Book Fair

Book Stalls

Busy with Books

The book fair at Bajo Higher Secondary school’s ground commenced from 10^th April and ended on 14^th April, There were about 35 bookstalls. The book fair was organized by the KMT printer and publishing house. The fair was organized for schools of Western Bhutan, for Dzongkhags like Thimphu, Punakha, Paro, Chukha, Samtse, Sarpang, Zhemgang, Wangdi Phodrang and others. Hundreds of schools’ principals, teachers, and library assistants came to purchase books for their schools’ libraries.

There were many contemporary books which looked beautiful outerly. The books also come in the form of illustrations, graphic designs, comics, etc. Almost all classic books are abridged, shorten, and summarized. I love the various spices of books; there were books about professional developments, like Robin Sharma, skills development, literature, sportsbooks, science and technology, sex books, etc. 

There were books from Bhutan. Many books authored by Bhutanese sold like hotcakes, though it was pricey. There was one Bhutanese author, who advertised his thin book to the customers. He looked so cheap; he begged anyone to buy his books. And this is the problem in Bhutan, after working hard, after lots of complicated processes of publication, his/her work is wasted; wasted utterly that an author becomes poorer, peevish, meaningless, and becomes insignificant. Our readers must support these authors.

Our school buys books every year. This year too, the school bought books worth about two lakhs and fourteen thousand. Our school library was in charge and I went to purchase books. We bought books from eight bookstalls. We equally divided our budget to them. I feel this book fair is a good chance to make money from book enterprises and book shops.

The book fair is conducted every year. It is usually organized in Mongar for Eastern Dzongkhags and Bajo for Western Dzongkhags. Many people were talking about the change of place and the frequent need for this type of book fair. It is true that to promote reading habits, to promote knowledge, and make knowledge-based society; there is a need of promoting frequently in different places.

Muse about Music

We play music in schools. We play music in important occasions like weddings, birthdays, etc. we play music in religious ceremonies. If music is everything; peace, love, and salting away of boredom, if music acts as an antidote to aggression and hostilities, if music is the mastery way of educating people and upholding cultural heritages, then it is worth knowing and understanding it.  

Music is part of our lives. Music is the friend and the comforter of one’s life. A piece of influential

tuneful music has arisen towards curbing disruptive and abusive behaviors. It entertains us. Many juvenile people in and around the world are going to musical concerts and are glued to iPods, tapes, and TV shows. They memorize and hum songs, oldies too do; inside the bus, in the bathroom, and many other places music humming can be heard.

Music is part of every culture on Earth. Many people feel that music makes life worth living. Music gives us pleasure. It can cheer us up, excite us, or soothe us. It is a form of communication to human beings. It is a form of beautiful expression.

Yesterday, I heard one of our Dzongkha Lopens, blaring inside the school toilet, the song called, ‘Zamling Nang Gi Atsara Nga.’ In fact, he was making a racket. He was shaking his voice as if he was doing some kind of exercise inside. Anyways, I love that song. It talks about how unstable our minds can be at times. How we play the role of the Atsara, a fool clown. I like the song.

Taking this into account, many countries value music, whether pop or jazz or country. They have, therefore, music awards for the best singer, the best lyrics, and the music. People are rewarded for their toils. Music is grade according to the sales of copies. The most marketed records are considered the finest. So they have top ten, top twenty and etc.

We have shows like Druk Superstar, which enhances Bhutanese music. Looking at the organizer, and the way it’s being organized looks like that show like this is hard to stand on its own feet without good support from the people. First, they have to force people to vote, second, they have to look for sponsorships, which may be very meager. And the third, participants are given less than what they have been working tirelessly; to learn three genres; Boedra, Yungdra, and Rigsar, and to uphold them. Is it the prize for trying and spending lots of time?  Is there scope for them to survive? I didn’t hear people getting rich in Bhutan because of singing, or dancing. If so, he/she must leave the country and start a career in other musically rich countries.

Society as a whole think that music is insignificant, and we, therefore, take it for granted. Even though every region has rich folk songs, compositions, etc, we are not aware of our own pieces. We tend to copy and reproduce other songs especially that of Hindi. In Bhutan, the music industry is growing, music fans are waiting for the best and fresh type of music. A different genre, and an uncommon one. Who can satisfy?

We must explore.

At present, we lack music. If you haunt and look at any household in Bhutan there may be one Bhutanese cassette/CD out of twenty or more Hindi and English cassettes/CDs. Who can encourage our own kind of music in the Bhutanese population?

I personally feel we can upgrade music by establishing musical halls in the country, and doing a musical competition and placing them in the top ten, and rewarding them. They must be rewarded frequently from different areas?  How about Bhutan’s monthly top ten? TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines could help them to promote and widen Bhutanese music in Bhutan. In this way, we can encourage Bhutanese music, and in this way, we can make every Bhutanese hum rich Bhutanese song.

You Have All

The sun has the whole universe

And you too have all;

The generosity, the merriment:

A man’s personality.

Joyful as always to a girl’s heart!

You are optimistic as you are,

And powerful as a man needs

Good in conversation and believing,

And sometimes in the life-keep gap; independence,

Bother not what others do,

And bother what you do.

Self-praising hurts you at last,

But, sometimes it uplifts you

You need that expectation.

Your future is as shiny as coral

As you have everything

That a man sometimes doesn’t have

Character, building rapports, confidence, persuasiveness

That will really win through the life

And may god bless you, always

And my wish is the god’s wish.

SO, Did You Have a Good Head?

A journey to an unknown destination is always an apprehensive one.  And this journey of life becomes quite exhausting at times. You like to live the most, and one time, you like to end your life. These two times are shaped, twisted and created by people around you. And this is the journey you have to make, and cannot avoid. So is my journey.

Life just isn't fair, and this realistic Arabic proverb recognizes that. The stone will always break the egg. Life's like that! It’s like this: "If the stone falls upon the egg, alas for the egg! If the egg falls upon the stone, alas for the egg!"

Today, I would like to write a brief essay about heads and bosses I have worked under, had affected and provoked me to become a better one.

Good, funny, humorous, strict, rigid, cunning, boorish, nefarious, sly, lewd, erogenous, etc… are some qualities of the heads I had worked on. 

There was a head who always drank and made other subordinates drink too.

There was a head who could play Khuru like Degor. And could hit spectators.

There was a head who could smack volleyball on his own side, and could kickball to his own balls.

There was a head who could graze on ladies like cows grazing on lush grasses, and spared them like spare parts.

There was a head who could poke in personal details of others, and find fault and blemished himself.

There was a head who could control crowds like barking dogs, and remain barking himself.

There was a head who revolved around lesson plans all the time, not teaching, and the result; bad teachings, good lessons.

There was a head who thought that boss was always right, and multitudes were wrong.