Wednesday, 29 April 2020

As a boarder student at Radhi L.S.S and Dungtse M.SS, Trashigang, Bhutan

Radhi Lower Secondary School 

After seven years of my primary schooling at Merak Primary School (MPS) at my village I went to continue my higher grades at Radhi Lower Secondary School (RLSS). All my seniors starting from the first batch of students of MPS had trodden the same path. I remember being the smallest boy from the batch from my village who got enrolled in RLSS. That was the year 2008, the beginning of my 10 years of boarding life (i.e, till my graduation from college).

My parents would worry a lot for me like they still do today. To have me go away from them when I was still a little boy (13 years old) was the most painful feeling, that the previous year, my father advised me to deliberately get failed in class VI examination. But I had anyhow passed the examination! Such was the innocence of my own parents. To them, happiness for the child mattered the most, not a lofty ambition, position, wealth or any other material accumulation. And I am still proud of my beloved parents for this sense of contentment they cherished their whole lives. This is indeed the reason for them to be happy despite all the hardships they faced throughout their lives.

So, my first year in Radhi, away from my parents was not free of sadness. Homesickness would strike me too hard I remember crying under blankets most of the nights. This would get all the worse when some big guy or an irrational captains would initiate senseless bullies on a helpless boy like myself.

Our day begins at the break of dawn, i.e around 5:30 a.m, starting with Physical Training Exercise which will be followed by morning study for an hour. Then, there was the day classes, followed by evening prayers, dinner and night study before we retired for the day. The routine was so mechanical indeed that we hardly had a space to breathe in between.

Due to our innocence we would find study hours too burdensome and as a result we would lend up chattering or napping more than actually reading books or revising lessons.
Often-times, we would be caught and meted with lashings of pipes by the study duty teachers or wardens. But those were bearable and I still feel very grateful to these set of teachers for their hearts were full of love and compassion for us. But I hatted PT the most for snatching away my most peaceful sleep. A long, undisturbed peaceful sleep was one thing I desired the most.

But as time passed, I got more and more friends apart from the ones from my own village and I also started liking the place. But gazing at Chorphu mountains (towards Chaling side) and Ranjung roads leading to Khardung and Chaling I couldn't help counting days for the summer or winter vacation to come by. Luckily, between every two to three weeks, my parents mostly my father, would come to meet me as they lived at Chabling, a pastureland of my community not so far from Radhi. He would leave me with a few hundreds of Ngultrums and some fried cheese and other edibles. But the moment my dad left my eyes would instantly get tearful and I would find the next four to five days too difficult to adjust with. I found the weather at Radhi so hot that in summer days I can't help myself falling asleep in the classes.

Dungtse Middle Secondary School

At the start of the next academic year (2009) I came to know that we will be shifting to Dungtse Middle Secondary School (DMSS) which was still being constructed. Principal Kunzang introduced during the morning assembly a set of new teachers (for DMSS), who were mostly fresh out of their training to the school. As the new school was not ready, we continued at RLSS. But there was clear demarcation between DMSS and RLSS administrations, if I may say so. Now, though we were in Radhi, we no more belonged there. We belonged to Dungtse. The RLSS multi-purpose hall was turned into a hostel for boys (I guess not less than 80). And since the students of RLSS would be occupying the classrooms during day time, our classes were conducted in the morning before their morning assembly and in the evenings after their classes. We were asked to revise and do self studies during day time. This was all together a different experience for both the teachers and students. I like this style for I could concentrate better in the early morning and evenings than during day time. On top of that we no more had to undergo PTs which we always found it to be too gruesome. This carried on for a considerable length of time.

I can't recall the exact date but around mid year or beginning of the mid year we got shifted to our new school, DMSS. New, large and tall buildings dotted the landscape but due to the massive construction which was yet to complete, the campus was very dry and vegetation was totally absent or very poor. So, the young, brilliant and energetic teachers and bright obedient students, under the leadership of a dynamic principal found the cause to contribute to the school. We started carpeting the grey and ash landscape of Dungtse with green grass brought from nearby places. We worked most Saturdays fetching black soil, green grass and on short and term breaks local boarders (students from nearby villages) would bring to school a bamboo each or more to plant in the campus. We tilled the land and grew our own vegetables though it was not fully sufficient. Nature club members led by Dorji sir would be seen diving deep into nearby forests foraging for orchids and other plants. On other days they would be seen busy painting, erecting signboards and in one or other form of beautification. Our hard work has been paid justifiably as I have seen the school turn green and much livelier during my own stay there. A few years later, when I went to DMSS to meet my younger siblings, I have seen the school turn into a so serene and hospitable a temple of learning in its truest sense.

DMSS catered mainly to the students of the four Gewogs namely Radhi, Phongmey, Merak and Sakten. It was by all means a very vibrant and happening school. We used to have inter-House literary (debate, extempore, Quiz) competition, Games and Sports competition, and cultural competition. On happy weekends, Bhutanese films would be screened when romantic feelings of fantasy would grip us, mostly the girls. We also used to host shows by other schools.

As a new school it had lots of attraction and appeal to others too and I believe it was also partly to do with the Principal sir’s dynamism and ability to connect with other leaders and managers. H.E T.S Powdyel, Sherig Lyonpo from 2008 to 2013, the then Tashigang NC Dr. Sonam Kinga, the then Dogchhog Gothrip Dasho Tshering Tobgay, DDC Secretary Dasho Sherub Gyeltshen had all visited the school and interacted with us, leaving deeply inspired. Most memorably, HRH Ashi Dechen Yangzom Wangchuck inaugurated the school in 2009.

As the first batch of students, I am highly privileged to recall to this day the moments of true caring and affection that existed between a teacher and a student. As aforementioned, more than three fourths of our teachers were fresh graduates from their training or apprenticeship. Though they were just beginning their career it didn’t seem at all to me that they lacked any experience or capability. This set of teachers possessed all the noble qualities of a teacher. They understood the language of their students’ life, their needs, their potential. I may say, they had a kind of clairvoyance to see the future of each students. All of them were so kind and gentle that they blended with students like they were students themselves. The perpetual desire to learn had filled their hearts. A special level of enthusiasm and vigour to teach, to affect a change in the lives of their students beamed perhaps due their youthfulness. And I am pretty sure at this point of time, that my batch mate friends who were fortunate enough to be the students of those teachers like I was, feel a special sense of love and respect for those teachers whatever our current standing in life may be.

I have seen a real sense of sacrifice and contentment in these young set of teachers. Since staff quarters were not completed and as the houses outside the campus were located far away, I have seen my young teachers putting up in groups just like their students. Around nine or so male teachers would occupy a hostel room upstairs amid cacophony of voices of their students. And all of them were so kind that they were very happy to have their students come to them with doubts on lessons any time of the day.


This way teachers were also always on their toes to help us. Some were strict while others were soft and gentle but they all possessed unassailable sense of compassion and kindness. They instilled and nurtured in us the best values. They showed us the way to our future. They were always there to embrace us in their compassionate folds if ever we stumbled and fell back. They were to us the real shepherds who made sure that no one is left behind.

My friends from those days, who I rarely get to meet today, are also the ones whose company I enjoyed the most. Most of us belonged to the same or similar backgrounds that we understood each other’s pains and joys well enough.

From that point in time only, I clearly understood why teachers are called and respected as the second parents and friends, no different from our siblings. As a boarder student, we would be spending only two to three months from the total twelve months with our own parents and siblings. While in the school, our teachers and friends were the ones always by our side, committing all their time and energy to help us. They were always there to celebrate as well as grieve with us in both happy and sad moments respectively. So, a boarder student would never enjoy his or her schooling if he or she failed to appreciate and respect his or her teachers and friends.

Though times were difficult then, I believe, I gained quicker maturity by being in boarding schools. By being away from the care and affection of parents, I have come to realize better how much they mattered, their struggles and sacrifices for me. That was in addition to the sense of respect and appreciation multiplying for my friends and teachers.

Looking back to a decade and a half of my life from this point, I can only conclude and appreciate that those were the most formative times of my life. Like in any other cases of life, there are moments I wish I lived bit differently but I feel I somehow lived those years the way it should have been. Yes, the life has moved quicker than I had imagined.

Torch bearers of Dungtse Middle Secondary School (P.C. Kunzang Norbu sir's Facebook upload)

Dungtse M.S.S covering an area of around 14 acres (P.C. Facebook Page of Dungtse C.S)



Note: This article is written as a humble tribute to the temples of learning, RLSS & DMSS (which are now Central Schools), a wonderful set of the most benevolent teachers and my dear friends from these schools, all that I hold in the fondest of memories and respect. The content is a mere recollection from my mind and as I never maintained a diary back then, some contents could be wrongly projected so kindly pardon me.


Sunday, 1 April 2018

How did I prepare for BCSE?

Dear friends,
Some of you have been inquiring me on how I went about preparing for the Bhutan Civil Service Examination to which I would like to share some of the ways I adopted. 
  1. Never be late in your preparation. Remember, "Early bird catches (more) worms." If you have not started with the preparation, START NOW. This is the right time, best moment to start. You are never late. As you embark on the boat of preparation,always maintain calm- be positive, open and hopeful.                                                             "If you fail to prepare, you are preparing to fail."
  2. Read. Read as many books as you can. Particularly for the upcoming examination, read books such as: Word Power Made Easy' by Norman Lewis (helps in enriching your vocabulary, an invaluable asset for PE English), 'How to win friends and influence people' by Dale Carnegie, 'Think and Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill. 
  3. Read the article "Tips to Gear Towards PE and BCSE" by Madam Tashi, posted on her blog site 'Once Along the Journey of My life.'http://horticulturetg.blogspot.com/
  4. Seek help and guidance (consultation) from your parents, teachers, and friends. Success is also an outcome of teamwork. 
  5. Make good use of online resources such as the websites of RCSC and BCSE, the Bhutan Portal, DDC, India Bix, and websites of world or regional bodies like UNO, SAARC, etc.
  6. You must read both national and international news (especially if you are appearing for General category). Keep abreast of all the important happenings on day to day basis.
  7. Familiarize yourself with both PE and Main Examination question paper patterns. Papers are available on BCSE website.http://bcse.rcsc.gov.bt/
  8. Focus on your strength as you work on your weakness. For example, my strength was in Dzongkha yet I did not neglect it. I did not take it as easy. Rather to benefit more from my strength, I read lots of Dzongkha Grammar books, practiced spellings and letter writings. You can also download Dzongkha grammar books and other materials from DDC website. My second strength was in socio-political part of the exam. For this, I subscribed to books such as: 'Polity, Kingship and Democracy' by Dasho Dr. Sonam Kinga, 'A History of Bhutan' by Lopon Karma Phuntsho, 'Leadership of the Wise' by Dasho Karma Ura, 'The Raven Crown' by Michael Aris, 'History of Bhutan' by Lam Pema Tshewang, 'The Crowning Glory' by Mr. Ugyen Tenzin and some other history books.
  9. Read the 'Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan.' Also, reading the Annual State of Nation Reports, and readings related to SDGs, MDGs, FYPs can go a long way. As you learn something in English, try to know it in Dzongkha as well and vice-versa. One means to learn translation. For this matter you may try apps such as English Dzongkha Dictionary, Monlam Dictionary (available on playstore), in case you don't have them on your mobile phone.
  10. Watch good videos online such as TED talks. Such videos can help us improve our speaking and listening skills- ultimately helping us face interviews. Don't take the viva-voce for granted. 
Finally, I hope the ways I shared above can help you set a direction in some ways. If you are deciding to face the examination, do it with sincerity and passion. Else, you won't be able to dedicate your full effort for this big battle. Do not create a space of future lament for yourself saying 'Ah... only, if I prepared little harder..." Just give your 100 %.

I wish everyone of you, my friends, the Best of Luck!






Sunday, 24 April 2016

Prince Jigme Namgyal Wangchuck

Our mere 2 months old Royal baby is named Jigme Namgyel Wanghuck on 16th April, coinciding with Zhabdrug Kuchhoe. The day also marked 400 years of Zhabdrung's arrival in our country for which our citizens from different walks of life, from different pockets of country came together at Pungthang Dewa Chenpoi Phodrang to offer prayers and to accumulate merits. Prince's name Jigme Namgyal Wangchuck is a joy and confidence for any Bhutanese owing to its great significance.

Jigme- means fearlessness, for He who will be country's leader will guide His citizens with courage and intelligence. He will be a compassionate leader and a role model to any Bhutanese and to any human being. 

Namgyal- derived from our gracious Dharma wheel turner Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal who founded the Dual syestem in our country in 17th century, some 400 years back from today. 

Wangchuck- a scared name that signifies the continuity of Wangchuck dynasty, pure and ever gracious. 

The significance and meaning of our Prince's name is announcd by His father, our King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck that day, at Thangzona; Punakha, before thousands of Bhutanese men and women gathered there. This moment shall be preserved with reverence by all Bhutanese for its sanctity and preciousness. Seeing the Three Throne holders same time is very precious and heartening, and this made a significant peace and harmony between the past, present and future. While we rejoice the past and present, we are made confident of our future too. 

I shall thank and pray for Wangchuck lineage to last for kalpas bestowing guidance and leadership to its citizens. I pray for our Prince's good health and bright grooming.

Palden Drukpa Gyalo!

Friday, 11 March 2016

Mandela, The leader

Title: Long Walk to Freedom
Genre & author: Autobiography,
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela  (born-18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013)
Pages: 768    
  The book’s influence on me

“My country is rich in minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest wealth is its people, finer and truer than the purest diamonds,” wrote Mandela towards the end of his Autobiography.  He was true for he has dedicated his entire life for the wellbeing of is people, the people of South Africa. He has shed light upon the lives of his people, made them free. He has contributed and shown to the world how a people’s leader was to be. As Mahatma Gandhi is to people of India so is Mandela to the people of South Africa, and both of them are among the gems of people the world has had.

Reading his autobiography which in fact was a long journey did not tire me, it has enriched me. I have every reason to be happy about my decision days before picking this thick book from the college library. It inspired me; I was inspired, in fact by the characters, good and bad, in this book led by Mr. Mandela.Mr. Mandela was born to a privileged, to a Royal lineage of Thimbu kings in a part of South Africa. He grew up humbly though; as he grew he saw more and more realities of hard life his people were facing under the domination of whites. The blacks then could not relish the wealth their soil has produced; they were silenced completely by the rule. The apartheid system imposed by white minority was so rude, so pathetic that it completely lacked the respect to humanity. Blacks were humiliated, tortured and their freedom completely robed.

As he saw the grim realities of his peoples’ lives in South Africa, an innate force unfailing has moved him to devout his entire life to acquiring the freedom, the true goal of every human being. When he was just equipped to be a good lawyer he joined an organization called ANC, African National Congress. ANC was the oldest of political organizations in South Africa founded in 1912. His journey in politics was not easy. Frustrated by ineffective talks that yielded no rational result, somewhere he went underground to found Umkonto We Sizke, a violent step intended to counter the government’s injustice. He travelled across many countries seeking help and support for their cause. 

Just as he was working out his plan the situation countrywide was getting more and more chaotic. Later on the state charged him with treason and was given life imprisonment. In prisons like in Robin Island he and many other freedom fighters were horribly treated.  Mr. Mandela was never afraid for he has already committed to his lifelong goal of securing freedom for South Africa.Finally the long waited freedom embraced people of South Africa when Mandela was freed, when they could for the first time in their life go to polls to cast votes on their own will. Their freedom came at a great, great cost. This was a course sometimes in 1994 when Mandela was elected the President of South Africa in a truly democratic maneuver. Mr. Nelson was the first black leader to take the office of President after successfully ending the notorious apartheid system.

He has repeatedly mentioned in his autobiography about his feeling of gratefulness towards many of his colleagues who have all kindled that fire to be a great leader not only to South Africa but to the world.The one regret he had in his life was the regret for not being able to be a father, a husband, a brother, a son to the people he most cared about. Yet it was not in his hand when the call of his fate was in service to the entire people of South Africa thereby becoming the father of the nation. He said that to be the father of nation was a great honor but to be the father of family was greater joy.

What I admired most of him is his undefeatable courage, unflinching honesty and truly the selfless leadership in him. His life’s message is but an amalgam of love, faith, trust, courage and determination, forgiveness, selflessness and a spirit of true leadership. 


 I know my review about his autobiography cannot be up to mark, but deep down in my heart, there will be a golden board forever to message of Sir Nelson’s life. I salute to Sir Mandela and the other freedom fighters.

Thank you sir, you inspire me a lot!

Monday, 29 February 2016

A Prayer

༄༅། །ཧྲི༔    སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང་།། འཕགས་པ་མིན་པ་མི་བཞུགས་ཏེ།།རྒྱུད་དྲུག་འཁོར་བའི་མིང་ཡང་མེད།།   སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག །སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང་།།  འཕགས་པའི་ཤེས་རབ་འོད་འཕྲོས་པའི།།ཉིན་དང་མཚན་མོའི་མིང་ཡང་མེད།།   སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག །སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང་།། རིན་ཆེན་སྣ་ཚོགས་རབ་རྒྱན་པའི།།ས་དང་རྡོ་ཡི་མིང་ཡང་མེད།།  སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག །སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང་།།  རྣམ་སྣང་སྤོད་ཀྱི་ངད་ལྡན་པའི།།འཇིག་རྟེན་རླུང་གི་མིང་ཡང་མེད།། སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག །སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང་།། བྱང་ཆུབ་ཤིང་གིས་རབ་རྒྱན་པའི།།རྩི་ཤིང་ནགས་ཚལ་མིང་ཡང་མེད།།  སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག །སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང་།།  ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གྱི་ཟས་ཟ་བའི།།འཇིག་རྟེནཟས་ཀྱི་མིང་ཡང་མེད།།  སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག །སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང་།།  ཐམས་ཅད་མཉམ་ཉིད་གནས་པ་ན།།ངན་འགྲོ་གཡང་ས་མིང་ཡང་མེད།།  སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག །སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང་།། ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཉིད་བཞུགས་པའི།།རྒྱལ་པོ་བློན་པའི་མིང་ཡང་མེད།།  སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག །སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང་།། བདུད་རྩི་བརྒྱད་ལྡན་ཆུ་འབེབས་པའི།།འཇིག་རྟེན་ཆུ་ཡི་མིང་ཡང་མེད།།  སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག །སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང། ཡེ་ཤེས་གསལ་བའི་མེ་འབར་བའི།།འཇིག་རྟེན་མེ་ཡི་མིང་ཡང་མེད།།  སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག །སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་ཁམས་ནང། སྐྱེ་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་བརྫུས་ཏེ་སྐྱེ།།སྐྱེ་བ་གནས་པའི་མིང་ཡང་མེད།།  སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་དེར་སྐྱེ་བར་ཤོག ། ཅེས་ཆོས་སྐུ་འོད་དཔག་མེད་ཀྱིས་གསུངས་པ་བདེ་ཆེན་ཞིང་བཀོད་མཚན་རྒྱས་པ་ ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོས་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ལེའུ་སྟོང་ཕྲག་བརྒྱ་པ་ལས་ ཆོས་སྐུ་འོད་དཔག་མེད་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་འདི་ ཆོ་སྦྲུལ་ཟླ་བའི་དུས་ཆེན་དང་འབྲེལ་ མ་དང་དབྱེར་མེད་པའི་འགྲོ་དྲུག་སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་ འཁོར་བའི་མཚོ་ལས་བསྒྲལ་ཏེ་ ནུབ་ཕྱོགས་བདེ་བ་ཆེན་པོའི་ཞིང་དུ་སྐྱེ་བའི་ཆ་རྐྱེན་དུ་དམིགས་ཏེ་ཆོས་སྦྱིན་སྤེལ་བ་དགེ་ལེགས་འཕེལ།།
Om Ami Dewa Hri
Namo Amitabha
“Wherever the Buddha (His teachings) goes, whether to a country, a city, or a village, people will be moved and will benefit. All the lands will be enveloped in peace and harmony. The sun and moon will shine clear and bright. Wind and rain will come when needed. Disasters and epidemics will not occur. The country will flourish and people will enjoy peace. There will be no need for soldiers or weapons. Virtues will be revered and benevolence will be promoted. People will practice courtesy and humility. There will be no robberies and thieves in the country. There will be neither injustice nor resentment. The strong will not dominate the weak. Everyone will naturally get their fair reward.”
 -Infinite Life, Adornment, purity, impartiality and Enlightenment Sutra spoken by the Buddha

Saturday, 14 November 2015

Nation overjoyed

November 11, 2015 shall go down the lines of our history as one of the most sacred days for the immense joy and jubilation of Bhutanese. Hence I also take it as a golden opportunity to jolt down about the day in my chronicle.
   The media reported that tens of hundreds of Bhutanese from all the the four approaches started mushrooming Changlimithang stadium as early as 5 am for the great and the only one time opportunity in everyone's life. I am not sad for I couldn't be present for that day, I am equally happy as all Bhutanese who had the opportunity to be present there. Thanks to the advanced technology for I could access all the joys of the day.  
  
The grace of both our hereditary Kings towering amongst  lucky Bhutanese would have been no different from the beam and shimmer of the Sun and Moon simultaneously. And the Drukpas present there would have been like the twinkling stars. I read from news and our fellow citizens uploads in social media in detail about the day. The joy was unprecedented, and still we are happy. As fifth King recalled our former King's achievement some people are said to have shed tears.  His Majesty the fifth Druk Gyalpo lauded the nation with the most eloquent speech, simple to comprehend and sincere in tone worth of nation's utmost trust.

We rejoice and will be rejoicing ever about the greatness of day. It became more auspicious and more fulfilling when His Majesty the King bespoke thus, " ...I am deeply pleased to announce that Jetsun and I look forward to the birth of our son in the coming Losar."  Calling the prince yet to born as 'People's Son,' His Majesty added to the nation's joy by stating His own happiness for He could bring forth the news on the auspicious birthday of our former King.

People call the day as convergence of past, present and future. Rejoicing the pinnacle of the Great Fourth's achievement, feeling the grace of present monarch and the seed of trust sown about the firmness of future. We now have a future as bright as today as there will be Crown Prince born to continue the undiluted linage of Pema Lingpa and sublime line of Wangchuck dynasty. National Chairperson, Honorable  Lyonpo Sonam Kinga has updated his Facebook status mentioning the auspicious signs seen on the day. The snowfall at ancestral seat of Drukpa lineage in Phajoding Goenpa at Thimphu, from where the 13th Century Phajo Drugom Zhigpo spread his teachings could be a holy sign of the Prince's divine birth. 
Like wise the former DDC Secretary Dasho Sherab Gyeltshen has stipulated that the display of auspicious behavior by the White horse Tashi on the ground as a welcome to the Prince as it happened just the moment before father King announced His birth. 

Hence our aspirations are fulfilling. Like every Bhutanese my family and I also join the nation in praying for the continued peace in our country and in the world. May we welcome our Prince who will carry forward this highly respected position of turning the wheel of Dharma. I am happy for my son can be a loyal and contended citizen to serve under the sixth King like we please to serve our present King. Joy as such will be for ever etched in our hearts...  

Thanks!!!









  










Tuesday, 10 November 2015

Greetings from Dehra: Obeisance to my Beloved King, His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo


With splendid stars glittering above,
and the sun of joy shining...sum of more than seven lakhs Bhutanese' hearts enthusiastically come together to observe and celebrate our Great Day. The 60th Birth Anniversary of our  Dharma King, the Great K4. Though away from home I can really feel the immense joy and passion of our people about the day. Truly an apparent 'One Nation, One People' spectacle.

    Our nation has since long been blessed continuously by the Triple Gem. Sanctified and prophesied by the second Buddha, Lotus Born Guru and many other maha sidhas, the Great Magician Dharma King Ngawang Namgyal after winning the hearts of Drukpas and defeating the evils, set up a holy institution of Choesid-Lugnye.  He departed to the land of ultimate bliss. Desi rule followed where some rendered hearts to people and some chaos to the nation. In the due course of time when the nation had befallen under cruelty of desis, the noble linage of Tertoen Pema Lingpa happened to establish the unshakable political paradigm- monarchy. From then on the peace in country established by Zhabdrung Rinpochhe was restored and multiplied like the unhindered rays of sun.

    The good fortunes of Bhutanese must have been at summit as the God descended Prince Jigme Singye Wangchuck was born on 11th November 1955 to the fulfillment and satisfaction of the Royal family and the entire nation. His birth was the prophecy of Guru Rinpochhe as envisioned by the Tertoen Drugdra Dorji. The Crown Prince was educated and trained for the kingship by His father so early. He became aware of the in and around situation of the world. Our King was enthroned as the fourth hereditary Monarch as early as 17 years of age, the youngest of kings in the world then. The enthronement came just days after the dismiss of our gem like King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The Crown Prince then had no time to agonize his indelible personal loss of His beloved father, he had to console the deeply pained nation. He was determined and sincere in His National Address on the Coronation Day expressing his ardent love and dedicated his service to the nation. This is how our Lord was placed on the Golden Throne. Bhutanese society is known for the beauty of Le-Ju-dre and tha-dam-tsi, values in which people have unwavering faith in their leader and the Lord has limitless compassion to His subjects. We love our King truly and profoundly.

    Our King's contribution to the nation building is too big that it becomes very difficult to note down, more so it is beyond the reach of description by an ordinary person like me. Yet some reforms come reverberating in my head just as my heart dances with the imagined song of 'Gawa Dugo'. His Majesty the King placed aspirations of people before His own. He did not dare to risk His own life for the good of nation. In 2003, for example the King Himself led the troops to flush out the insurgents who illegally occupied Bhutanese soil in the southern approach. This is a story, rare of the rarest. Our parents will tell us how our King painfully toured the entire nation addressing people's needs.

     The Democratic Constitutional Monarchy, a unique political set up which we have today is chartered by Him. His entire three and a half decade reign as the Supreme Throne Holder revolves around the focus of decentralization of center and devolution of personal power. He had set up many democratic institutions such as DYT & GYT pursuing and motivating people to take part in planning and decision making for development of the nation. These steps taken by our King was in fact a preparation for the Bhutanese transition into Parliamentary Democracy. He shocked the nation by abdicating the the Throne in 2006 in favor of the Crown Prince. This goes to the page of World History. A selfless King.

   By 2008, all the ground works for Parliamentary democratic institution was ready. Potential leaders were trained and made able enough to lead the nation. A written Constitution was for the first time drafted, citizens were consulted and their views sought and incorporated. The supreme law, The Constitution of The Kingdom of Bhutan was endorsed by Bhutan's first Parliament elect on 18th July 2008. Hence, His Majesty molded his noble vision for the country and the nation in its perfect shaped was handed over to us- the present generation. We are no unlucky though as we have the same sacred blood of same statesmanship in the form of His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck. Our fortunes are still so high to have the opportunity to be cared citizen of the honorable Father and Son who shower us the light of happiness as if by the Sun and the Moon.

    Reforms brought about by His Majesty the king is infinite and as vast the sky. The aforementioned are the major ones. So tomorrow is our beloved King's Birthday, what best gift could we offer him? Gifts as big the most precious and exorbitant gems can never match His grace albeit He desires nothing, but one. The one is, people's fraternal unity for all time and fulfillment of His noble aspirations. What are our King's divine powered aspirations from his people?

                    1. Our King has always emphasized the need of preserving and promoting our tradition and cultural heritage. In fact these are the core values that identified Bhutan as unique nation among the comets of nations all around the world. Let us therefore try to understand our own culture thoroughly and appreciate its beauty like our forefathers did. Let us not be dimmed by the excessive intrusion of other cultures.Harmony.

                    2. Our King places special importance on the conservation of our rich biodiversity. Indeed one of the first modern legislation of ours was the Forest Act of Bhutan 1969. The National Forest Policy of 1974 and our Constitution requires Bhutan to have 60 per cent of our land covered by forest for all time to come. HM is also the winner of Champions of Earth Award (UNEP organised)  in 2005. Let us not destroy our forest and animals life.

                    3. The significance on the need of a strong and viable economy of country was not spared. It's very much important. For this, government must exercise diligence in laying hand over the public coffer. There should have been thorough research, public must be consulted and budget be allocated well. Government should remove the regional economic imbalances. Citizens are equally responsible in keeping a keen eye on government and in giving reasonable suggestions. 

                    4. The biggest of all gifts and the greatest of all contentment would be the ultimate successful march of democratic pedestrian.    It implies good governance. The government elect should keep in mind the interest of people and ensure transparency, accountability and authenticity. Only then can people rely and have faith in government. Any government of any time should not think that it is just for a tenure of five years. King's good intent of introducing democracy in Bhutan that is to befit the best of time and for the people must for all time be respected.  Inside home there should be abiding spirit of fraternity, unity and integrity. Outside, the friendly relations with foreign nations must be maintained well. Only then can Bhutan's dragon emblazoned flag of peace flutter ever high in the sky of bliss, and its name 'Paradise of Thunder Dragon' continue to be heard across the world. 




If we could just join our hands in fulfilling these aspirations, King's heat son Gross National Happiness will also be achieved for these encompass the pillars of GNH.

Meanwhile, not only Bhutanese at home but also Bhutanese outside country are observing this great Day with devotion and zeal. Songs of 'Palden Drukpa' will be sung in countries such as India, Japan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Australia, USA etc where Bhutanese people are either working or studying. The celebration in Bhutan will be enormous.  Our King's sacred name 'Jigme Singye Wangchuck' is written in the golden page of the annals of world's PEOPLE's KING.

With King's blessings in heart I also join the Tsa-Wa-Sum of Bhutan in Wishing HM the Fourth King a very Happy Birthday, and I pray...
         May you be in perfect health as firm as the vajra body,
         May your eloquent speech ever bespeak wisdom of Manjushri,
         May your Boddhichita mind be as pure as autumn sky issuing limitless compassion,
         May you live long for eons and eons.


And, may we all Bhutanese in unison rededicate our unfailing service to the King, Country and People,
May Wangchuck Dynasty be elongated for the eons where we can have all showers of peace and joy.
May our Democracy bring us the best of luck.
'Palden Drukpa, Gyalo!'  ' Palden Drukpa, Gyalo,' and 'Palden Drukpa, Gyalo !!!