My Dad in The News.

As Reported By Kuensel, Bhutan's National News Paper. 

༉ བུམ་ཐང་རྫོང་ཁག་ ཨུ་ར་ཤིང་མཁར་གྱི་ གཡུས་ཚན་དེ་ སྔོན་དང་ཕུ་ལས་ར་ ལ་ནོར་ལུ་ འཚོ་བ་བརྟེན་སྡོད་མི་ཨིནམ་ལས་ ས་གནས་ཀྱི་ མི་སེར་ཚུ་ རང་མགོ་རང་འདྲོངས་སྦེ་ སྡོད་མི་ཅིག་ཨིན་རུང་ རྒྱལ་ཁབ་གོང་འཕེལ་འགྱོ་མི་ལུ་བརྟེན་ ལུང་གཤོང་དེ་ནང་ གཡག་གསོ་སྐྱོང་ལམ་སྲོལ་དེ་ མར་ཉམས་འགྱོ་དོ་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།

དེ་ཡང་ འདས་པའི་ལོ་ངོ་བཅུ་ཕྲག་༡ དེ་ཅིག་ལས་འགོ་བཙུགས་ ཨུ་རའི་མི་ཚུ་གིས་ གཡག་རུ་ཁག་སྦེ་ དབང་འདུས་ཕོ་བྲང་རྫོང་ཁག་ ཀློང་སྟོད་དང་ ཀློང་སྨད་ཀྱི་ འབྱོགཔ་ཚུ་ལུ་ བཙོང་ཡོདཔ་ལས་ ཧེ་མ་ གཡག་ལེ་ཤ་ཡོད་མི་ ཁྱིམ་གུང་༢༠ དེ་ཅིག་ཡོད་རུང་ ད་རེས་ནངས་པ་ ཤིང་མཁར་ལུ་ གཡག་རུ་ཁག་སྦེ་ གསོ་སྐྱོང་འཐབ་མི་ ཁྱིམ་གུང་༡ མ་གཏོགས་མེདཔ་ཨིན་པས།

ཕ་བརྒྱུད་བུ་བརྒྱུད་སྦེ་ ལ་ནོར་འཚོ་སྐྱོང་འཐབ་མི་ ཨཔ་བསོད་ནམས་ཀྱིས་ ཁོ་རའི་བུ་དང་ བུམོ་ཚུ་གིས་ གཡག་ཚུ་བཙོང་དགོཔ་སྦེ་སླབ་རུང་ དང་ཕུའི་ལམ་སྲོལ་ལུ་ གཞི་འཛིན་འབད་དེ་ ཉན་མ་བཏུབ་ཨིན་པས།

ཁོ་གི་བུ་ ཀུན་བཟང་གིས་ སླབ་མིའི་ནང་ ཁོང་ཨ་ལུ་ཚུ་ག་ར་ སྦོམ་ཐལ་ཡོདཔ་མ་ཚད་ ལ་ལུ་ཤེས་ཡོན་སྦྱང་ཚར་ཏེ་ ལཱ་གཡོག་ནང་ཡོདཔ་ལས་ ལོ་དང་ན་ཚོད་རྒས་པའི་ ནམ་དུས་ལུ་ ལ་ཁ་ལས་ཕར་ ལ་ནོར་འཚོ་སྟེ་ སྡོད་དགོཔ་མིན་འདུག་ཟེར་མནོ་སྟེ་ ཨ་པ་ལུ་ གཡག་ཚུ་བཙོང་སྦེ་ ཁོང་ཨ་ལུ་ཚུ་དང་གཅིག་ཁར་ སྐྱིད་ཏོང་ཏོ་སྦེ་ སྡོད་ད་ཟེར་ ག་དེམ་ཅིག་སླབ་རུང་ཉན་མ་བཏུབ་ཟེར་ཨིན་པས།

སྐྱེས་ལོ་ ༧༥ ལང་མི་ ཨཔ་བསོད་ནམས་ཀྱིས་ ཁོ་གི་མི་ཚེ་ ལ་ནོར་དང་གཅིག་ཁར་སྐྱོང་སྟེ་ ལོ་ངོ་༌མང༌རབ་ཅིག་ སོང་ཡོདཔ་ལས་ གཡག་མེད་པར་ རྩ་ལས་ར་ སེམས་ཆགས་མི་ཚུགས་ཟེར་སླབ་སྟེ་ བཙོང་མ་བཏུབ་ཨིན་པས།

ཨིན་རུང་ ད་རེས་ནངས་པ་ ཨཔ་བསོད་ནམས་དེ་ གཡག་ཚུ་ལུ་ བརྩེ་གདུང་དང་ ཞེན་ཆགས་ཀྱིས་ གཞན་ལུ་བཙོང་ནི་དེ་ སེམས་ཀྱིས་བཟོད་མ་ཚུགས་རུང་ ལོ་ན་རྒས་པའི་སྟབས་ཀྱིས་ ལ་ཁ་ལས་ཕར་ ལ་ནོར་ཚུ་ འཚོ་སྐྱོང་འཐབ་ནི་དང་ བལྟ་ནི་ལུ་ གཟུགས་ཀྱི་ལྕོགས་གྲུབ་མེད་མི་ལུ་བརྟེན་ ཁོ་གི་གཡག་དང་འབྱིམོ་ མཛོ་དང་མཛོ་མོ་ བསྡོམས་༥༠ དེ་ཅིག་ཡོད་མི་དེ་ བཙོང་དགོ་པའི་ གནས་སྟངས་ནང་ ལྷོད་ཡོདཔ་ཨིན་པས།

ཁོ་གི་ བུ་ཅིག་གིས་ སླབ་མིའི་ནང་ ཁོང་གི་གཡག་ཚུ་ གཞན་ཁར་བཙོང་ནི་དེ་ ཨ་པ་ལུ་ སེམས་ཀྱི་ན་ཟུག་སྦོམ་ཡོད་རུང་ ཐབས་ར་མིན་འདུག་ཟེར་ཨིནམ་ད་ མ་བཙོང་པར་བཞག་རུང་ འཕྲལ་ཁམས་ཅིག་ཁར་ ཤིང་མཁར་གྱི་ རྩྭ་ཐང་ནང་ གཡག་༡༠༠ དེ་ཅིག་ཚེ་ཐར་ བཏང་ཡོད་མི་ཚུ་ ལྟ་རྟོག་འབད་མི་ག་ཡང་མེད་པར་ ག་ལྷོད་སར་ བཏང་བཞག་ཡོད་མི་དེ་གིས་ དོ་འགྲན་སྦོམ་བྱུང་སྟེ་ཡོད་ཟེར་ཨིན་པས།

ཨཔ་བསོད་ནམས་ཀྱིས་ གཡག་ཉོ་མི་ཅིག་ ད་ལྟོ་ འཚོལ་བའི་བསྒང་ཡོདཔ་ད་ ཁོ་གི་ གཡག་ཚུ་ བཙོང་ཚུགས་པ་ཅིན་ ཤིང་མཁར་གྱི་ རྩྭ་འབྲོག་དེ་ནང་ རྩྭ་བཟའ་མི་ ཚེ་ཐར་བཏང་མི་ གཡག་ཚུ་ཡོད་རུང་ ཤིང་མཁར་ལུ་ གཡག་གསོ་སྐྱོང་འཐབ་སྟེ་ ཐོན་སྐྱེད་འབད་མི་ག་ཡང་མི་འོང་ནི་ཨིན་པས།

ད་ལྟོ་ དཔལ་འབྱོར་རིག་པའི་ གཙུག་ལག་ཤེས་ཡོན་སྦྱང་པའི་བསྒང་ཨིན་མི་ ཀུན་བཟང་གིས་ སླབ་མིའི་ནང་ ཨ་པ་གིས་ གཡག་བཙོང་མ་བཏུབ་པར་ བཞག་མི་དེ་ཡང་ གཅིག་ལས་བལྟ་བ་ཅིན་ དོན་དག་སྦོམ་འདུག་ཟེར་ཨིནམ་ད་ དེ་ཡང་ཤིང་མཁར་གྱི་ རྩྭ་ཐང་དེ་ རྩེད་ཐང་ལུ་ བསྒྱུར་བཅོས་འབད་ནི་གི་ གྲོས་འཆར་བཀོད་མི་ ཐོན་ཡོད་རུང་ མི་མང་གིས་ སྒོ་ནོར་གྱི་དོན་ལུ་ རྩྭ་འབྲོག་སྦེ་ སྤྱོད་ནི་ཨིན་ཟེར་སླབ་སྟེ་ མ་བྱིན་པར་ སྲུང་སྐྱོབ་འབད་ཚུགས་ཡོདཔ་བཞིན་དུ་ དེ་ནང་ སྔར་སྲོལ་ལྟར་དུ་ ལ་ནོར་གསོ་སྐྱོང་འབད་མི་ ག་ཡང་མེདཔ་ལས་ ཁོ་གི་ ཨ་པ་གིས་ ཉམས་མ་བཅུག་པར་ བཞག་བཞགཔ་བཟུམ་ཅིག་འདུག་ཟེར་ཨིན་པས།

ཨིན་རུང་ ལ་ནོར་གྱི་ གསོ་སྐྱོང་ལམ་ལུགས་དེ་ ཉམས་འགྱོ་ནི་གི་ དུམ་ཁར་ལྷོད་ཡོདཔ་ལས་ འཕྲལ་མགྱོགས་ར་ ལོ་རྒྱུས་རྐྱངམ་གཅིག་ལུ་ འགྱུར་ནི་མས་ཟེར་ བཤདཔ་ཨིན་པའི་གནས་ཚུལ།

To All Shingkhar People

A Typical Pasture land for Yaks in Shingkhar 

Any one know why so many "tsedar yaks" have been brought to Shingkhar ? this is my personal concern to some extent general concern of all Shingkharpas. Its good that some people are getting involved in saving the lives of those innocent animals. But my question is that to what extent and how long? I am happy to know that so many innocent animals have found heaven in Shingkhar. But My concern is again to what end??? 

Not long ago we all, in union fought against a foreign idea of golf course in the name of conservation and preservation of Shinkgkhar's tradition. I think all of us stood firm and strong and won the battle in question. 

Now that we have so many influx of Tsedar yaks (more than 100 now and still more to come) Given a limited grazing area, Isn't this going to pose a serious threat to the survival of local livestock? Isn't this going to create over grazing in our limited pasture land? Isn't this going to degrade our limited pasture land in times to come? Isn't this going to hamper the productivity of our local livestock? Can we know the reason why those Tsogpas have chosen to transfer all those animals in Shingkhar alone? ?

It may be noble initiative saving lives of any beings but it doesn't mean it should come at the cost of some people's livelihood. 

Being a yak rearing family, my family is first in line who is affected. The huge number of wild yaks roaming in the common pasture land have created havoc and have made it very difficult for my dad and sister to look after our heard. As much as they are havoc they are found to be menace for the survival of our herd.

Now my dad is going to up yak rearing. Although there are various other reasons, this happens to be the prime reason. Tomorrow it it could be any one who will have to give up cattle rearing.

By the way, I am amazed to know that all Shingkharpas have become Buddhisatowas overnight.......

have a god day folks

Yak Nearing Extinction in Shingkhar

More than five years ago, I persuaded my father to sell off his most prized possessions. It consisted of little over 50 yaks, both males and females, milking as well as non-milking.  The reasons were simple and straight. Notwithstanding an adverse economic implication at home, I wanted my parents to come out from that nomadic life for once and for good. As an educated son with a decent job, honestly, I couldn’t bear to see my parents still toiling after beasts in the wilderness, -all round the season.

But I was surely not the first offspring to persuade him. In the past, many such attempts have been made by my elder siblings too, but none succeeded in influencing dad. Those radical advices and persuasions simply failed to lure or divert dad’s perspective.

Having survived the harshest possible life thus far, it was his notion that living his life, his way, on his terms was something that amused him more than anything else. As an ardent hard working farmer, laboring was something he cherished and so were his hardships with yaks in the high up mountains. To him it was just another season that would pass like any other ordinary days.

In all those long years, I thought my dad was right. I thought he has made an apt decision not to relinquish his possessions, because Shingkhar has been for ages, an ideal place for yak rearing and therefore his decision to continue the legacy of yak rearing was right by many folds.-He was right culturally. He was more right traditionally, ecologically and economically.

But with time and space even the fortitude as that of my dad’s is also subject to change. Change can neither be imposed nor can be forced. Such is the state of affair with my dad now. He now realizes that his ailing health is no longer energetic to answer the calls of the duty. He feels the crippling effect of old age. With no more options left, he is now on verge of becoming the last Shingkharpa to relinquish yaks for good.

His relinquishment would mean that yak is facing extinction in Shingkhar! the worst nightmare, long feared by my dad are soon becoming reality. While making that decision, My dad surely must have felt thousand steel hammers beating and tearing his heart apart.

My dad Milking yak

When the yaks are long gone from Shingkhar, 

I will remember them as follows:

I grew up with yaks, 

They are the animals that my dad loved 

Because they were source of our livelihood.

On my rare trips to his domicile, 

I remember myself being fed with butter 

That sized larger than the plate 

And a tea prepared not with water 

But with cent percent milk. 

In summers he would go lavish 

Sending me and my siblings 

A parcels of butter wrapped in etho-metho leaves 

And cheese in white sacks. 

I am 32 plus

My Birthday Cake

My birthdays used to be a very insignificant days. Let alone celebrating, I would not even remember it correctly. Unless I have a business to fill up my official forms, my birthdays would just remain there on the calendar and would pass like any other day without even being noticed. 

It went unheard and unnoticed, because I come from a place and a family, where birthday celebrations are not very widespread. The idea and the culture of celebrating birthday being relatively foreign, I have NO or very LESS incentive to get excited and elated on my –so called birthdays. 

But this years’ is a different story. With my friends from Ahmadabad, who value their birthdays over and above any other important days, it appeared thousand percent unlikely that my birthday would pass unnoticed this year. As we marched in to March month, I could finally sense my birthday excitement level growing within me as well. 

Finally on 13th March, it was my birthday. I called off a day from my college. It was self-declared holiday for me and my three friends. 

They took me to a place from where Gandhiji advocated doctrine of non violence. They gave me a gift which I had in my wishlist and a card that read, 

7 things for a Happy Birthday. 

7. HOPE that makes you believe and do the impossible 

6. DESIRE, that makes you want despite all odds 

5. PATIENCE, that never allows you to give up 

4. FAITH that makes you trust the calling of your heart 

3. TRUST, that makes you rely on your own unseen powers 

2. DETERMINATION, which keeps going in the journey of fulfillment 

1. UNDERSTANDING, that you have everything that makes a winner. 

I was overwhelmed by the plans and gifts my friends had for me. We lunched in one of the best restaurant and went for a movie which featured my favorite actress. It was by far the most memorable day of my life. I couldn’t thank my friends in words. 

When the dusk fell, we called off the day. That evening, I went to bed thinking, as to why my daughters are so much fond of celebrating their birthdays or attending others birthdays.

(I Would like to thank all my friends both near and far who wished me on facebook) 

A brief history of Tobacco

Tobacco Plant

The history of tobacco cultivation goes as far as 3000 years. (even Buddha was not born) The people in America grew the plant for various reasons.  They in fact cultivated the plant for medicinal purposes. It is also widely believed that people grew it to appease the spirit and heal the pain of a sick.  In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered tobacco in Cuba and he later imported it to Europe for the first time. There the tobacco was simply used as an ornamental plant.

Later in 16^th Century it was declared as a “universal medicine” by Doctor Phillippe II.  Somewhere, during the reign of Louis the XIII, tobacco was consumed both as a medicine and was also smoked in pipes out of pleasure. Since then the smoking of the tobacco plant began which ignited many revolutions and evolutions in the human history.

It was in 7^th century, that a Buddhist saint Guru Rimpoche declared tobacco contrary to what Europeans and Americans did. -So called the “universal medicine” and  “Queen’s herb” was declared evil. This attracted many interpretations from the intellectuals far and near. To me, I firmly believe that Guru Rimpoche must have declared tobacco as an evil out his compassion because tobacco when excessively consumed caused Physical infirmaries which ultimately led to the loss of precious life. This loss brought unbearable sufferings not only to the souls of deceased  but also took away solace of those surviving and bereaved ones. Since Buddhism as a way of life (or as a religion) is based on compassion and kindness, anything that took away happiness was considered evil (dhue)

Long after Guru was gone, Zhabdrung enacted tobacco law in Bhutan, which became the first tobacco law (for the monastic body). If what Guru Rimpoche declared was a bill then it became law during Zhabdring’s time.  Bhutan for the first time must have had a tobacco control law until we had the recent law of 2010.

 

Shingkhar Rabney Part 4

Yeedam

The life size copper statue of Buddha, known as the yeedam to locality is one of the most sanctified and chief relic housed in Shingkhar Lhakhnag. It is also known as Yeedam Khamsum Zoelnon. Although its history and origin are not much known, (even to the majority of the locals) the statue is revered to as the wish granting object besides being worshipped as Buddhist artifact. 

This wish granting stuff might sound little naive and silly. But if you are a Buddhist, then It might sound little remarkable and captivating.

Long time ago, a tax collector from the court of erstwhile Debraja visited Shingkhar. Little did he realize that he was there for a dual purpose? –he was there to not only collect taxes, but on repeated persuasion from the locals, he was also there to make a secret wish that was going to have a lasting impact in his life. 

Although, his wishes were not explicitly revealed, implicitly, it was his wish to become Paro Penlop in a very foreseeable future. Should the wish come true, he then made a secret vow to install Golden Pinnacle (serthok) on the roof of Shingkhar Lhakhang in gratitude.

Amazingly, the tax collector, popularly known as Agay Haap became Paro Penlop shortly. Not only that, he also become the first person to install serthok on the roof Shingkhar Lhakhang as promised.

There are many such stories. If anybody is interested, then please visit Shingkhar Lhakhang. Remember me, if your wishes come true.

Serthok of Shingkhar Lhakhang 

Shingkhar Rabney, Part 3

Shingkhar has been a place of mystery for eons. It still continues to be. Shingkhar is a place known not only  for innocent yet intriguing people, but is also known for its rituals and relics it has in abundance. 

Of many such relics, the the mask dance of Lhamo and Gyembo are the towering show piece by any measure. Perchance, they are the specialty of the region whose sacredness awes many mortals. By locals' definition, the history of these dance are as old and as untraceable as the history of the universe itself.

However, sources, tend to suggest that, those mask dances were initially composed and initiated by second Shingkhar Lama, known as Lama Jabodma. Lama Jabodma was the son of first Shingkhar Lam, Tsezang Thaye Drakpa, who in turn was the great gand son of great Nyingmapa master Longchen Rabjam.

The current mask of Lhamo and Gyembo are believed to have been curved by Lama Jabodma himself.  It was  believed that Lama Jabodma and many other magical powers. 

According to locals', Lama had the supernatural power with which he toured India and Tibet in a single day. Perhaps, that's why he was named Lama Ja (meaning India) Bod (meaning Tibet)

 Literally, Lhamo is a female Goddess and Gyembo is a Male God. Lhamo is in white clad, Gyembo in dark blue. They are considered as the Choesungs (the guardian deities, who protect Buddha, Dharma and Sangya) of the region. In Bhutan there are many such Lhamos and Gyembos. Accordingly, Lhamo in Shingkhar is  Durthrod Lhamo (?) and Gyembo, Gyembo Maning.  

Shingkhar Rabney is the only occasion to see these dances. 

Shingkhar Rabney, Part 2

Dear friends and folks,

Chath Dorji here.

Well, the thing of Rabney is long over and gone. I am now back in Golaipang, safe and sound with my family. I had the most memorable Rabney of my life. I think I will never forget the happy moments I had with happy folks of Shingkhar. 

When I was a young boy, My mysterious father and mother would always tell me stories about the mythical Lhamo and  terrifying Gyembo. One story that I vividly remember is the story  about Choejong, their Yak,  who farted so bad that  it blew up the nose of Gyembo on their way back to Golaipang after Rabney. That's why  today, Gyembo has a nose, that looks somewhat flattened with its tip raised.

That is just one side of the story. (especially for curious kids) 

The real story, as far as the history goes is that, it goes as back to the time of great Nyingpa master, Longchen  Rabjam himself. It is believed that when Longchenpa was mediating in the Tibetan region called Gangri Thoed Kar, the mermaid, (Tshomen) who resided in the lake called Mapham Yumtsho invited the master on many occasions. Although he rejected the initial invitations, he however consented at last to visit the lake once. 

When he finally visited the lake, the mermaid requested him to discover something from the lake as Ter (treasure). As requested, Longchenpa discovered a pair of white horn that belonged to a yak. 

The master carried those pair of horns with him to Shingkhar. Later when Longchenpa established his seat in Shingkhar, those pair of horns became the main relic of Shingkhar Lhakhang. 

Many years after Longchenpa, his disciples composed a dance of a yak. They used the same horn which Longchenpa carried from Tibet. It came to be known as Choejong.  Today it is considered as the most sacred relic of the valley. 

This is Our New Year

Picture Courtesy: Facebook (Turtle tree)

Going by the Bhutanese calender, our new year starts today. Today marks the beginning of lunar-male-water-dragon year. We call it Losar, -the new year.

Even though Losar is traditionally a new year, It mean lot more than that.  There are people who consider it as holy and auspicious. People make resolutions, exchange gifts and make endless good wishes for each other. 

For me, Losars are always a great moments. It brings me immense joy, both in terms of remembering the past and valuing the present. It gives me the strength and will power to march into an uncertain future with an air of confidence.  

In the words of my Hero, -My father, he told me that, on Losar days, one should never indulge into something that is just as bad as the 'bad' because, Losars are time to celebrate good moments and forgive and forget the harsh experiences. He also told me that, one should sing aloud and smile a lot, because its only when you sing and smile, that the world around you sings and smiles back at you.

With this I would like to wish all my readers a happy and fulfilling year of Dragon.

Tashi Delek

For My King on His Birthday

Our Beloved King

Long time a go when I was a care free lad,

I celebrated my King's Birthday. 

My King's Birthday meant only few things;

Feasting, Dancing, Singing, Playing and Going home

Now that I am 32 like my King,

I celebrate my King's Birthday.

But for a reason so dear and precious

I celebrate many things now;

I celebrate the Humility and Humanity of my King,

I celebrate the Wisdom and Simplicity of my King

I celebrate the Visions and Dreams of my King

I celebrate  the The Buddha Nature of my King 

And Many more..

Your Majesty,

I wish you all the joys and all the Happiness 

May you continue to lead us in to the era of 

more peace 

Long Live my King

Continued.....Sleeping Bull and Plunging Tiger

Picture Courtesy: Wikipedia

I had to come home rejected and dejected because, my set of documents would never work. It meant that that I had to take internet connection in one of my friend's name (My Indian friend)

Then the next day, I went to the same office. I had all the documents ready. I was so eager and was dying to get my connection back. I told the lady at the counter to make haste and provide me the fastest possible service. As a customer, I thought I was King and I expected the commercial world to treat me like one. But ironically, I ended up becoming a king that begged. Even after the submission of documents, I was told to wait for 72 hours. Things took crazier turns and I became ever more aware about how that company was robbing me off!

I was not only the most infuriated customer that day. There were several others who sounded more disappointed and more unhappy about the services. 

With deep sense of regret, I finally returned home. 72 hours wait was long enough loose all my trust in that company (especially customer care). With the exclusion of weekends from those 72 hours, my wait became even longer. I had to wait for more than 5 more days! 

After those 5 grueling days. It was even more disappointing. I was still barred from using the net work. By then I was angry beyond the plunging tiger. I have already spent few hundreds going to that office and calling different people. I knew I was wasting not only my resources but I was also loosing lot of energy and time. Most important of all, I was loosing my patience.

I went there in person as to find what the f* problem was. But the lady in the counter, with an air of confidence told me that, I would be connected to net by evening. But I never felt assured.

True to my prediction There was no net even after all those waiting hours. I felt exhausted and tired, I felt the strongest sense of betrayal. I rushed to the office Thinking it could be my last, but only to find out that my connection request being rejected for apparently no big reason. I felt ashamed. More than that I felt miserable and humiliated.   

I asked the person as to what I should do to get the connection. I also asked him what was the big deal in it. It was even more painful because, those people were not understanding what I had to say. Their English was equally miserable like their Hindi. (may be they preferred speaking Gujarati in order to avoid me)

I went back to the lady in the counter and made my last plea. After few minutes, she referred me to her colleague. Her colleague looked energetic and was full of energy. He showed my rejected application form. He also told me the reason for the rejection. It was the signature of my friend where c and e were slightly different in their size. Wooww what an observation !!!!!!

The event that followed was even more shocking. He filled up a new form for me and then FORGED my friend's signature. Spellbound and dazed, I asked him whether that was OK. He nodded 'yes'. He told me to wait for at least 24 hours.

The next morning was a miracle, His forged signature worked and I got the internet connection.

Sleeping Bull and Plunging Tiger!

Picture Courtesy: Google

Picture Courtesy: Google

Of all the predictions made by an astrologer about me, two of his predictions have always bewildered me. He predicted that I could be anything between a sleeping bull and a plunging tiger! 

I am not aware and sure as to whether I am a sleeping lazy bull or a furious plunging tiger. All I can say is that, by nature, I am a very patient, calm and peace loving man. Just like my Buddhist Gurus, I do believe in being patient, calm and compassionate to other beings around. 

But that was until I met an over enthusiastic sales person who came to deliver the data card for Internet connection (I am  not naming the company) to my room. As I paid the money, the sales person with his bright smile, assured that I would be given the best possible services. For this I only had to complete a small formality which consisted of submitting my student ID card and a small passport size photograph. 

For a moment I thought “what a customer service” 

But sadly after few days, I wasn’t able to get the connection. I called the same person immediately and as expected he was swift to respond to my call. He told me that formalities will be completed towards the evening after which I would be getting the (internet) services. 

In a mean time, I also called the customer care service center several times. but to my dismay the person on the phone kept on telling me that I am yet to complete my formalities. In a mean time I kept my fingers crossed and waited for the net to return. 

But when I failed to receive the services after three long days, I became little concerned. I became more anxious. So I called him again. But that time it was a lady on the other end. She spoke to me in Hindi and told he that the concern person was out for a wedding party. But very outrageously, I overheard someone murmuring in the phone and the lady was simply parroting the same. As soon as she finished parroting, she puts off the phone. Damn it! 

I called him the next morning. To my amazement he told me I should go myself to the office to complete my formalities. If that was the case then why did he take my documents in the first place? I also questioned him as to why he failed to inform me about the impending problem. Surprisingly, that sales man was not in a mood of consoling his customer, but rather he was in a mood to argue with his customer. I yelled at him and he yelled at me even louder. And to avoid my other round of ramblings, he puts off his phone. 

It was the most horrible state of affair. I felt my blood pressure surge. I could even sense myself becoming deaf, blind and dumb. More than the money I lost, it was painful, losing my temper. I realized how an angry man loses his reasoning power. 

The next day I went to the office myself but had to come back more dejected and rejected......

To be continued..................

Dzongkha Typing Practice

བུ་མོ་་

བུ་ལེགས་པའི་དགའ་མཛུམ་འདི་་་་་་ཨའི་་་་་ཧིངས་ཚ་བས།།

ཧིངས་ཚ་བའི་ཞལ་རས་འདི་་་་་་་་་་་ཨའི་་་་་དཀར་གསལ་་འདྲ།།

བུ་ཚུ་་

ངེའི་བུ་མོའི་གསུངས་སྐད་འདི་་་་་་་་ཨའི་་་་་ཁུ་འབྱུ་འདྲ།།

གསུངས་ཧན་པའི་ཁུ་འབྱུ་འདི་་་་་་་་་ཨའི་་་་་ཁྲུལ་ལྷང་ལྷང་།།

བུ་མོ་

མཛེས་པའི་དཀར་གསལ་ཟླ་བ་འདི།།  དགའ་མཛུམ་ལེགས་པའི་འོད་ཟེར་ཤར།།

གཟུགས་གཞི་ལེགས་པའི་མེ་ཏོ་འདི།།  ཡུམ་ཡུམ་རླུང་གྱིས་དཀྲོག་དོ་བཟུམ།།

བུ་ཚུ་་ 

ཤོག་་་ཤོག་་ཤོག་ཤོག་ཚུར་ཤོག།  ལེགས་པའི་བཟང་མོ་ཤོག།

བུ་ཚུ་་ 

གསུངས་ཧན་པའི་ཁུ་འབྱུ་འདི་་་་་་་་་ཨའི་་་་འཕུར་མ་སོང་།།

ངེས་སེམས་ཀྱི་ལྗོན་ཤིང་འགུར་་་་་་་་ཨའི་་་བཞུགས་གནང་མས།།

བུ་མོ་་

ཟེར་གསལ་བའི་དཀར་གསལ་འདི་་་་་་་་་ཨའི་་་་་ནུབ་མ་སོང་།།

ངེས་སེམས་ཀྱི་འཛམ་གླིང་ནང་་་་་་་་་ཨའི་་་་ཤར་གནང་མས།།

བུ་ཚུ་་ 

བྱམ་རྩེ་ཆེ་བའི་བུམོ་ཁྱོད་ཀྱི།།  མཉམ་ཆུང་ངེས་ཀྱི་གདོང་འདི་སྨོ།།

དཀར་གསལ་ཟླཝ་ལུ་འགྱུར་མི་འདི།།  དགའ་ཚོར་སེམས་ཀྱི་འབག་མ་འཐད།།

ཕོ་དང་མོ་་

ཤོ་་་་་་་ཤོ་་ཤོ་ཤོ་ཚུར་ཤོག།  ལེགས་པའི་བཟང་མོ་ཤོག།

To My Dearest Wife, My Home

Away from you,

Separated by time, space and distance,

I start my days mostly bewildered,

At times lonely,

And mostly with my heart,

Ever aching and ever more yearning

Without you, solitude is no bliss;

It’s a lonesome in excess,

Often do I lament in surfeit,

Not because I like my present least,

But, I love my home more

Home is a place of grace,

It endows love in bountiful.

Home is a hearth,

It endows warmth in abundance 

Home is the star of North,

That misleads not a soul

Home brings eternal delight.

It transforms dreams to reality.

Home takes your hand,

But touches your heart

O Dear,

I am so grateful; I have a home like you

With my warmest regards and felicitation,

I write this epistle

To let you know

That you are my Life’s drawing that needs no eraser.

Love you and happy Valentine’s Day

Can Love Happen Twice?

I have finished reading “Can Love Happen Twice” By Ravindher Singh. It is continuation of his first book “I Too Had a Love Story”. As is obvious from the title, it’s a love story. It’s a love story that has touched the hearts of millions around the world. As claimed by some, it has truly been the most sensational and heart melting book ever written by an Indian author in his prime age. 

The way Ravin brings forth his story is mesmerizing. His free flowing lines with powerful feelings are touching and unforgettable. His absolute sense of humility is what brings his readers even closer to him. He portrays himself as a fun loving, caring, committed, dedicated, hard working and honest man. This means that he was a very good human being. 

But most often than not, bad things only happens to good people. Ravin was one such person. When bad things happens to good people, even gods are helpless. God couldn't help Ravin in realizing his beautiful days with his charming Lady of life, -Khushi, whom he met online but loved her so dearly. 

As tragedy befalls tragedy, Ravin succumbs to yet another tragedy in his miserable and grief stricken life. His hope of new beginning. -the beginning that was as colorful and as radiant as the rainbow of the prime spring fades just like the the one. His new found love and hope, Simar, leaves him alone once again. Dejected and heart broken, Ravin looses everything, but fortunately or unfortunately, he survives a fatal hit by a speeding truck in the traffic. 

That is not the end.

Author of bestselling book lands up in a rehabilitation center. Credit goes to women wine and.........(i forgot the other one) they are nothing but men's weakness. 

There is lot more. So find it out........

Shingkhar Rabney, Part I

Shingkhar Ranbey 2008

Shingkhar Rabney concluded on 2nd Feb 2012, (which coincides with the 10th day of 12th month in Bhutanese calendar) It’s an annual event that lasts for 5 days. Locally, those five days are considered auspicious and sacred. They are considered most important for many reasons. 

Firstly, even though the significance of Rabney extends far beyond, for locals, it is considered as an annual event honoring our local deities for all the blessings and protections they have rendered in the past year. Besides, it is also an event where folks celebrate their past success and embark on the new beginning. 

Secondly, Rabney is a unique local event, observed in the loving memory of our ancestors. They are remembered for all the hardships and pains they have endured to preserve this beautiful culture and tradition. It is with each passing Rabney, that the architects of Shingkhar are immortalized in the hearts of Shingkharpas. 

Thirdly, Rabney is an important social event that unites the family and long lost relatives. It is often on Rabney that parents see their children who have moved to a far off place. It is also time for all the folks to call off the days form mundanely chores and sing and soak, heart and soul  in local brew -ara and cingchang.

Not My Resolutions Please

New year eve is long gone and dead. This means that the time to make resolutions, promises and wishes are over for now (at least)  

But writing this piece, I find it rather strange. It surely looks like I am penning my resolutions and bucket list. But mind you, I have never made any new year resolutions till date. I believe resolutions can be made anytime. There is no rule of thumb which says that resolutions, promises and wishes can be only made during new year time. I believe that each day in it self is new beginning and that there is no requirement to bring out list of resolutions that  are surely going to be ignored or forgotten.

So, here are some of the things that lingers in my mind. But once again, these are not my resolutions or promises in their remotest sense. 

1.  Always begin my day with a prayer. 

2.  I will never bite more than I can actually chew.

3.  Love my family more. 

4.  Treat my health as my ultimate wealth

5.  Someday learn to ride bicycle

6.  Never say things which I don't mean it

7.  Read more and write more.

8.  Thank my parents everyday for making me who I am

9.  Always remember Life is not long 

10. Thank god for giving me this wonderful life.

I am Back

I feel terribly sorry for not being able to update my blog. Thanks to my busy student life. A thing of syllabus coverage, exams, assignments, presentations  and classes all day long are claiming lions share of my time. 

Not only that, I had to go home in between to meet meet my family and parents. That separated me further form internet services. Even though my University did not have the provision of break after my exams, I had to declare one for myself, so that I could visit spend my time with my family and parents back home. 

I was more busy at home than in college. I was busy baby sitting my daughters. I was also busy meeting my siblings and relatives. Most of all I was with my father-in-law,who broke his leg in motor accident. It was the most difficult time in my life. Seeing him limp ached my heart and made me more helpless. I was also with my father, who have grown old and weak because of the stroke he suffered year ago. It was even harder being bid boon voyage by a choking father-in-law and sobbing father on my way back.

I reached Ahmedabad, -my home-away-from-home after nearly spending a month with my family. To my surprise, I have found the place way too colder than I have anticipated. Not only that, there was also other thing that surprised me. Our wifi signals have completely disappeared from the air. With this I came to realize that there is no free lunch in Ahmedabad and that free riding has its limits.

Now that I bought a TATA Photon services, I hope I could pursue the thing that enchants me most,-Blogging. 

Some Sketches by My Sister.

Me.

My Daughter, Peldhen

My Daughter, Sonam 

My Daughter, Nima

Random Pictures

I feel sorry for not being able to update my blog for quite sometime now. Worse, I couldn't even wish all my readers and friends a very Happy new year in a deserving manner. So here, I am with few randomly uploaded pictures from my recent trip to Bumthang all the way from Gujarat.

Greptong la.

Stupas in Shingkhar, that are as old as the age 

Mountain in the north of Bumthang, Name it..

Monkeys in Chendhenbji

Scenes still  from "Travellers and Magicians"

"Road not taken" in Thinphu Finally taken for Handicraft shop

Bliss of Solitude in Pelela.