A Business is to be Noted- The Price of Patriotism

One of the most significant needs in life is money. Companies and individual businesses aim to make a profit. Celebrations and festivities capture people's minds, encouraging them to buy, try, and hoard event-related items. Whether it's the World Olympic event in China, Independence Day, or National Day, it all comes down to the same thing: money.

Like everywhere else, the 60th anniversary has become a profit-making occasion in Bhutan. Just as the Reading Year benefited booksellers, such celebrations are lucrative business opportunities for many money-minded people. Several groups came to our school selling wall clocks bearing His Majesty's portrait, celebration-based lotteries, badges, and other assorted merchandise—because nothing says "royal tribute" like a ticking clock and a scratch card.

Take our school, for example. Every student had to buy a badge, each costing Nu. 50. Today, our students received the new badge featuring the Fourth King's portrait. They were genuinely happy to have the King with them—but not so happy with the quality of the badge, which is likely worth no more than Nu. 20. The pins fall off for no reason (gravity, perhaps, or sheer disappointment), and His Majesty's photo is about as clear as a morning fog in Phuntsholing.

So yes, the spirit of celebration is alive. So is the spirit of markup. Long live the King—and long live the Nu. 30 profit margin.

Badge for my class