When Rains Come, it Come in Battalions

So many graves things are happening in our school these days. First of all, our school vice principal’s wife has been hospitalized for several months. The subject he was given in the school to teach was in shamble. For more than a month, the classes V A, B and C science have been bolted in the bags; students thirst for a teacher to teach this study of scientific knowledge. When there was no hope of his return, and when the exam came knocking, our science department took an initiative to teach those classes. You know but our science teachers in Bhutan are loaded; loaded not with money but loaded with periods, they somehow agreed to adjust and spare their already compressed time. When I asked my class V students now, I heard that one period is enough to cover a chapter. This is how sciences are taught when everyone shares teaching; because it’s like nobody’s cake. They try to munch all at once.

Secondly, the school had to remain for a month without our principal, and which too saddened every one of us. The principal’s sister has a severe kind of trauma and further, she had a birthing complications, which kept both of them in Thimphu hospital ICU for many weeks. Life is difficult, I heard him saying.

Thirdly, two of our students were now behind the bar. Their sentences were up to three years. I feel pity about these two students from class IX and X who are locked up in the dark, who will miss their education, and their lives are blackened now. What, if it happened to a rich or noble group of people?  It won’t be news to be shared. These two boys committed a fourth-degree felony, it could have had settle before it got everything punched. That’s the cruelties of law enforcers sometimes; they don’t study behind the offense and nature of the crime as they should. These two boys were said to have entered inside a shop in Rinchentse and burgled some food items and some money. I heard that they didn’t even break a door or anything; they simply went inside the already unlocked door to survive one of the boys. I heard that one of the boys was staying himself in the rent and he had some difficulties getting enough ration to eat. It’s a pitiful story to be told to anyone.  That boy was the one to take that class x boy with him to that shop. See, bad minds infect and change other’s minds. I heard that they have taken the worth of nu. 8000/- or something.  The question now is that will they think good about life once they are released from the dungeon?

Fourthly, Bhutan football team was hammered by the Hong Kong team. What a disgrace? Bhutan must now focus on some very necessary developments like road, drinking water, poverty, not just some routing playing. Don't do what we can't do. Do what we can do!

Anyway, I pray that this mid-term exam gets over before another misfortune strike here. There is a plan that our school is going to conduct a small ritual to drive these evils from here. The last review meeting was a fruitful one as everyone agreed to contribute nu. 1000/- for some months to lay the foundation of our school’s chorten. That meeting also decided that there is a need for ‘Threma’ rimdro in the school, to which the house unanimously agreed. Our national assembly will continue in the next session!

Cardamom

Many people are planting cardamom these days. I too planted some lean cardamom plants last year, and these plants have remained as they were. The leaves are drying up now. They have turned brownish. What is my Elanchi up to now? When many are being profited from the spell of cardamom, my plants didnt have an energy to drink a drop of rain from the sky to keep themselves alive.

But coming to the serious point, people are planting lots of saplings these days. Because there were stories of how a family earned lakhs from two or three boras (sacks) of cardamom. We envy their hard work, when somebody has done something good then we try to copy. Some people never take risk of starting a new venture. It’s only things done by others, and then people like me follow. I have planted three saplings in my garden for a test. I hope it grows well.

Just next to our hydro power, cardamom business could be a second-highest revenue generator in the country. We know our water is drying up year by year, and constructing a power station is quite dear for the country, it looks unwelcoming and bleak. But one hopeful thing that we look to is our gift of nature; the soil. Bhutan has the nicest soil for cardamom cultivation. These plants grow in-between 300-700mts above sea level. If every plant people plant is to grow, then every household would become so independent and rich. What everyone needs is working hard. Everything needs hard works to be a successful one.

A Bad Side of a Good Relationship

Google Guru

A visit by the prime minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi to China recently provokes fear- relations among South East Asia countries. There seems to have a kind of tug of war of giants in Asia. Other tiny countries like Bhutan are lesser and have to follow their trumpet. I write my layman observation of our relationships, and all deleterious one.

The irony of the Relationship between Bhutan and India

Bhutan-India relation is embedded so deep. It was implanted and cemented when Pandit Nehru visited Bhutan in the 1960s. The relation was state to state one. There were very good ties in terms of administrative level; country to country level, but masses or ordinary people have bitter episodes of (people to people) relationships.

Bhutan is stagnant, and is in limbo about the relationship. On the other hand, we have Chinese, who cordially welcomes to tie up and befriend with us. But we still want to cling to our old good neighbor-India. We are in an indeterminate state; to move on to a new world of change or to hold on to the old road of depravities and treacherousness. I say treachery, because do you think a good friend could loot, burgle, abduct, kidnap,and open fire to a friend? We still hang, not knowing what to do with such dreadful activities to our ordinary people. We resist the irresistible activities of hooligans. We writhe. And we tolerate. And this is an irony of Bhutan-India relationship. I have some proves to show some embittered states of our relationship. 

In the year 2000, Phuntsholing-Samdrupjongkha bound Bhutan bus was gunned down by unknown Assamese, murdering several innocent Bhutanese passengers. Bus services had to halt completely for more than a decade. Poor, disturbing Bhutanese passengers still use Indian transport via this route.

There are rampant kidnapping of Bhutanese in Gelephug from 2011-2014. Till now about ten cases of abducting have been reported. The victims’ families have to pay millions of ngultrum as ransom. Some were tortured and even brutally killed.

Many Bhutanese private cars are being robbed in 2014 in Alipouduar-Lamozingkha road by localities goondas. We hear many cars have been smashed up and destroyed in bordering areas. Many hooligans have beaten up many of our citizens.

Does a good friend do that?

A thought that would run to every Bhutanese for many more generations.

Would the Chinese do something similar to this?

As far as my knowledge, the Chinese have the best of rules to control any hooligans. I heard even with the slightest mistake or a small corrupt practices you do, you will be released or hanged. That looks like a good country. Peace would prevail there with no activity of such bad things.