Darla School Annual Concert

Darla School is gearing up for its upcoming Annual Concert, which will take place over two days on August 28th and 29th, 2015. The school has been preparing for almost a month for the final show. Different in-charges and coordinators have been assigned various items to practice. Students, teachers, and the school as a whole have been busy after school—so busy, in fact, that no one could even think about hanging around and losing time like that. Because in Darla, free time is suspicious.

As the days crawl nearer, students and teachers bump here and there looking for participants, only to discover their own participants have been hijacked by other programs. It's a logistical circus. On the bright side, each student is allowed to take part in only three items to ensure maximum participation. This rule is also not taken very seriously by our students. During rehearsals, there were some students taking part in four or more items. So be it, I say. Good dancers should. Even monkeys can dance when the music is on. (No offense to the dancers. Or the monkeys.)

Our teachers, students, and councilors are also busy selling tickets for the show. The cost of a ticket this year is Nu. 80, up from Nu. 70 last year. This price hike has been the most mauled and ranted topic in the school when it comes to any collection. "Where does the money go?" "Isn't this too much?" These are some of the not-so-sweet talks floating among our students. And honestly? Sometimes the criticism is true.

Last year, the show made a huge amount of money. And then? Silence. There was a presentation in one of the various meetings stating that the money was used for buying stage decoration clothes and related items. But the stage remained the same—or actually became poorer than before. The back wall of the stage is scratched, smeared, and blotted with so many tints of colors that it looks like an abstract painting gone wrong. The floor planks have become shaking pendulums, risky for our participants and excellent for building ankle injuries. There were no musical instruments, no lighting amenities, no good sound boxes, and—to put it bluntly—NO. But YES when it comes to working? 

Anyway. We hope everything will be better this year. And hope we must. It's all we have left.

Like last year, our Darla community will come and watch the show. The show is all about showcasing the talents and abilities of our—and your—students. This show is dedicated and honored to our Fourth Druk Gyalpo and Je Khenpo on their 60th birth anniversary. The school is also building a Jangchub Chorten for the well-being of all.

Come, watch the differences! 

All set to go with the ticket on circulation

Invitation cards send to every individual around the school

Human Values Workshop

Darla School staff attended a Human Values Workshop in Gedu for three days, beginning August 13th to 15th. I am reproducing some of the important topics the workshop covered during this period—partly for posterity, partly because I paid attention and now you all have to suffer.

During the feedback session, everyone said how changed they were at the end of the workshop. Apparently, three days in Gedu can undo a lifetime of bad habits. Who knew? In the beginning, the content felt quite similar to our eight-fold paths—and it actually was derived from there. So essentially, we paid for a refresher course on things we already believed in. But let's not be cynical. Yet.

The session started with this proposal—an ambiguous one, designed to make your brain tilt slightly:

"Whatever is said is a Proposal. Do not assume it to be true or false. Verify it on your own right—on the basis of your natural acceptance."

In other words: don't believe us. But also don't disbelieve us. Just… feel it. Naturally.

The workshop also defined the role of education with great seriousness:

"The role of education is to facilitate the development of the competence to live with Definite Human Conduct."

Not just any conduct. Definite conduct. No vagueness allowed. We're here to produce decent human beings, not wishy-washy ones.

According to the workshop, transformation equals development. Yes, same thing. No difference. Change a little, develop a lot. Here is the diagrammatic summary of human values—because nothing says "spiritual growth" like a flowchart.

Transformation = Development

Right Understanding is all we need

And Preconditioning leads to many undesirable activities

 

The self and body...i like this part the most. Everything submerges in the space. Where does the self go from the space? 

Payment is NOT Enough

The salary I get by the end of the month is finely calculated and then finely split—like a poor man's magic trick. There are times when my meager salary cannot make a single day stay in the account. It's good, I suppose, that it doesn't occupy much space in the bank. By the end of the month, the credit would amount to Nu. 10,000 or more, leaving me still in debt. I hardly get Nu. 13,000. Let me show you where it all disappears.

How My Money Splits in a Month:

1. House rent: Nu. 2,500

2. TV bill: Nu. 300 (for the privilege of watching ads and old movies)

3. Electric bill: Nu. 100+ (depending on how many lights I forget to switch off)

4. Car petrol: Nu. 1,500 or more, depending on "emergency" (translation: visiting family)

5. School collection: Nu. 500, sometimes more than 1,000 (the mystery fund)

6. Miscellaneous donations (religious purposes): Nu. 300 (for the soul)

7. Visiting sick people: Nu. 300 or more (for the conscience)

8. Visiting relatives: Nu. 300 or more (for the guilt)

9. Veggies, rice, and general fooding: Nu. 3,000 (for staying alive, annoyingly necessary)

10. For a child: Nu. 200 (the cheapest part of this list, thankfully)

Total: Nu. 10,000

The salary I actually get now is Nu. 13,314—after a heavy loan deduction. The meager amount is not really enough. Expenditure escalates beyond what I receive sometimes. We don't have any money left for holidaying or family trips. A vacation, in this economy, is a dream that requires its own fundraiser.

This is a little bill of a rough calculation incurred in this month and is prepared by my wife.

And this donation comes frequently.

I really feel that teachers and doctors and hospital staff must be paid handsomely. Because services like teaching are, as someone wisely put it, "sitting penniless on a beach job"—except there is no beach, no sun, and definitely no umbrella drink. No TA/DA, no training, no outside tour, no nothing. Only a dry and meager monthly salary that evaporates before the month does.

I hardly know how to fill out a TA/DA form. Sometimes I fail to even say what TA/DA stands for. (Travel Allowance / Dearness Allowance, apparently. I had to look it up. Twice.)

So here's to another month of calculated suffering and a bank account that echoes.

Darling, Be Daring

I wrote this poem dedicating to my new blog titled: ‘Darling, Be daring.’ My previous title was ‘a wise voice.’

On your way, when everything is dark,

When long nights confuse you,

And when you are frightened-

Be daring, darling.

There lies a hidden hope of tomorrow.

When words are a storm

That could break your ribs

And leave you numb-

Be daring, darling.

Let them go.

When life is getting you down
with one little unfulfilled thought

That could packed up everything-

Be daring, darling.

There are so many options in life.

To keep standing firm

And to keep marching on

Through these twists and turns-

Be daring, darling.

Live on a path of hope.

When you cry out everything you have felt,
Hoping that someone will pick it up-
But the truth is what I say:

Be daring, darling.

Hope that one day, somebody keeps your wise voice.