Living a rich life in humble way

If you are a regular visitor here, then you would know that this blogger is a walker too. As much as I love walking, I choose to write about it here on my blog.

I don’t know precisely how I picked this habit, but I have been walking considerably since long time ago. From home to office and back, to the town besides my planned evening walks. But as far as I know, I started walking when I couldn’t afford car.

Often my friends and colleagues asked me, “When are you going to buy car?"

I responded, unsure, “After I get married.”

Now I am married and I have come up with another excuse, “After I get a kid, I will.”

In Thimphu, you are expected to own a car as soon as you start working. It is supposedly to do with maintaining our social status. For those office goers and family person, it is to do with their convenience.

Simply put, without car, I struggled in Thimphu. Taxis were expensive. My bosses would give me works assuming I have car. Often the summer’s monsoon rain was thwarting, and the winter’s cold harsh. Moreover, attending a meeting or workshop was always a problem when I have to travel far away from my office.

A few years ago, I was sharing these concerns to a foreigner friend of mine. And in the meantime, I uttered that I was planning to buy a car.

My friend looked at me wide-eyed and surprised and then reacted, “Bhutan is such a beautiful country: magnificent landscape around you, fresh air, green plants all over and friendly people. Riku, you are very lucky to be born in Bhutan. Why do you want to buy car and cover yourself in a metal box?”  

It hit me hard, for that matter. After that I dropped the idea of owning a car. Instead, I started walking more and many times I declined when others have offered me lift.

It helps maintaining my good health, but much of my walking I just stop by and enjoy the nature. More than I could tell, it marvelously brings me closer to the Mother Nature. I become a part of it, part of beauty. The myriad colours of plants, the fragrance of flowers and the mystery of mountains always leave me astounded, brighter and happier.

Last week, I was hosting dinner to my close friend who just returned from his studies in India. He told me, “Bhutan itself is a five-star facility.” He explained that all that we have - fresh air, pristine forests and rivers, magnificent monasteries, stunning rural farms and undisturbed environment - are rare and precious.

“One can find these facilities only in a five-star hotel elsewhere. You have to pay for them - that too very expensive, artificial,” he continued adding, “But we (Bhutanese) don’t understand it unless we travel outside.” 

I don’t know how far I can maintain this attitude and habit. But as far as I am concerned I will try to avoid dragging myself cocooned in the metal box. Out in the open, wide and free, I will enjoy the five-star facilities walking. Like this, I will try to live my life rich with more intentions in a humble way. 

A pilgrimage, photo excursion

On the Birth Anniversary of Guru Rimpoche, my wife and I went to visit the Wangditse Dzong in Thimphu. The purpose of the visit was basically to pray for the wellbeing of ourselves and all the sentient beings on the religious day. However, on the day, I landed up taking lots of pictures that I am going to share with you here. Have a lovely rainy Sunday! 

Tashichhodzong

Thimphu Valley

Takin Zoo

Story of a stink bug

About a year ago, my friend Chencho Thinley narrated this story to me. When I heard it, I absolutely loved it and since then this beautiful tale has left me hugely inspired. I can’t tell you how thankful I am to my friend; moreover, I can’t wait any longer to share it with you. So here it goes.

Pic: www.terro.com

Once upon a time, there was an insect by the name of Stink Bug. He lived in a tree with his fellow bugs. But he was never happy because he was very stubborn and pompous. He prided himself for being very smart and clean.

He had a belief that everything and everybody around him was erroneous and tainted. Indeed, he felt sick of everything. One day he decided to leave the wood and his friends. After flying for quite a length of distance, he came across an attractive tree in a forest. He was quite happy to start his life new in this fresh tree.

However, after sometime, he started feeling foul smell in the tree. He veered around and in noisy jerks he stamped his legs on the wood, angrily. More intense pungent smell came; the breeze further spread it. Out of disgust, he cursed the tree for bearing such a foul smell. He left the tree and went on searching another.

This time he spotted new tree, more attractive one. The pest resided in the tree joyfully. After a few days, it started bothering him again. For, he encountered the same noxious smell from this tree. It put him in a foul mood and he cursed this tree too. And as was his habit, he departed from it too in search of another wood.

Likewise, he looked for and resided in handful, dozens and hundreds of trees. He had problem with all of them; the putrid smell was always there, in all trees. At the end, he came to an impression that every tree is bad, stinks.

All his life, the bug landed up being unhappy and cursing the trees for being very smelly and obnoxious. However, the truth is that it was his own smell that was the source of constant disgust and unhappiness for him.

So this is it, the story of a stink bug!

Since I first heard it, the story took me inside of me that I hardly go and has forced me to rethink some of my own prejudices and pride. Indeed, it truly helped me understand and realign my perspectives and life’s sojourn.

 

I have met many people, some very close to me, who keep hopping on different jobs. Never satisfied, they always blamed the organizations and people that they have worked with. It is a terrible thing to say, but true.

Also, there are people who are unhappy with their relationships, so they change frequently. So I do see those people who are never happy in one place.

But I admit here, I too have been like the bug. I was not happy with what I have and what I was doing. Of course, I did blame the people and circumstance around me and tried looking for new avenue.

The truth is that we tend to shape things to suit our own situations, perspectives, opinions and beliefs. The greater truth is our ego and arrogance will not permit us to become happy and enjoy the beauty of life.

Yay! It's this simple. Put down your prejudices like the clouds here and you can enjoy the beauty across the landscape

So as I end this post here, I leave you a few questions to mull over this evening. How often do you look into your own perceptions, intentions and feelings? Are you aware of it? Are you working towards correcting your prejudices and perspectives? 

Miles to go

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

This particular stanza has always been my favourite from the poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost. First published in 1923, the story goes that Frost wrote it in a few minutes after he took a sunrise walk. Because of it, well, I am a great lover of poetry. 

I first heard this poem when I was studying in the primary school. My English teacher read out the poem, and I liked it instantly.

Ah, I still remember sitting quietly on a darkened window of my house and reciting the entire poem oblivious of noise outside. These lines used to sumptuously transport me to another realm. I used to feel dreamy, magical, and mysterious.

So did I fantasize that magic was found everywhere - in the dark woods, in every lake, behind the closed doors, under the grasses, and high up in the mountains. 

Such is that this literary composition had on me!

Later, in the 10^th grade, I could get to study the poem as in the English literature textbook. And I have loved it even more. 

In several occasions, in front of young people and to my friends, I read and quoted this poem - particularly these lines - to inspire and to be inspired.   

Today, as an adult, I see these lines much differently. It is about duty, promises and commitments, sacrifices, and positivity. The journey ahead too. As I recite the poem now again, yes, it rings loud, all clear.

I turned 31 this year. It means that I have hit a biggest crossroad of my life and now just heading into a new direction. Just completed my first five years of service, and just started a fresh life of marriage.

In the recent time, I have thought a lot about “miles to go”, how I would spend the years ahead of me. But the universal truth is that this world is always “lovely, dark and deep”, filled with pleasures, pain, uncertainties and distractions - tugging at us all time.

It reminds me that “I have promises to keep” to make myself happy and fulfill the commitments towards my wife, parents, siblings and friends before I actually “sleep”, die. 

In fact, I am doing it all already. I have narrowed down my social activities so as to spend more time with my beloved ones. For, sacrifices are to be made for one’s own loved ones.

Now I have this poem hanging on my office wall. I read it when I am engrossed in the busyness of my daily life. 

Each time I go through it there, I think of making the best use of “miles to go” – duty yet to be done, commitments still to be undertaken, goals yet to achieve, and promises to be fulfilled.

I have so much to do before I eventually breathe my last. As I would fulfill it all, so I called it truly a life well lived. Oh, I have miles to before I sleep! 

Miles to go!

Daisy blooms

This week, I took some pictures of daisy in my office gardens. They are lovely, and so pleasurable to have captured in my digital lens. I hope you would enjoy looking at them. Have a wonderful weekend!

The first five years

Yes, you read it correct. It has been exactly five years. May 2010 was the time when I first joined the office of Department of Youth and Sports. It went by so fast; in fact, it was an intense, overwhelming period of time.

During my first office assignment

I started my career as a young gelled hair boy. Frankly speaking, it was purely for the sake of employment that I joined the office; I knew nothing about the office’s mandates and objectives before. But I began my service bursting with excitement, with real gusto.

In the first year, I could perform exceptionally well. My performance and initiatives had hugely impressed my colleagues and supervisors; they applauded me for my works. The truth was that I was young, energetic, passionate and obedient. I didn’t mind taking up extra responsibilities. I didn’t mind working extra time. 

That time, a senior staff told me, “Young man, Riku, a decade ago, I was like you. Passionate. Hardworking.”

Then he had listed down the initiatives he took and added, “My boss applauded me. I was super happy. Now see, I am a de-motivated person. The system killed me.”

I didn’t know what exactly he meant by that.

Gradually, I have realized that the bureaucratic system was insanely huge and the managements were cunningly unprofessional and unfair. Much of our time, we have been struggling with paperwork and administrative hurdles.

Oddly enough, most office managements lacked leadership, dynamism and vision. They still adopted the punitive approach where employees were taught work through abuse, scolding, daunting and controlling. It was really frustrating and demoralizing to work under such management and leadership.

As a fresh employee, in the beginning, I was thirsty to learn about the work and create impact as much as I can. But rather disappointingly, the system functioned in a complex manner that always tried to stop you from going forward and pulled you down morally.

Many times, I came into conflict with the system, with my supervisors. This affected me a lot, it made me nervous too. The passion and confidence had vanished in me. I became, in a word, de-motivated. And my senior’s words rang true; I understood what he had meant.

For the better or worse, some of my colleagues quit.

At one point, I requested for transfer which eventually didn’t happen. After that, many times, I contemplated on resigning from the service. For quite sometime, I have become like my senior – an indifferent disgruntled civil servant. I did not much work but often landed up complaining about the management and the bureaucratic system.

However, slowly I have realized that my reaction and attitude was wrong. In fact, my colleagues and friends gave me a word of encouragement and injected a renewed mood of optimism and positivity in me.

I worked on the communication. I rebuilt relationship with everybody around me. Likewise, I began to fit the broken pieces together one by one. And things started to become less complicated, less stressful, much more stable and more focused.

Meanwhile, I have developed an attitude that I was not only working for my boss and the system but for the wellbeing of youth too, thereby serving the tsa-wa-sum. And I felt that I am the future of my office, the future of Bhutanese bureaucracy.

The civil service rules and regulations can be amended; it can be improved prior to our own feedback and recommendations. Our bosses will retire one day, and if we (young gunners) become concerned, then in the future we can become effective and dynamic person to head any managements.

Above all, I have learned millions of things in the last five years, through my work. This July, I am expecting my first promotion; this is just a first stepping stone of my career.

Ah, I still have a long to to go! 

Photographs

I took some pictures on my journey to Gelephu from Thimphu in the recent time. I feel that they are worth sharing here with you. Have a wonderful day!

Breakfast stop, between Dochula and Thinleygang

Road worker and her child

Mekhu sellers at Metsina

Wakhley Taar, Tsirang

Kami Chu, Tsirang

Fruit stall, Tsirang

Tsirang Town

Sarpang bazaar-razed down to ashes

Tsirang

PaSsu and his Knight

At a road widening site, between Lobesa and Wangdue, the bus stopped suddenly. After inquiring a site supervisor, the bus driver announced, “The traffic will open after one hour.” By the way, I was travelling to Gelephu to visit my parents in the village.

Other passengers apparently turned restless and frustrated, but I merrily sprinted out of the bus. Often I have been travelling via Wangdue but I didn’t really spend a good time here. Each time I travelled from this place, I tend to look at Bajothang particularly the High School.

“Oh, this is the place where our blogger friend, PaSsu, live,” I used to think about the Bhutan’s most popular blogger, feeling elated and happy.   

So this was a perfect opportunity for me to explore the place where Passang Tshering had worked and written most of his blog stories, at least for an hour. 

The story of this place has been sufficiently written by PaSsu and if anything I read and know about it, then it would be from this teacher’s blog.

Well, he is someone who always has something to say and I haven’t missed his single post. Besides his bold and fearless stories, I love his witty and credible word building.  

But do I really need to say it?  

However, incapable of writing forward, I always go through his site and get inspired. If PaSsu had quit blogging, then I would have stopped writing long time back. He is the one person who drags me on to continue blogging.   

Well, in all my time there, this place appeared so familiar to me. Every corner, every nook and cranny evoked fresh memories. I knew this place well, it seemed to me. Bajo School and Town, Buddha’s face and many more.

Meanwhile, my mind bounced on his most popular and viral post Letter to Khaw BoonWan and then to other significant posts Say No to Sex on Camera and Jigme's surprise morning speech.  

At the end, I was engulfed by emptiness looking at Bajothang. The place suddenly appeared empty. For he has left the place, for bigger venture, for Paro. I felt sad.

The traffic reopened and we got back in the bus. But I kept on looking at Bajothang. 

Amidst the heat and dust there, however, a fond feeling embraced me when I suddenly remembered another blogger of Bajo who has been hugely inspired by PaSsu. Dawa Knight.  

As the bus drove away along the enchanting Punatshangchu, I marveled at my own feeling that this young engineer could fill the emptiness of my heart left behind by PaSsu. I simply hoped to read a lot of stories about Bajo from Dawa.   

Being home, orchid bloom

I have visited my village again particularly to spend some time with my parents. By the way, this is my third visit of the year. The roads are bad due to the monsoon rain and heat is unbearable in Gelephu. But my heart is there in my village with my parents. So I visit them often.  

To tell you, each visit is uniquely different experience for me always filling with happiness and joy. Being with our own parents in our own home is simply the greatest feelings and of course is priceless.

Besides, every time I visit my home, my small village has something magnificence to offer me. This visit too it surprised me with beautiful bloom of orchids that my parents have planted in front of our house. The pictures here:

“Thank you Bhutan”

Yesterday night, I was chatting with a Nepali friend on Facebook. This was our first contact after his country was hit by the deadly earthquake on April 25 which killed over 6,600 people. However, I was quite happy to find him and other friends safe in Nepal.       

“I could just manage everything again after the disaster,” he answered me. Meanwhile, he went on sharing the news of the disaster in his country: about 10 millions people affected; 60 thousands houses collapsed. All the affected people were homeless and they were facing shortage of foods, water and shelter.

I expressed my concern for him and all the affected people of our neighboring country (over 28 millions population) and told him that Bhutan too experienced the quake on April 25.

“Oh quake again!!!” he wrote.

I asked him, worried, “When?”

“Just now! So scary all time,” he replied, apparently panicked.

Concerned, I told him to stay alert and safe. He informed me that Nepal has experienced almost 700 hits of tremors in the last six days and the people were living outside in the open.  

Then I informed him that a relief team comprising of 63 Bhutanese personnel are there in Nepal helping the survivors of the disaster as commanded by our King. Also, I informed him that Bhutan has been planning to send some more support.  

The Nepali friend told me that he saw the Bhutanese relief team (in orange uniform) in Nepal. “They are doing great,” he said adding, “We are very grateful.”

“Thank you Bhutan,” he expressed his gratitude.

I was immensely touched by his words. I felt proud too.

Besides I am so happy to know that Bhutan is the first country to personally handover the financial assistance to the Nepalese government. More importantly, our Prime Minister himself led the relief team to Nepal.  

I salute all the Drukpas in orange uniform in Nepal!

Photos: Bhutan4Nepal

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….