Something to Think Over

Here are my hilarious thoughts which strike me time and again, and I feel it’s bad to think over these, sometimes.

1. DPT was Druk Prohibition Tshogpa, not Druk Phunsum Tshogpa. Because of its banning policy, it suffered landslide-like thrashing defeat. And now, PDP, People’s Darling Party, has become people’s dead party, where everyone talks about all colors lie; mostly black lie. Feeding ocean of wealth themselves first, and giving a lean drop to others.

2. Parliamentary democracy in essence has become PDP’s democracy. Not people’s democracy. The power of PDP’s bureaucracy has greatly extended; media interferences, salary issues, taxes issues, fuel, etc.

3. I like this from Kamala Das, “An Introduction.” It goes: “I don’t know politics but I know the names/ Of those in power and can repeat them like/Days of the week, or names of months, beginning with….”

So I know that power has faces and these faces have names; it does not matter what policy they stand for, but it is useful to know their names, as it is useful to be able to name the days and months.

4. A recent graduate first wants to try a good government job, if not, then, try for some self entrepreneurship, and if he failed in all these, he’d go for teacher, his last/unwanted choice. See the condition of teachers!

5. In the corrupt society, if you’re an anti-corrupt practice, you’re lost. You must be in the system of corrupt practice. You get what you want. This is where you belong.

6. All war movies are made based on wars in the Middle East, esp. Afghanistan, Gaza, Siberia and Iraq. Why?

7. Bhutan is the last heaven on the earth, say many. Every country is a heaven of its own. Chauvinistic??

8. The rich heart is rich; a poor heart is poor, no matter what you are, or what you have.

9. Kindness for the act of God is not kindness; being self–aware- kindness/compassion; no god, no coercion, but natural kindness is what I believe is to be a kind of kindness.

10. Negative thoughts are unwarranted self-imposed mental trashes?

11. By name, civil servants are anti-politic, or apolitical, but they influenced the voters the most. They are the most politically active in the faction. The crust of politics is the educated mass. How can they be apolitical?

12. Politicians are inclined to the helms of services. They are servants to our people, not in any case, their lip services; not non-performers.

13. I learned: a good politician (Who earns votes) has a sugary mouth, looks busy, but do nothing; makes false promises and loots for his/her own services.

14. Substitution, replacement, changing candidates (DPT/PDP) is dirty politics. A loser cannot become a winner.

15. Curriculum relevant to our lifestyles, cultures, mindsets, etc. is good.  Microcosm -  if we work on knowing ourselves, improving ourselves, it will bring global effect. “Act locally, think globally.” So, far-reaching change begins from Bhutan or Bhutanized curriculum, not American syllabuses, etc. If not we will be torn between two worlds, we alienate from our own culture, history, language, people, etc. We live, physically, but we see ourselves through the eyes of others. We can relate our curriculum to the outside world. I think.

16. A test never fails or passes a candidate. It’s just a process of evaluation to improve your level.

17. Sometimes, it’s another way round, a system fails and a teacher leads.

18. How could a student fail after a year of rigorous teaching? This is a thing to think over. I agree, there would be some minor failures here and there on the way. But, we are determined to succeed. The day we stop thinking of students’ success is the day we should stop teaching.

19. A teacher doesn’t really teach, the students teach him (if a teacher knows). A guide, an advisor, a supporter, a director...etc.  Looking for new ways (creative) to teach/learn what students have already incorporated into their lives.

20. The basic education is forming/developing knowledge, mind, character, skills, being responsible, caring, being good, doing good, at least, a complete human.

21. Did you fall and break your heart? Did you cry and hate your life? Did you live a painful life and get hurt? Did you think of taking revenge? Did you have a memory sickness?

But never forget there is love, and you must prove it through your tears. Always remember there is hope, and always remember it is good in love. 

22. There is a common-ity in love, feeling, and human emotion. We are strangers but united by human concerns. We are bound by the bond of love, affection, understanding, and empathy. There is no unfeeling for the feeling of love. There is no boundary, no wall, no stranger, and no religion, nothing in love. It’s just a beautiful feeling, a beautiful and heavenly feeling. The universal fact, the love binds, and hates separate is small but too big to handle.

Love is money. The British person loves and vows to marry a Bhutanese girl. He crosses oceans and mountains to be with love, and he comes, and love is not money, I guess, love is love cannot be define, but…acho...we are related but separated by death.

Mad In States

Mad in States

Live the life you love, not love the life you live. Many of us dream of going to or living in American and Australia; some people have a chance. A Bhutanese in States has become an American. He has forgotten his country’s traditions and cultures, even language and his own country. The poem asks if everyone does like this, one day everyone in Bhutan will become American, losing real Bhutanese, or who is a Bhutanese?

To be an American

Is an easy to be;

It was a decade ago, he settled

In the land called a ‘flowery life.’

A dream of every Bhutanese,

But a few fulfilled and some more than it.

He was born to a Ngalop’s family

Brought up, educated and survived

Up to fifty seven years,

A man has a wish at this age!

His instinct and roots were Bhutanese

And all his ways

One day, but, somehow he got a chance,

He flew.

After decades in America

He adapted Americans

He was an American.

Parents, relatives, all forgotten;

People, land

Mother’s tongue, religions,

All ways, forgotten.

‘New age,’ where he lives

He floats there

Lingering in-between two ways

He is more incline to a later one.

Bhutan does not exist in his mind’s map,

This is how a person change his life

Who am I?

Root doesnt change.

On the tip of Americans’ mouth

He remains a different,

not a ‘real’ one;

Mongoliod, Dravidian, or Arabian?

Variant cultures in America

And the buoyant life floated with riches.

One does care,

And who cares of life-

The root?

To have rushing hour is okay.

Strength to Live

The strength of a man isn't how many buddies he has.
It is how good a buddy he is with his kids.

The strength of a man isn't in how respected he is at work.
It is in how respected he is at home.

The strength of a man isn't in how hard he hits.
It is in how tender he touches.

The strength of a man isn't how many women he's Loved by.
It is in can he be true to one woman.

The strength of a man isn't in the weight he can lift.
It is in the burdens he can understand and overcome.

Best or Worst?

2014 World Cup is almost coming to an end. Brazil suffered the worst defeat in the World Cup football history. It is a huge sadness to many of our fans. But, a thought intently came to my mind, ‘why only the best?’ I feel the best is selected because the worst is there. Life has two sides, and the credit goes to both. Because of the sufferings and worries, we know what calm, peace, and the god are.

Not only tops should be inscribed, shown and broadcast. We should also pen down the worst, they should be appreciated and announced. I am writing here because of bad, good things are here, and vice versa. Everyone must be appreciated or respected.

How does the world appears on to them; the worst things, or the ugliest?  This earth consists of pick and decline, fine and weak. You encounter people, animals, countries, trees, air, water, etc. They are always kind of departmentalized into opulent and hard-up or surpass and un-surpass. Suppose, there are many worst and deadly people around the world; besides our filmy villains, there are some who do scruffy and scrappy people in our own places. And the animals; which are the ugliest animals ever seen?  I vote it for Mr. Snail.  It is said that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder, to be sure, but this animal wouldn’t win a beauty contest if it were the only one entered. They’ve got faces only a mother – Mother Nature – can love, and in the contest of life that’s really the only thing that matters. And I would vote Brazil for their worst game ever played, but I do appreciate their active participation.

In schools, students are only loved, if only they excelled in studies. There are teachers in my school who only talk about good students, and who try to put more afford into them. They forget weak, or nothing to do with students. They would call them flunkers and they hardly check their notes and books. How could they improve if they are left on their own?

The globe seems subtle if all the people learn each other. If they recognize what is optimum and wrong; to improve wrong and shape fairly with tops. In the seeming world, only the best are loved; our worst kind of anything like the best. One person has changed this rule. An ideal Lord Buddha left all the best things on this earth. He was a prince of a kingdom. He had an esteemed life. He didn’t want best but worst; when he renounced all worldly pleasures and wealth of life. Who would have ever guessed that he would become enlightened?

The case of mine will facilitate and light on the road towards what is the best and the worst. I was invariably brought up with an utmost- utmost love by my beloved parents. Worn the best-ragged clothes and I was treated well. I wanted the best and I got it the best. I was so fortunate to have a somewhat plentitude family; I say only in-store. What I needed was what I got. Required the best and expected the best. I lavished a lot of bread; wearing the best clothes, the best shoes, the best oils, etc on school days.

I was really up to my mind that I would always make it the best. But what I am experiencing now is purely contradictory. All this life… who will upkeep my best, like the unripe fruit must mellow and drop, trifle will go on my best. All the worst now; using less for worst clothes, shoes, etc. I have been well informed now that I am succumbing, elapsing, and relapsing to the worst with my meager monthly salary. If I do not give rise to the way.

I learned, thus, that one should know both sides of a coin. Accept defeats to know what is winning. Accept demeaning remarks to know praises. Accept hopelessness to know that there is still hope.

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...