a bridge between my office and our Indian counterparts both within  and incoming. I thank the AFE for showering with many gifts on their national important days. It was not only gifting but was also equally educating abut their culture and customs. Thank  you all for your help. I also thank them for providing me a Ray ban sun glass ( which I unfortunately lost to a mechanic who stole away from my car) 

Thank you all for being such a wonderful people to work with. My six years in airport has been anything but truly the most enriching and rewarding era of my life. It is here, I became not only responsible family man, but a responsible citizen of our beautiful country too. With divine experience I gained on daily basis, I have always tried to live up to the expectations of not only my superiors, but have equally strived to also live up to the expectations of you; my dear friends too.

As a Buddhist and more as someone who practices it on daily basis, even in discharge of my duty to Tsa-wa-sum, I have always chosen to follow middle path. As I contemplate in retrospect, it brings to me, a deep sense of delight, knowing that it befitted not only me but to all whom I had an acquaintance, both officially and personally.

 But, a popular adage has it; ‘with good times comes bad times’, obviously there were some bad times in between as well.  As much as I take the pride in acknowledging my good times, I would also like to take this time to acknowledge my bad times without any hesitation too.

As human and more in the vein of unenlightened being, there must have been times where I have acted pernicious. There must have also been times, where I have spoken like serpent. As a young and juvenile officer, I must have also acted unruly, irritating and gossipy. Allow me to take them back. Because I know every human being (including the Lamas) err. Least, I am no exception to this universal law. I know I err and err more to be fittingly called and ‘kachara’ (problematic), ‘za ma tup’ (uneatable) and aggressive ‘zan dre’ (begger who has devils face).

As a man who works for Customs, (In-charge) I couldn’t have asked for a better term. At times, those labels brought me immense satisfaction too. It reminded me of my sincere service to my Country, my King and to my fellow Bhutanese people.

But on the other hand, it saddened me as well. As an enforcement officer, only discretion I had was  my obligation to Government; -to enforce law. With this, I often found myself caught up in the thought of those things that are ethically right, but morally wrong?  I have often spent sleepless nights trying to balance morality and ethicality of law enforcement. Isn’t this a strange thing that I only to arrive at a self consolatory line which says ‘Law enforcement is right on both the counts’?

So,In the light of aforementioned line, I would like to reiterate, that all I did was more  in the interest our law; -to do something right in general- and not to harass or hinder anyone in the process. Even though it’s neither great nor rare, I bear all the responsibility for my deeds. Please forgive me, for forgiveness is to divine. 

Wishing you all a success and Happiness in life. 

With warm regards and respect.

Kuenzang Thinley

Masters in Economics,

Gujrat University,

Ahmedabad, India

The Sights, Sounds and Souls of Shingkhar; -Some Prominent Service Man From Shingkhar Naktsang

Kuenkhen Longchen Rabjam,
The founding Father of Shingkhar Dechenling

The lineage of Shingkhar Lam established by Tsezang Thaye Drakpa thrived for many centuries. The lineage had produced some of the most rare craftsman and scholars in the community. The important ones were Lam Ja-Boe Ma. As per the oral stories narrated by locals, it is believed that the lama had many supernatural powers. Even though he had not displayed it publicly, Some of his magical trips to Tibet and India in single day  not only astonished the locals but have also baffled them beyond. Some monuments crafted by Lama Ja-Boe Ma are today visible in the form of wooden mask of Lhamo and Goenpo in the Lhakhang. The monuments are displayed for public once in a year (during Shingkhar Rabney)

Few generations after him, one generation of Shingkhar Lam sadly couldn't produce a male heir. However to replace a male heir to the throne of Shingkhar Lam, a Peling descendant from Sumthrang village of Bumthang  Ura was married to a daughter of Shingkhar Lam. His name was Chhoeje Lhamo. Few years into their marriage, they gave birth to three sons, Lama Sonam, Lama Kencho and Lama Jigme.

Subsequently, Lama Sonam, the eldest son, became a very loyal servant to His Majesty Jigme Wangchuck, the second hereditary King of Bhutan. At the court of His Majesty, Lama Sonam was not only known for his stunning good looks but was equally known for his beautiful voice.  He read the most famous epic of Ling Gesar to His  Majesty. On His Majesty's Command, he even sang those epic songs  and entertained His Majesty. 

Sadly Lama Sonam met his untimely demise in India, when he was on a trip to India to buy some household items for the Royal Family. However he had his son to continue his legacy; the late Dasho Karma Galey, who served as a Royal Advisor to His Majesty the fifth King until he passes away on 16th January 2008.

The second son of Chhoeje Lhamo was Lama Kencho. He continued the lineage of Shingkhar Lam. He had two sons. Lama Kunzang Wangchuk, (Popularly known as Dasho Shingkhar Lam) and Lama Nudup (the Current Shingkhar Lama)

Interestingly, when the Lama Sonam passed away, his absence in the Royal court was bridged by his two nephews ( Lama Kunzang Wangchuk and Lama Choney Jamtsho). His Majesty the second king, out of his affection named two of them as 'Lam Chungs' -the little  lamas.

To fill in the boots of his late uncle, Lama Kunzang Wangchuk continued the legacy serving His Majesty with full dedication. In a customary manner he succeeded in entertaining His Majesty with epic of Ling Gesar (like his late uncle) In the mean time, His Majesty sent back Lama Choney Jamtsho back to Shingkhar to continue the lineage of Shingkhar Lam.

The youngest son of Chhoeje Lhamo was Lama Jigme. He moved to Kurtoe and started his family away from the Shingkhar Naktsang. His only son, Lama Choney Jamtsho became the Shingkhar Lama later. The reincarnate of Lama Jigme is none other than the grand son of Shingkhar Lam Kunzang Wangchuk; His name is Lama Ugyen Jigme. He continues to live a very ordinary life with ordinary people. 

Dasho Shingkhar Lam Kunzang Wangchuk

Late Dasho Karma Galey

Lama Ugyen Jigme.

The Sights, Sounds and Souls of Shingkhar; -The Origin of Shingkhar Naktsang

Current Shingkhar Lam Nidup and Dasho Shingkhar Lam
 during one of five day Shingkhar Rabney

Shingkhar is a small village in Bumthang. It has around 30 households and population of little over 500 people. The locals speak native Bumthap and are known for their.....well nothing. The folks are easy going people. More than wealth, they are people who like humor in abundance. Besides rearing yaks and cattles, its a place also known for the great plains and abundant fir trees.

The current location of the village is believed to have been the place from where the great Nyingma Scholar, (popularly known as the Kuenkhen Longchen Rabjam) meditated and propagated Buddhism to his followers in 13th century. Historically, the main village of Shingkhar, also known as the Rinchengang was located  in the South, about a mile from the current location. However the ruins of Rinchengang are still visible. Dechenling and lamas residence were the only dwelling that time. Of eight such 'Lings' which Longchenpa established to also pursue his writings about the Zogpaphenpo, including 'dzoduen', Shingkhar Dechenling happens to be one among them. "Dzoduen" is the most remarkable book written by Longchenpa.

Later, the great grand son of Longchenpa, popularly known as Tsezang Thaye Drakpa became the first Shingkhar Lama.  He was succeeded by his Son, Lama Jaboedm. He later curved wooden statue of his late father, along with the statues of Guru and Drolkar. They are still preserved in Shingkhar Lhakhang. Also the mask of Lhamo and Gyempo along with the the masks of chhoejong (except the horns) are widely believed to have been made by Lama Jaboedma himslef. Today these objects have become the main Nangten of  Shingkhar Lhakhang.

The house in which successive Shinglhar Lams lived was known to locals as 'Naktsang', -the house of lama and his family.



Shingkhar Naktsang.

Understanding CITES Correctly; The Basics.

Picture Courtesy: CITES.org

CITES is one of the biggest and by far the largest wildlife conservation effort at the international level. This international agreement among Governments of the member parties (of 175 countries) is the result of 1963's draft resolution of  International Union for Conservation of Nature. CITES came into being on 1st July 1973 as the Washington Convention. 

The noble cration of CITES was to establish a striking balance between the Human consumption of wildlife and wildlife  recovery in the nature. As such CITES deals only with the International trade in wildlife flora and fauna only ( not domestic) 

Since CITES is a legally binding International convention/agreement  (and not inernational Law)among the member parties, each parties are expected to adopt  a  national law in the  framework of CITES thereby regulating the import and export  (trade) of wildlife flora and fauna.

To facilitate  the international movement of wildlife species, CITES has not only framed a guideline but has also come up classification of all the flora and fauna into different catagories like Appendix I, Appendix II and Appendix III

What is Appendix I ?

These are wildlife species, that are already facing extinction or thteatened  with extinction either by way of internation trade or by way of lavish and unreasonable human gluttony. Trade in these species are illegal (unless otherwise specified with due exceptions accorded in the framework)

some of the examples are:

Specimen	Pictoral Example
Tiger
Red Panda
Gorilla
African Elephant

 Note: Picture courtesy wikipedia.

There are Over 800 species listed in the appendix I. Besides the ones displayed in the pictures (as above) there are others such as Cheetah, Manatees, Jaguar, Asian elephant, Rhinoceros, Lion and Chimpanzees that fall on the same Appendix. Visit www.cites.org for more.

Appendix II 

Species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction but has the high likelihood of facing extinction, unless otherswise regulated are calssified under the appendix ii. International trade may be authorised by way of granting import, export, and re-export permit by the concern management and scientific authorities of the concern countries.  The exporting country however will have to make sure that the export will not affect the survival of the species in his/her native jurisdiction.

Over 33,000 speices are classified under appendix II. The captive breed of the animals and cultivated plants of the appendix I are also classified as Appendix II.  The Example of Appendix II are as follows.

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Species	Pictoral Example
American Black Bear
Great White Shark
African Gray Parrot
Green Iguana
Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra

Picture Courtesy: wikipedia

Appendix III
the species that are not necessarily threatened with global extinction. The species are listed in appendix III if the member country request the CITES body to list one of its antive species as endangered. The trade in such species will only be permited with a trade approval letter for the source contry. For instance, If Bhutan Wants to list Blue Sheep in appendix III, it can do so by requesting CITES.  Few Examples as given as below:

Species	Pictoral Example
Himalayan Blue Sheep (For instance: if Bhutan Requests)
Two Toed Sloth By Costarica
African Civet By Bostava
Alligator Snapping turtle By USA

Note : This is NOT an Expert report. The report is written in lay men's language and lay men's terminology.  The intention of writing this report is to educate my readers on the basic aspect of wildlife flora and fauna.

My Sincere Thanks to All the Concerns for Educating me on Wildlife

His Excellency Lyonpo Pema Gyamtsho,
Hon'ble Minister for Agriculture

Mr. Karma Dukpa,
The Director,
Department of Forest and Park Services

Mr. Sonam Wangchuk,
The Chief,
Wildlife Conservation Division

Mr. Lhendup Tharchen,
Forest Officer,
Department of Forest and Park Services
(Invasive Species, Import Restricted)

Mr. Sonam Wangdi,
Forest Officer,
Department of Forest and Park Services
(Critically endangered,  Listed Appendix I)

Mr. Karma Jigme,
Forest Officer,
Department of Forest and Park Service
(Critically endangered Species)

 Mr. Vivek Menon
  Execuitve Director,
International Fund for Animal Welfare  

Dr.ElSayed mohamed
 Programme manager,
International Fund for Animal Welfare  

Mr. Jose louies, Wildlife Trust of India,
Officer Incharge (Male)
And
 Miss. Radhika  Bhagat,
 Wildlife Trust of India
Officer Incharge (female)

Please Radhika and Jose, Forgive me
for I did not have a better picture than this.
I honestly think two of you deserve a big party
after all those tiring  job of
 arranging all the training materials for us. 

Thank you all for Educating me on Wildlife. Please visit my blog, because I am coming up with all the bits an pieces of wildlife knowledge I gained during the four day training. I hope this will help my readers to also understand about the wildlife like we enforcement agencies do. 

What is CITES ? Part One.

Picture Courtesy: CITES web page.

What is CITES?

 As an enforcement officer, this has been the question I have been asking to myself for the last half decade. Had it not been for the personal invitation of my Friend Mr. Lhendup Tharchen and Sonam Wangdi,  (to attend an in depth  training on CITES) I would have still been in the realm of obliviousness. I thank my Boss. Mrs. Yeshey Seldon, for consenting and agreeing to my proposal. Her approval has enabled me to represent my Department in the four day training (even though I missd one valuable day) and in the process allowed me to gain insignt as to What CITES and wildlfe are all about.

Since this is a very vast topic, I would like to share my experience with my readers in diferent parts. I hope my report will help every readers understand more about the consequences of unreasonable and lavish consuming of wildlife products in the form of 8 'F's. Namely: Food, Furniture, 'F'arma (medicines) Fuel, Fooder, Fashion, Fun and Folklore/fable.

I hope my report will also instill some sense of compassion in the heart of every individual for human are the total embodiment of compassion. As a human we know we have unmatched intelligence compared to the other species with whom we share our habitat. But at this juncture, let us also use our human intelligence in practically applying the concept of sustainability, durability and conservation when it comes to harvesting the wilflife products.

By the way the full form of CITES is: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild life flora and fauna.  

My Second Daughter Turns Three.

On 12th July, 2011 My second daughter turned three. As much as she was happy I was equally happy too. My wife invited few of my daughters friends (mostly our neighbors) to grace the occasion. 

I ordered a cake that weighed little over a kilo. The decoration on the cake made my daughters go frenzy. They in fact wanted to eat the cake even before the actual celebration. I had hard time convincing them about the right time to eat the cake. 

I also bought over 50 balloons in different colors. Before I could actually inflate and hang them on the wall, my youngest daughter already blasted few of them in her jubilation. 

As my mother-in-law and granny cooked meals inside the kitchen, the guests started arriving.  My youngest daughter was at the reception contour. She received all the guests in a language which no linguist would have even understood. They were all served with tea and snacks. Little ones were treated with litchi juice, coco cola and orange juice. 

They all sang the common song as follows:

Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you 

Happy birthday to dear Sonam Dechen Thinley.

Happy birthday to you.

 After the song, my daughter stood amazed and dazed. She received gifts from her friends. Some of them presented her a beautiful skirts, while some also presented her with most valuable books and color pencils. Few even gave her a cash birthday gift!

I told the baker not to put my daughter's name on the cake. I did this because, I wholeheartedly think slicing my daughter's name is not a good thing. I even did not want the candle to be blown off. So before they started feasting, I removed the candle (still burning) to a safe place and let it burn all through. 

In my truest traditional sense, I also lit a butter lamp in my alter.  I prayed for my daughter to have plenty of good things in her life. In general, I prayed for the well being of all the innocent children around the world.