100 Years are Still 100 Years Back

We human can never know the nature of the world; its mysteries and its miracle. We can never defeat the mysterious nature, and we can never understand this. And the fact is we cannot change nature; its work and its fate.  Everything is predestined and programmed like it should be, they say. For example, a Malaysian airplane has been missing for months now and is difficult to track. How satisfactory equipped we are? What developed technologies do we have? We will have to follow the law of nature. Everything succumbed to Mother Nature.

Humans think that we are moving ahead. Our sciences and technologies are conquering the world. After 100 or more years, there would be technology that could build a beautiful house when you press a button. Everyone would have wings to fly. Everyone would have robots to work. People would become so lazy that they would be resentful switching a button. ETC…  But these 100 years are still 100 years backward. For example, we cannot create another earth. We cannot lengthen our life after 100 years or so. We cannot deny the fact, that the truth is truth, and we cannot deny the almighty God.  

Nature is so original. We human duplicate what was already there. We try to change that original natural thing, which in turn destroys us. The pure gold is stained and tarnished. I think we are making ourselves complicated because we are not able to understand the basic nature of nature.  One thing we must understand is we cannot go beyond the will of anyone; be it person, nature or god. We are doomed.

MRP

See that overwritten MRP. See the original MRP 50/-

The prices of the goods have gone higher than the highest mountain. Shopkeepers are charging more than what is on MRP. They have liberties to fix their own prices. When asked about MRP, they would give you a hundred explanations, making you believe, and pay their fake prices. Firstly, they would start the location of their shops, then the increases of price from their agents, and then,  transportation cost like fuel price increases, increase in taxes, labor charges, tires charges, windshield charges, etc and etc, and they would mention the salary hike of the civil servants. They would somehow make you believe, and you come out paying and getting much-unwanted information.

And this is the case in many parts of our country; the government is trying to enforce customers to pay only MRP and shopkeepers are trying to ask more than the MRP. The margin of the price from MRP has a huge difference. For example, they would increase by nu.15 from MRP or double. I am one of the victims, in Zhemgang, Tingtibi, the prices are fixed by themselves. They erased and overwrite the MRP. It’s like overwriting on the notes, and only a fool would accept that overwritten notes. I had to pay nu.15/- for nu.12/- a packet of magi in Tingtibi. Likewise, the prices of rice, oil, sugar, flour, biscuit, etc are overwhelmingly fixed by them. I told them about MRP, only to get that unwanted information. And this is the same here in Tala. People have liberties to fix their own prices.  And I don’t know how prices are fixed about those perishable veggies. They have skyrocketed too. I have to pinch my skin.

Inflation has caused serious ripple effects to every civil servant. They have to minimize their diets. Civil servants are sandwiched in between the upper rung and lower rung of people. They are crushed in between to ooze blood from the parched or dried bodies. People try to extract as many as they can from this middle-income group. They don’t sell, they don’t produce, they depend, and they depend heavily on their meager salaries. Look at those shoppers, they cheat, they earn a lot. And…

So, our goods controller must strictly ensure people charging more than MRP, and levy fines to them. If not, we have to pinch for these surprises.

Students are our Best Teachers

Darla School Assembly

Class in Progress

My Cohort of class IV B

We spend more than 9 months with students. They teach more than we have taught to them; how to go about modern gadgets, how to live fashionably, how to take a step, etc… I have my class IV students, who literally check my patient. They are so passionate. They grumble a lot and do not listen at times. 48 is a huge number to manage and teach. I regret at the end of the day that I couldn’t give them enough attention to every one of them. When I give them group work, it becomes a fish market. Each one of them makes an animal’s sounds or some screeching sounds. Sometimes it is really irritating and hectic to teach them. They make lots of noises. But on the other hand, they listen when I tell them seriously, and listen to whatever I teach them.

And there is another group of students, my class X students, who like to remain introverted and hardly open up. They are tails if I whisk my head, and they would. They listen a lot. And they work a lot, I guess. I wish them I have a student like them, who never goes against any point I make especially when I am sometimes wrong! Anyways, I wished them a good life ahead. I told them to be good, do good and good things will come back to them. They nod.

 I have my past students who have become teachers like me. Some are pursuing professions outside, where I had not heard of the places. Many are in jobs. Many students are students now. I was lucky to have good, sincere, and diligent students like the good teacher myself! I enjoy the fruit of teaching.

Many Facebook friends are my students and many blogs followers are my students. I think about them as much as they think about me.

Busy Days

This mid-year has become quite eventful; there was PM Narendra Modi visiting Bhutan, and there is an ongoing World Cup, and the students are writing their mid-term examinations. And teachers too are busy doing paper corrections. And in this way, it has become saddening as everyone has to sacrifice time for mid-term examinations.

To make matter a bit light, we do group correction. We have Science, Maths, English, Dzongkhag and other departments. The good thing about group evaluation is that the works are done very fast, not only that we get to eat many different delicious dishes like momo, shaphalay, etc sponsored by the respective subject teacher. This type of evaluation is good if all answers are multiple choices. It saves time; a great deal.

The bad thing about group evaluation is marking. Especially, parts like essay types or letter writing, when marked by different teachers, marks also differ. Some, lets say do strict correction and award low marks, and some lenient give high marks. And there are some who give marks just by glancing handwriting, or the first sentence, or the last sentence. I think the same is happening in BCSE evaluation in Phuntsholing.

There is no way to do comparative analysis/study of essay types or answers. On the other hand, the moods of the evaluators depend so much while awarding. These days, World Cup is going on at night, which leaves evaluators to hang throughout the night. Because of this drowsiness or hangover, the letter ‘d’ may seems like ‘b.’ So, ‘bead’ may become ‘dead.’ I am afraid we are gonna hang somebody’s life, very badly. OR, it may be another way round, owing to laziness or sleepiness, in order to do away with the correction, and make time for enough sleep, one could give 24 out of 25. There is every chance. One thing is sure, if ones favorite country lost in the match, I am sure the marks would touch the ground level.

So, it is very important to do special rituals like ‘Wangta Lungta’ to bring the best of luck. It is all unfair, one needs some kind of luck, to make evaluators affect or blind them to award good marks by mistake.

I told my students that before any venture, or such kind of difficult task, like exam like this, that they must do some kind of rituals for it. If not, one’s Wangta and Lungta will be thrown like a piece of shit. I told them that if they don’t have anyone to do such a kind of special ritual, why do they call me. I can even perform mask dances for them. And the fact is; I don’t need any kind of mask!

Some funny answers from our students:

A rough vacation he had!!!

Sentu is dog or cat???

Open your Pandora box, so that i can enter inside permanently.

You gotta make your MUM very mad...

Another Cup, 2014-World Cup Business

An exhilarating and escalating business is in full swing in Brazil with millions of world cup fans thronging the place. If you watch TV, most of the channels show clips of what’s going outside and inside the stadium. Brazilian civilizations and cultures, rich Brazilian arts, and artifacts are displayed just to get some bucks, and at the end of the day is everyone’s dream.

Not surprisingly, every corner of the world knows about the world cup. Another world cup is going on in every person's mind. The bet is going on. At my place, here in Chukha, the world cup business is in full swing. I would like to call this ‘another world cup’; people have lots of fun making money games. The gambling of bets is in full swing. Though the prediction of which team will win the world cup is only the god knows. The gamblers knew it, but with a dwindling chance. They look at the good players, but not as a team.

The quality of work has drastically reduced with this world cup. Subordinates, heads, and even laymen and the government servant are busy betting for their countries. Lots of fluke money is made and lots of money is gone. Works postponed and left, their mind inclined and eyes closed to the days’ works.

I think many school students will pass this year-this mid-term. Many teachers’ evaluators would just think a life of an individual is not so important as the world cup. With their unfinished sleep, they would go through a sentence or two and sum up the answer, or it would be vice-versa. They would give a big ‘0’ if their team lost, or to catch up the time for the cup.

Coming to the offices late and bullshitting in top noises will be common scenes everywhere. Sinecure workers! You join any group, a debate is in full swing, betting is in full swing. You could hear quarrels and noises late in the night, which cause nuisances to the neighbors, people in the houses. If it is to judge the quality of work this June and July, they should be paying half the salary; as they would have not done more than that. I heard, some even take casual leave to watch cup that is not yours in any way.

Our Country, Our Rights

From Google

A book by Sanjaya Baru, ‘The Accidental Prime Minister: Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh’ hits the markets during the time of political storm and election rage in India. It has definitely created ripple effects between the two parties, BJP, and the Congress Party.

Looking at the title, I think that the book criticizes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his rules. First, he was considered an accidental prime minister, and second, his tenure did not bring any good future in India.

What I like about the book and its title is the freedom of writing; freedom of speech, when many countries are deprived of and needed the most. Look at their voices, look at their rights, look at their freedom of expression, look at the print media, look at the freedom of the press. But some countries cannot criticize and give negative feedbacks to anyone. If so, one is damned, rebuked and admonished.  So, they are living in a utopian society that is actually a dystopian society. Some pretend a gentle one when there is limited freedom. Freedom of choice? Or freedom of individuality? Their voices are smothered, controlled, and hid. There is nothing such as, ‘Our country, our rights.’