Giving it a new look

If you are a regular visitor of my blog, then you would see some changes here. In the last couple of weeks, I worked pretty hard modifying this space. It was not easy; I had to give a great length of my time.

The important features upgraded are pages (writing page posts), gadget image, and change of layout and blog theme. I couldn’t really make it the way I wanted it to be. But I will keep working on it to make even better.

I am not IT savvy and it was very difficult for me to use HTML and other codes to modify the web. However, I learned online and also sought help from Amrith, my colleague, while working on it.

In fact, I wanted to give a new look to my web since long time back. My blog was simple and just ordinary. I must tell you that it looks monotonous after sometime. So I decided to change its layout. Still it is very simple.

So, I hope you like the new look of my blog and please go through the page stories. Have a wonderful weekend! 

Of dreams and hope

At the start of March, I sat for the IELTS examination in Thimphu. I am here to talk only about my speaking test though. 

The test was conducted in a small hotel room. My interviewer was an Indian lady, presumably in late 30s. She began the test by asking my name, profession and hobbies. I felt that I answered it well, choosing my words carefully, correctly.     

For the next couple of minutes, she wanted to hear from me about my hometown and workplace. Then, she jumped into questioning me on other topics where I struggled a little.

“Is there any prize that you want to win in your life?” the interviewer asked me as her face glowed in expansive smile.

I said, yes.

“Which prize you want to win?” she insisted on me to say the prize.  

For quite a while, I rolled my hands searching for the answer, particularly the prize.

“Nobel Peace Prize!” I told her adding with an air of absolute sureness, “This is the prize that I want to win in my life.”

Well, these words trotted out involuntarily.

But she confirmed, “Do you think you can win this prize?”

I replied, “I think I can.”

This time, she reacted in a nervous way. Perhaps that could be her first time hearing someone declaring about a wish to win the world’s most prestigious prize.

She quickly ran her eyes up and down me and asked again, “Why you want to win it?”

For which, I gave her a handful of reasons and I was pretty sure they were not satisfactory. In fact, I had no idea what I was really even saying; it just came on my mind. She seemed interested to know more about it, but we got limited time.

We ran into the last part of the interview where I was asked about the merits and demerits of giving prize in the schools and workplace.

Answering it, I started feeling disturbed because something strange started bothering me. In the middle of the conversation, I felt that I should have never said that thing. Moreover, I was just thinking when she would complete the interview.

The interview wrapped up in a hurried manner and I rushed back home.

After that, when I thought about the test, I got goose-bumps and felt embarrassed. It didn’t stop for many days. Because the prize that I had believed I can win was far above my reach and capacity. In actuality, no ordinary person like me has been linked with it.

 

However, from that day, I have been seriously contemplating about the Nobel Peace Prize. I have spent many days studying about it online and those individuals who have won it. The prize was very powerful and the laureates - including my favorites Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa - were ever remarkable and inspirational. 

Their outstanding works of humanitarian services and peace promotion have hugely inspired me.

So right now, almost 11 pm, as I complete writing this post, I stand at the window of my house. My eyes wander out towards the dark sky and far afar I can spot a star blinking mesmerizingly.

And I find myself hoping…. 

A spring walk

Finally, the mountaintops see off snow and the wind stopped fetching on icy cold air. Once again the weather in Thimphu has become a brilliant pleasant, and I can’t tell you exactly how excited I am to resume my regular evening walks.

Walking is one of my favorite things to do, so to say. And quite surprisingly, it too turned out to be my wife’s favorite. So yesterday evening, we decided to take a quick stroll in our neighbourhood, Motithang.

In our walk, we noticed the arrival of spring, that is abundant everywhere. Peach plants dress in pink, grasses and trees rejuvenate in lush green, and even thorns bear beautiful flowers.

As we walked across the road to Zilukha, my wife mentioned, “You know ... March signals the end of the first quarter of the year and the beginning of spring. Oh we are already into April, but it is a great time to reflect on how we have spent it and where we are heading to.”

To me, especially, 2015 unfolded in a rough ride - some hiccups in both of my personal and professional life. It has been, by far, a most challenging phase of my life.

Nevertheless, it is also the year something very special happened in my life, my marriage. That’s why, in this particular walk, I was accompanied by my wife.    

Meanwhile, we chose a mound beside the road to take a quick rest. Taking out her small camera, my wife started taking pictures of peach plants around and Thimphu City. However, I took my time to brood, reflect on the year 2015 thus far.

There were bad days, there were good days too. Some of the days I felt like I was defeated, but there were also the days when I felt like I was on the top of the world. Generally, it was a mixed experience - of bad and good, of vulnerability and power, of dejection and hope.

Perhaps that’s what life is all about, a paradox. Isn’t it?

It was already dark when we returned home. But this time we returned inspired, free, and joyful.

Let me say a few words more. Something about taking a simple walk through the neighbourhood and breathing fresh air and observing colourful leaves and flowers is simply magical. It puts everything into perspective; sometime’s life’s great lessons too.

Also, dear reader, enjoy the pictures of this year’s spring I took. Have a beautiful day and pleasant spring!