My impossible brother

My brother is a person with devil-may-care attitude. Nothing bothers him at all. He wakes up early in the morning (only on weekdays), takes hours to gel and style his punk style hair and with enough money he leaves for school.

Every evening he comes back with his arms stocked with snacks (mostly wai wai and lays). As soon as he reached he sheds his gho on the bed and waits for me to serve him his supper. After a hearty meal and a glass of juice, he reach out for the TV remote and starts watching TV till late evening. At night he helps me sometimes with kitchen work after insistent shouting and scolding from my side. After dinner he muddles with his books (sometimes) and then retires for bed, wakes up next morning to repeat the same procedure and his routine.

When I urge him to study, he says class eleven is heaven and it’s time for him to enjoy and take rest. When I ask him to help me with household chores, he insist that there’s no work in Thimphu unlike at home (in Paro).
Further he reasons that people are not getting work in Thimphu because there’s no work. He mistakes the unemployment problem with the household work. If I advise him to study he has no ears to listen and when I study he disturbs and distracts me so much which eventually leads to fights between us.

On the whole, my kid brother is cute though impossible!!

Climate Change: what’s your contribution?

Have you ever given a thought to climate change once in a while? Are you even aware of what climate change is? Or are you among the ones who think it’s not your responsibility?

Climate change, like it or not, is happening and it’s happening because of our carelessness, because of our reckless actions. We are the ones who started it and we should be the ones to stop it too.

The world at large is doing many things to stop the climate change from happening. There are talks of developed countries reducing the carbon dioxide emission by introducing electric cars. In fact, people predict that by 2020, almost all cars would be running on electricity and not on fuel.
Recently there was a conference on climate change in Maldives held under water with all people plugged into oxygen mask. There was no talk but action. That was an initiative taken by their government to create awareness of the climate change. Maldives being an island is very vulnerable country when it comes to climate change. They say, all of Maldives will go under water and will be wiped out if the level of the Indian Ocean rises two more meters. This is what I heard from people and I don’t know how authentic it is.

Well similarly, there are so many awareness campaigns and TV programs being carried out to educate people on the negative impact of the climate change. There was one program on NDTV I happened to have come across. The program is called ‘Himalayan Green Adventure’ and you will see many cyclists racing the Himalayas for nine long days. Cycle because cycle uses no fuel and hence emission free. It was a great program and I have noticed many Indian celebrities are taking active part in it. The theme of the program is called ‘Green Matters’.

The sea level is rising and the glaciers melting, crops drying all because of climate change. The rain water is no longer best for the crops because it contains impurities and chemical. Everyday tons and tons of solid waste are produced. Vehicles and industries are emitting poisonous gases and tons of industrial waste all contribute to the drastic change in the climate. I believe there’s a reason to fear climate change and every one of us, individually or collectively must do our own share.

Bhutan is not really affected by climate change as of now but it’s just a matter of time. Since there’s no sea in or around Bhutan, we have no reason to fear the rising sea level but we have our own share of Tsunami up there in the mountains. Reports say that glaciers are melting in the Himalayas at much quicker pace than they are supposed to and there’s a risk of flood in Bhutan if it does happen. Already so many people are deployed for the operation Thorthormi in the Lunana area. The giant lake threatens to burst and wash us all away and so the RGOB is taking precaution before anything dreadful happens.

We have witnessed so many irregularities in the climate already. No longer do we enjoy snowfalls in winter. Most winters are deprived of snow, and in March when we least expect, it snows. Crop yields are much low compared to the past and hence the government is encouraging organic farming.

The pace at which climate is changing is alarming. People better take this seriously instead of taking it as something which is in paper only. Let us be responsible and take it personally because when it happens it’s going to happen to you, me and every body.

I in my own little way is doing something because this mother earth is much mine as she’s yours. I always make it a point to switch off light when not required. I close the taps after using. I also make best use of papers. I do my rough work on the used papers and collect it so that I can sell if there’s any buyer here in Bhutan. During my college days, I sold about twenty kilos of used books and papers to the vendors who took those to recycle. Here, I collect beers bottles and sell it to the old man who comes by to purchase. I also collect polythene bags instead of disposing it because people say these bags takes ages to degrade if they do at all.

So I am doing my bit. Are you?

On the Road to Recovery

I had hoped to start anew in New York by leaving behind San Francisco and Adam but it’s not happening so. Perhaps there’s nothing as forgetting the past and living the present because the good old memories refuses to leave me.

It’s been two months since I moved to NY with my two children, Brian and Elizabeth, leaving behind San Francisco and Adam and the memories. I thought I had made the right decision moving here not having to bump into Adam and Rachel (Adam’s new wife), every other day but now I realize it’s better than not to be seeing him at all because the kids and I, miss him terribly.

A decade ago, when we took the oath of ‘till death do us part’ I thought it was meant forever. Who would have thought my marriage was for a period of a decade only? Not the crowd gathered there in the town hall then, to witness the sacred ceremony, and definitely not the old priest that married us. Never had I in my wildest nightmare have seen this coming. Nevertheless, I am adjusting to the new life in which there’s no Adam in it. It’s hard on me and the children but there’s no other options open for us at this juncture of our lives.

The children at first were reluctant to part with their dad but a presence of a step-mother was not exactly a welcome sight for them. They preferred a new place, home and their mom to their dad with the step mom and hence agreed to move with me to NY City. The divorce is really taking its toll on the children and I wish I could have done something to save my marriage at least for the sake of the children but the damage has been done already and there’s a little that can be done to undo it.

Adam has always been a wonderful dad and he loves the kids dearly but maybe the love wasn’t enough to stay bound to me forever or maybe Rachel was too irresistible and his love for her exceed what he felt for the kids. Whatever the reason was, in the end, we couldn’t hold on to our marriage. My marriage failed in front of my eyes and there was nothing I could do to save it. Horrible truths kept unfolding and with a couple of weeks the entire court procedure for the divorce was over. I was just a dummy there sitting beside my lawyer like a well behaved kid with a strict mother, while Adam had Rachel to support him, I had no one.

We didn’t want to do this to the kids but our marriage was a failure and we saw no point in staying together when we had so many indifferences. The children didn’t take it well at first. They had tough time getting used to the idea that their dad and mom aren’t going to be together anymore but somehow they are better now.

I can only blame myself for causing unhappiness to my children. If I couldn’t save my marriage, I had no right to marry in the first place. Although it was Adam who cheated on my first and then divorced me, I can’t blame him also. Maybe I have grown too unattractive for the years or maybe I wasn’t the same woman he married a decade ago; I must have changed for worse and that ‘new me’ may not have appealed to him. I have no right to blame anyone because my marriage didn’t work out, it’s my responsibility and I should have saved it when I had time though now is too late for regrets.

Having lived all my life in San Francisco, I still feel alien in this city. I simply can’t get used to the idea that this is going to home from now onwards but I can’t be selfish and think about myself only because the children are taking it harder than me and I have the job of convincing them that life’s going to be good here and I have to make it up to them.

Fortunately for me, I found a secretarial job with a big private law firm. My new boss considers himself lucky to have found me because I suited his purpose just fine with my children and my marital status. It seemed he was looking for an elderly married woman who doesn’t distract him and also be the object of his wife’s jealousy. He adores his wife and doesn’t want to risk his marriage because of some slutty do-nothing secretary in his office. So career wise I feel I am quite established here. My boss and I share a very professional relationship and it suits both our purposes well.

The kids have joined their new school and they say the school here is much better than the one at home in San Francisco and I am glad to say that they have made few new friends as well. There’s only one problem now. Since my work requires me to work for long hours (I don’t mind the hours since pay is good), the children at left at home all by themselves, so I am thinking maybe I should hire a babysitter….

To be continued..

Search for the lost guy

It was in my seventh standard when I developed this big crush on this guy. Time passed by and a decade later he still holds a little place in a corner of my heart. I never thought I was capable of such an intense emotion as love. Maybe it’s an exaggeration to call it ‘love’ but it’s definitely something lesser than that.

Well when I had time and opportunity I couldn’t confess my undying love and now it’s too late. People say the world is not too big a place and we are bound to meet one day or other and yet we never meet the people we want to meet most. I have been wanting to meet this guy for a long time but in vain. It’s as if he no longer exists on this earth because nobody even knows where he is at all. I have been searching for him on social sites like FB and hi5 too but to no avail. The guy must be a freak not to be using any networking site when the whole world is into socializing online; an advantage the present generation has over our ancestors.

If only I could meet him just once, I’d want to confront my feelings; see if it stands time tested or whether I have been using him as bait to ‘barricade my heart against hurt’. I have seen my share of guys; handsome, ugly, smart, intelligent, boring but I couldn’t find “him” in others. There’s no guy like the lost guy, I don’t know why but he is simply not like them. He’s different, unique and not them.

Or maybe he’s no different from others. Maybe he must have appealed to my adolescent eyes. Maybe…he’s blah blah blah. Well that’s more the reason why I need to see him again, at least once to see if he’s the same guy or whether my heart still beats from him but he’s no where to be found….

I nearly ‘got’ it

Yesterday was the BoB personal interview (VIVA) for the post of network administrator. There were five of us competing for the post, four boys and I. well the interview was at the hotel Kisa (opposite city bus parking), at 2 pm.

The interview was tough for me but I admit I enjoyed the whole process. It was just talking, something I was good in but I couldn’t really answer all questions so I wasn’t really surprised when I was informed that I didn’t get it.

I didn’t read on the BoB website that the announcement is going to be on October 22 and simply called them but I think I did the right thing. If I hadn’t called, I wouldn’t have known I didn’t get it and wasted two more days worrying of the result and thereby not preparing for RCSC.

In the following you will read the mail my sister received from her friend who works for BoB. I said “nearly” because I’d have got it if the first guy wasn’t there..haha..it’s funny isn’t it?

hey... ur sis came second in the personal interview... but since BOB had only one slot for the position.... we have to take only the first candidate...

However, I have no regrets because it was worth experiencing. I had fun with the interview and I am willing to attend next 20 interviews if only to gain some experience before RCSC exams.

I have a friend who attended 14 interviews only to do his MBA. Comparing to him my one interview is nothing. In fact I think I need to attend some more interviews to gain interview skills but my main concern is now RCSC exams. That one is a life-deciding exam and really a matter of life and death.

Maybe it was never meant for me to work in BoB. Well, whatever happens happens for good. I need to keep up my spirit and cheer up.

p.s. 'nearly got' is not as good as 'got' i know. it was meant to sound funny.

Perfect – my favorite novel

My favorite book is Judith McNaught’s “Perfect”. The hero is the hunk of a man: tall, dark, handsome, rich and successful. The heroine is an average looking middle class girl and a teacher. Their paths crossed, when the hero, accused of the murder of his wife escapes and take the heroine hostage. Following the kidnap, is a beautiful love story where two individuals from two different worlds meet for the first time. They are complete opposite. He is a very handsome, rich and successful Hollywood director and actor. She’s a middle class girl who was brought up in orphanage until she was adopted by some decent family when she was 13. He led a very glamorous Hollywood life, whereas she grew up in the streets of some small town.

But when they meet their chemistry flared. Judith McNaught did it again, the mastermind behind the intense love story. Every love word weighs 100 kilos. It’s a sweet, beautiful and heart warming love story. If you read it, you’d wish if it could happen to you.

Well I specially like the book because unlike other romance where the heroine is some six feet, gorgeous, independent, successful, here we have an average girl just like us. I am so fed up of reading love stories about those stunning girls. It’s as if love happens only to those drop-dead gorgeous girls and so it discourages us to fantasies about love. For a change, it’s good to read a love story about some middle class girl too. It gives hope – a ray of hope to us too...

I was one of the “chosen” ones

It has never crossed my mind to search for any job before appearing for CSCE exams so when the bank of Bhutan (BoB) vacancies appeared in the papers I never thought to apply until my friend persuaded me to try so we applied for the post of network administrator (technical).

Well we were surprised to find all 52 people short listed for the written test. I was not so happy to find all of 50 plus people just for one slot but I just went to try my luck with the written test yesterday afternoon in Motithang School. The test was really tough and I thought I didn’t do well so I didn’t really expect anything.

But I was shocked to find myself short listed among the top five candidates for the personal interview (VIVA) scheduled on Monday 19, October. Trust me my hopes end here. I believe the other three candidates are all boys and if the gender bias exist here as they say then there’s really no hopes for me because I was the only girl among the short listed candidates. Sources tell me that those boys all did 4 years course against my pathetic 3. It really scares me to compete with three brilliant guys but I am happy that I made to the top five and I don’t really mind even if I couldn’t make it.

It was a very nice experience and I am glad that I took the opportunity to do it. The rest in the hands of the almighty god and let him decide who’s best for the job. “May The Best Man Win”.

Recollection of the past

I think it’s being ungrateful to my college friends and lecturers not to dedicate one article to them because they played an integral part of my life in Bangalore. I won’t be here today, had it not been for them. I owe them a lot and I’d always carry this gratitude with me in my heart for those people in Bangalore for making my life wonderful and worthwhile for three years. Life wouldn’t have been so good without them.

Well I can still recollect how lonely I had been in the hostel in the beginning when I knew no one out there. It was a hostile life then because I hardly knew anyone and had no friends. Every Bhutanese student had their own friends and their rooms were already packed and as a result I had to stay with the Sri Lankan girls. Though they were really nice people I had tough time adjusting with them in the beginning. When they were conversing in singala I felt as if they were gossiping about me.

However, Pema’s fight with Tashi proved a ‘blessing in disguise’ for me because it begot me a friend. Though Pema has then become a friend, I still wished for a constant friend who could be with me all the time. Those days I didn’t have a permanent friend so I wished for friends like that of my diploma days but things improved gradually. Since I had only a month to study for the first semester I didn’t get much time to miss home also because I had to study a lot to catch up with others. First semester was really tough for me; I had to work hard and sacrifice many things and also I got sick during exam time.

Things looked much better by the second semester. Though I was still staying with the Sri Lankan girls, by then I was acquainted with more people and was comfortable with the surrounding. Academic wise too I was more adjusted and comfortable with the subjects. By third semester I had moved in with the Bhutanese girls but things were the same.

The real enjoyment and life started only in the fourth semester. By then we (Pema and I) moved out of the hostel and stayed in a rented apartment. The apartment was a small cozy one and just suited our needs. On top of that, we had a good old friend as a neighbor (Mithun). We became real friends with the Indians than we ever were with the Bhutanese. Somehow, it was really comfortable with the Indians and all of our friends were Indians.

Though I had 15 years of academic education before I started with college education, I credit my real education to my college days. It was in Bangalore that I learned to be sociable and deal with different people. It was there that I got opportunity to meet people from different culture and language background. We had people from many countries in our college and I felt privileged to have known all those people. They were varieties of people with talents, knowledge and innovative ideas. They were all so friendly and eager to be there for me and I have no word to express how honored I was to have made their acquaintance.

I take this opportunity to thank all my lecturers in IADC without whose help I won’t be here today as a full-fledged university graduate. I thank my friends; Indians, Sri Lankans, Nepali, Bhutanese alike without whose friendship and guidance I wouldn’t have made it till here today.

Give me a Break..

Today i attended the job fair organized by the MoLHR.It wasn't a big success for me for the fact that i didn't get any job because there wasn't any on-spot recruitment promised by them.

also i got the opportunity to see the great Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche at the memorial chorten after much pushing and dragging by the crowd accumulated there but i am glad having got the opportunity.

Now. trust me, i seriously need a break from blogging because it's high time I start studying something for the upcoming RCSC exams and interviews. I am really not confident of anything but I'd want to give it a try without any promises. In the meantime you readers must excuse me for a couple of weeks. I hope you guys will miss me while i am away.

When you are bored, please go through my older posts. That way you won't miss me hehe.. well I am off for now but i hope I will have so many good stuffs to post.
Until we meet again.
with Love
Payday (tpG)

Friends, a basic necessity

“Good friends are like stars.... You don't always see them, but you know they are always there”

I take this opportunity to thank those wonderful people I met in Bangalore without whom my life would have sucked a big time.


Pema

Pema was the only real Bhutanese friend I had in Bangalore and we still are best friends. She’s always so agreeable and willing to whatever I decide. For me she was a friend as well as a little sister.
During three years of our stay we never fought because we had no reason to. It was always her who would listen to whatever I had to say, agree on whatever I decide. My life wouldn’t have been so wonderful had it not been for her.
Well do you remember how we used to always have ‘kewa’? Poor potatoes! We have exhausted you so much. Remember how we used to have only curry of kewa with not even datsi? Remember the times when we were ‘michael’ over Druknet chat?
Thank you, Pema, for being there for me always. I hope we will remain good friends forever.

p.s. Michael means crazy. something i learned in B'Lore


Mithun

One of the reasons why I have become so bossy around people was because I had friends like Mithun who would always agree with me. One would never be able to comprehend why how you tolerated all my tantrums and annoyance. It was you who listened to me sulking and helped and guided me with almost everything. Trust me; I wouldn’t have done anything without your help. I know we fought many times because you can be interfering sometimes and me not understanding and quite selfish. I can still remember how successful we are as partners. Remember the ‘Blu-ray’ presentation we did together and how we won the first place and how we won the treasure hunt with the help of our good old friend Tim.
I just hope you have forgiven me for saying all those hurting words those days. You are one great friend and I hope we remain friends even if we are physically miles away from each other.


Timothy

I wish I had known you from the first semester rather than the third but I am glad that I made your acquaintance. Sometimes you might have gotten quite annoyed by people teasing us together but I hope you haven’t taken it to heart because I didn’t.
Well I must admit I have learned so many things from you. For instance, I learned to be bold and courageous, to love, to be sociable and to be cool and calm and not to panic during exam time and there are many more. I can never thank you enough for being my teacher during exam time and for always lending your ears to my never ending troubles. Thank you so much for being there for me. I hope we remain in touch and friends for all times to come.

Lobzang

Lobzang, sometimes I take you for granted because you were there with me during diploma days and then degree. Although I feel sometimes quite formal with you I can remember you always helping me with one thing or the other.
I can still remember how you helped me during the diploma days with my VB programs and designing. Your help extended to my Bangalore days, when you had to design my presentations and my project as well. I owe you two certificates (I got from presentations) and my project marks (238/300). Trust me, I wouldn’t have done it without you friend. I am very indebted to you and I hope we remain friends till infinity times.


Sendil,Standley,Kiran, Manish, Meet, Bebothi,James

Thank you guys, for being my friend. You guys rock. Halleluiah to you guys..

Embarrassing moment: one of the hundreds..

Well I remember writing an article about being on the live telecast of BBS on the ‘international democracy’ day. Well I also remember mentioning why I had to ask a question just to please my mom.

Well I remember asking some stupid question. I think it’s better to write the question here so that the readers can judge for themselves how stupid it really was. My question was the following (in Dzongkha of course):

“As of now we have only two MPs from the opposition party in the parliament (NA) which is not really effective to the best functioning of the government.
Is there any chance that the ruling party and the opposition can be 50 – 50?”

Well my question must have sounded so stupid to all the viewers that night because it was dismissed by the host of the night (Dawa) as something obvious and needed no answer. The only person who was happy with my question was Gasa MP Damcho, who happened to be from the opposition party.

It was so embarrassing that I wished the earth could open up that very moment and swallowed my alive. I regretted asking that question before the last word was out of my mouth. But the past is past; I thought nobody would remember it and 70% of Bhutanese people may not have switched on their TV so I was relieved that many would not have seen it. But that wasn’t all; since that night, they have shown the programme twice and each time I was reminded of my silly question.

I just wish I had hold on my tongue that night. I wish I knew why they have to show that programme so frequently. I wish I could erase that question from my past because it still haunts me. Relatives, friends, enemies, acquaintances alike, must have seen me on BBS and said I was not even able to ask a question properly. When I think of it, I have a tough time restraining myself from doing something stupid.

I just wish they won’t show it again so that people won’t talk bad about me. I wish I could present myself better when I had the opportunity. It’s simply too embarrassing even to recall that incident…he he.. Please don’t laugh at me.

WISH: if only 'wishes' were horses...

I wish I were as beautiful as Angelina Jolie

I wish I had money like Bill Gates

I wish I was working in the branded software companies like IBM, InfoSys etc

I wish a was an actor like Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks,Hritek Roshan, Amir khan

I wish I was an actress like Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra.

I wish I were journalist for BBC, CNN and NDTV

I wish I were successful like Oprah Winfrey

I wish I had eyes like Katie Holmes, lips like Angelina Jolie, body like Jessica Beil, skin like Paris Hilton

I wish I had guts like Rakhi Sawant

I wish I were the owners of cloth brands like Addidas, Pepe jeans, Levi’s

I wish I was Barack Obama, the president of USA

I wish I was married to Abhay Doel

Forgetting the ‘invisible man’

The gentle breeze was soft on my face
Blowing my hair gently, tickling my skin
Whispered something in my ears
That was audible to me only
And that put a broad grin on my face; smiled to myself

Pedestrians were busily walking
Oblivious to the others walking by
Lost in their own little world
The sky suddenly grew dark
The rain threatens to give way

As I walked and walked
The torrential rain poured down on me
Wetting me to the skin
There under the shelter of a tree
Was a man with both his hands on his head
Trying to ward off the heavy rain
Dead to the rest of the world

As I stared into his face
I was reminded of the invisible man
The man I had fallen in love with
The man who have given me many sleepless nights
The man who has left me at last
And deprived me of my only heart

Why did he have to come back now?
Now when I was about to forget him
Now when I was beginning to see other men as men only
Now when I was about my find my lost heart
Now when I nearly regained my sanity

But it was impossible not to steal a look
At those green eyes that haunted me for months
It was too tempting not to stay put
Too irresistible not to let him notice me
But was it worth it? at the cost of what?

Slowly did he open his eyes as I moved to go
Gave me the look that bored holes into me
It was too hard not to held on his gaze
But he dimmed with each passing second
And disappeared with a streak ray of light
Where was the invisible man?

Was he really here a moment ago?
Or have I just imagined him?
Was some one playing a dirty trick on me?
Was it god’s way of punishing me?
Oh almighty god! Why did you take away my invisible man?

My heart was broken into thousand pieces all over again
But I vowed to love him with every broken piece
The wait for the invisible man is going to be long
But I am willing to wait for eternity
Wait for the next seven generation
Only to have him back even for split of a second

Multi-Tasking

Being a technical (IT) student I have copied the system’s (computer) way of doing many things at a time, a term commonly called the “multi-tasking”. I have become so impatient and so restless so I tend to do many things in one go. It’s as if somebody is hurrying me and I always remain so anxious all the time.

For instance, I read, brush my teeth and do toilet as well in the morning. I even finished few novels and magazines in bathroom only. There’s always one book that’s kept in the bathroom. While cooking I always listen to music (either radio or songs from my cell). When I brush the carpet in the sitting room, I watch news channels.

Likewise there are so many instances when I do multi-tasking. I have no time to stand and stare. Although there’s nothing I do that’s significant but I believe in keeping my self busy whatsoever. I like things to be in their respective places and my life to be very organized though it’s tough job organizing anything. By ‘organized’ I don’t mean to say financially stable because I am not that since I have no work as of now but I mean to achieve in that area too in the near future.

My kid brother calls me Akshay Kumar these days because he says my behavior resembles Akki’s character in the ‘Singh is King’. I am always running around the house these days toppling this and breaking that. The interviews and exams ahead are taking toll on me because I have become so restless and unsettled. I just hope I’d be able to keep my sanity till things settle down a bit.

Multi-tasking isn’t a bad thing but it divides my attention and as a result I end up doing things half-good. It’s all because of my urge to do all things at once. There are simply so many things to do that it scares the hell out of me even to imagine. The road ahead is going to be tough one I just hope I can do well not to disappoint all those people who have high hopes in me.

Funny incident: it happened to me again..

Last time, my brother and I were watching some historical programme on BBS where one man was explaining to other, who appeared to me as a reporter, about the kings of Bhutan. Well my brother said, “aani mi dib en za zaw chi yoe mey” (meaning: this man is quite something).
Well I just looked at the old man explaining and remarked, “Well, what’s the big deal about him”.
“He’s Dasho Karma Ura tey”, said he.
“Dasho what?” oh my god! Then only it registered to me. No wonder he said so many things about the kings of Bhutan. But how could I have not recognized him is something I failed to comprehend. He came thrice to the orientation (NGOP-2009). I even asked him a question. How stupid of me? That shows how much I learned from orientation. Dasho Karma Ura came thrice but I didn’t even see his face though heard him.
Well I certainly hope I heard whatever he has said.

Vegetarian in the true sense of word…?

I have been a vegetarian ever since I could recall. There were several incidents that lead to me being a vegetarian today. When I was a little girl, my ex-brother-in-law went fishing and caught a bowl full of fishes. I had so many fishes that night to last me a lifetime. That was the last I saw of any fishes. I had never touch a fish since then and today I have forgotten the taste of fish so it was all as good as never had fish in my life because the childhood memories of fish was so vague that I can’t recall the taste.

There was another incident where I became repellent to chicken. That incident too happened during my childhood. Those days we had so many hens (red hens which lays huge red eggs), and so eggs used to be in abundance at home. Well one day, my eldest sister and her friend, while working near the poultry happened to have provoked the hen-eating creature (called ‘zemo’ in Dzongkha. I am not sure what’s it called in English) which used to reside in our ‘oka’ (cow shed). That creature had formed grudge against my sister and her friend and as a result killed all of our hens. That night was a chicken party. That time too I had too much chicken that I didn’t want to have another in my lifetime. Well those were the reasons I stopped having fish and chicken in my life. Never had I tasted fish or chicken again till now. Although the taste of the said meat is all gone from my mouth, even to these days I dare not touch those.

Well even as I child I was always partial to all kinds of meat. The only meat I tasted was pork and beef. I haven’t tasted mutton or any sea meat neither do I desire too. Even then, I wasn’t so fond of pork and beef. This was a reason which eventually resulted in me becoming a vegetarian. Though I used to take only the above said meat, it was only in my tenth standard that I stopped taking meat completely. I have been vegetarian since then. When I first started out, I was a pure vegetarian but today I am not what they called ‘pure’ because I started having noodles with chicken soups a couple of years ago.

Another reason why I am not a pure vegetarian is because I started having eggs few months ago. The reason I started having eggs is very ridiculous. Well it was in Bangalore and I used to read and collect articles from ‘Times of India’. It so happened that, one day I came across an article where a man has lost some 30 kilos having diet of eggs only. That was when I was tempted to try eggs and lose weight too but I didn’t do it right. That man from the article had boiled eggs but I had fried eggs with dripping oil which eventually lead me to gain weight instead of losing it.

Today I feel that I am not a ‘vegetarian in the true sense of the word’ because I started having eggs and chicken soup. There’s also an incident where I had taken beef for just one night. Well that too happened in Bangalore. My friend and a room mate had so much beef, which she felt lazy to cook and was lying as waste so I was tempted to try it out. I must say that was a horrible experience. The beef tasted terrible and I regretted the moment I had it. I still feel guilty of having had that beef though I stopped again that very moment.

There’s no reason as to why I became vegetarian except because I didn’t like meat much. Some people think I must be really religious minded not to be taking it but that’s not the reason. I never stopped meat because I pity the animals and want to spare them because it’s not in my nature to be too sentimental and pious. There’s not many reason but today if you tell me to take meat, I can’t, however tempting it might be because now I feel guilty even of thinking about meat. It has become something not edible to me. Well there are times when meat becomes so tempting and irresistible but still I couldn’t take it because of the guilty conscience.

Today I feel very bad of not being a ‘pure’ vegetarian. In times to come, I will gradually try and stop taking eggs and chicken soup and become a vegetarian in the true sense as before. Meat I believe is never meant to be my diet and it’s disgusting to take it.

So friends let’s sympathize with the animals, pity and spare them and let us all ‘GO GREEN’!!!!!

My stagnant life...!!!!

My life’s like a stagnant water. It hardly moves, but wavers a little. I am still where I was last year and the year before that. I wish things were different; I wish times were different. I just wish I was different. I am so fed up of the same old boring life. Doing same thing everyday is quite tiring. Life’s been so predictable for me. There were no surprises, no miracles, and no gifts whatsoever.

Nonetheless it’s a pleasant life but I just wish there were more excitement than it has now. I don’t mean to sound greedy, asking for more than I deserve but sometimes it’s dry to have no excitement and challenges in life. I don’t expect my life to change over-night or in a fortnight’s time but few positives changes are welcome. I just wish gods in heaven are kinder to me than they were and change the whole essence of my life.

There are so many things I haven’t experienced in life. For instance, I have never boarded a plane (though my sister insisted I once come by flight during college, I refused), never had champagne, never celebrated my birthday with a birthday-cake, never learned to drive a car and the list is endless. There are so many things I want to do in life, so many subjects I want to excel in, so many areas I want to explore but all these are beyond me if my life is what I have now.

I just wish I knew, what initiatives that needs to be taken to experience change in one’s life drastically. I wish I knew how to prioritize things in life so it may not look so complicated.

Bhutan: How secure are we?

Bhutan is a landlocked country sandwiched between the two Asian giants viz. India and China. These two giants are not partners, but competitors in the region. Bhutan has never been colonized before and as a result Bhutanese people have taken this security issue very lightly but the recent controversy where China has laid a claim on Arunachal Pradesh has created a fear in the minds of all Bhutanese citizens.

If China can claim Arunachal Pradesh which already belongs to India then I don’t think she will hesitate when the matter concerns Bhutan. Although I have a strong faith in the deities of Bhutan (Yeshey Gyembo and Palden Lhamo), but I can’t help worrying about our security. It’s something to be thought about and all the Bhutanese must be aware of what’s happening with the neighbors because what they decide is going to impact us as well.

Our local deities have protected and defended us before too. It’s with their help Bhutan won the Duar wars against British India and prevented Bhutan being a colony of the British. It was with their blessing and help that Bhutan defeated its non-state actors in 2003. I just hope they will prove their power with our neighbors this time too if anything happened.

The great wars and the cold wars have spared Bhutan unlike its neighbors like the Tibetans and Mongols in the North and the British India in the south. Hallula! To the protectors of Bhutan! It’s with their help that Bhutan was able to sustain its sovereignty and independence.

Recently I read an article on Japan Times written by an Indian. There he said, Bhutan is just a pawn in the game of India and China. With New Delhi and Beijing eyeing Bhutan constantly over who should take Bhutan, it’s in a confused state. Well it’s too humiliating to read such article about Bhutan. He had no right to talk about Bhutan as if it’s nothing. Such newspaper and reporters need to be sued. I just wish our country would do something against false story as such.

I hope Bhutan’s security is not endangered. I hope there’s no dispute between India and China. I hope such rumors or controversy be rubbished. I hope it’s not true especially about Bhutan.

Swine flu over-hyped?

Swine flu in my opinion is over-hyped and over exaggerated. Is it some kind of a fashion to wear a mask these days or are people really scared of the disease? Millions die every year of HIV AIDS but nobody bothers to stop indulging in sexual activities and use condoms in the act but few hundreds die from swine flu and everybody wears mask in the public places.

Initially it was the media that created all the hype. They always say ‘do not panic’ but the panic was caused by them only. The fear was too much in the beginning and the disease was declared pandemic because it caused hundreds of death all around the world but the fear has gradually died down. Although you still find few people on the streets of Thimphu wearing masks but sometimes I feel people are doing it as an essence of style. There’s hardly anyone with swine flu in Bhutan so I have a reason to believe there’s no need to fear.

There was no death that happened from the swine flu alone. People die because they were already infected with some other disease when they got swine flu. Their body was already weakened by the other diseases prior to the flu. Swine flu (commonly called H1N1), is not much different from the common flu and it will not kill anybody as long as your antibodies are up and running; as long as your immune system is strong and functioning.

I just wish people fear AIDS more than swine flu because it’s the HIV that kills more. It’s good to be prepared and ready to face the disease but I see no reason to exaggerate it so much and create more panic among the people unnecessarily.

Experience of climbing a mountain

In the following article, I have drawn few similarities between living a life and climbing a mountain. Though these two have much in common I couldn’t do justice to the article due to my lack of experience and poor writing skills.

It was a tough job being here. I had to climb the mountains, cross the rivers and defend myself from the hungry wild animals ready to pound on me. It was a hot sunny day and my face burnt from the sun, my legs itched for some rest and my throat constricted from lack of water. My body was falling from sheer exhaustion. I felt like the mountains were growing taller the more I climbed up. I felt like going back down but that was no rational solution because I had made it till here so I couldn’t just give up also. I had to make it but knew not how.

I wished the mountains weren’t so steep. I wished the journey was shorter. I wished I could rest longer but it wasn’t so. There’s not much time to rest and so were the cases with the journey and the mountains being steep. My body was exhausted but I had to move on because there was not much time to spare and so I went on. The journey was not completely without distraction. There were so many obstacles on the way to be done away with. The first obstacle was the climate. The weather was never constant. It was sunny one moment and raining the next. There was need for shelter on the way, appropriate clothing for different weather condition but there were times I have worn thin flimsy clothes for cold days and thick for hot sunny days. There were mismatch many a times. The forest was thick and bushy. I had to fight the insects and reptiles on the ground. It was scary to find myself worn around by huge snakes. There were fights between us because I refused to concede with them and give away. Sometimes I used to scream a lot for help but there was none because my fiends were busy fighting their own wars. The other obstacle on my journey was the wild animals. There were always watching and looking for the right time to eat my alive. They were waiting to catch me during my vulnerable time and when I am low because I prove a strong enemy and an opponent when I am not.

After each win against the enemies I move ahead though still tired and exhausted. I could give up right there but I didn’t want to because I meant to fight this war. I meant to be a winner and move on and eventually reach my destination but the destination wasn’t so near, I have a long journey ahead but I mean to go on. Though tired but when I look back I have not come far; it’s not even half of my journey but I am not so eager to finish it because I meant to enjoy while it last, not forgetting the fight against natural calamities and the reptiles. So far there wasn’t much fight because the bigger and the mighty enemies are way ahead of me waiting to defeat me if I prove them a weak opponent.

I was just on the slope of that mountain when I looked down the valley from where I came. Wow!! The view is amazing; from here everything in the valley looks so small. It’s a bird-eye view and everything looks so catchy. It feels great being here and looking at other things and seeing them so small in front of me. Just imagine how would it feel to be on the top of that mountain? It must be a great feeling to achieve in that area too. Although I am just on the slope I meant to climb to the top in the next 40 years and enjoy the gorgeous view despite obstacles and distractions.

Fund raising campaign for the earthquake victims in the east

There was this fund raising campaign yesterday too but I wasn’t aware of it. I was informed that they got around 43,000 from Thimphu clock tower from the ‘folk fair’. The campaign was an initiative taken by the NGOP-2009. The amount was contributed to some accident victims and patient with kidney failure.

Well my friend and I were going to the CBS (centre for Bhutan studies) for the talk on GNH by Dasho Karma Ura. When we were about to leave I called up a friend of mine to check on others; he said there’s hardly anybody attending the GNH talk because people are involved in the fund raising for the earthquake victims in the east. He called us up to the YDF hall and so we went there.

Upon reaching there I was surprised to find about some fifty graduates who were busily making banners and donation box with very meaningful messages pasted on the boxes and the banners. The fifty of us packed ourselves in seven cars with the messages pasted (like – they depend on us; we depend on you), on the cars as well and made a round of Thimphu town after that we went to our respective assigned ministries and offices.

We were four in our group; two boys and two girls. Our assigned ministry was ministry of labor and human resources (MoLHR). We went straight away to meet the secretary but unfortunately he wasn’t there so we went to meet the director general. We got contributions from almost all employees in there. Almost everyone was kind enough to contribute and we were really happy. Finally it was time to visit the minister himself and so we went to his office. The PA asked us to wait but the wait wasn’t too long. We were admitted almost immediately inside where the minister, Lyonpo Dorji Wangdi, shook our hands one by one after which we were offered seats. The minister was very friendly and by the end of the visit I almost forgot I was in presence of a minister. He was kind enough to enquire about the campaign and encouraged us. He also talked about the jobs available in Bhutan as of now and the upcoming job fair. He said the RCSC will be presenting all the jobs available in the 10th FYP. We are offered tea in his office and it was as if we were all peers there. For me it was a life time achievement. Never had I sat with minister before in my life. I was honored to be given the opportunity. We made around seven thousand from the Labour ministry.

After lunch we went to ACC but Dasho Neten Zangmo was in a meeting for so long that we couldn’t get anything. Similar thing happened with Bhutan insurance limited (BIL). The MD wanted to contribute themselves separately so we didn’t get anything. After 5 pm we started with the shops. I was with a different group then and our assigned area was from traffic area to the hongkong market. The place was full of sales and small shops. We had to skip all the ‘pan’ shops because we didn’t want to exert any pressure on them. The contribution was much but it was ok. The major amount came from the club under the Bhutan times office. There were media people and politicians and they contributed much. After them it was almost time for closing shops so we returned to the clock tower where we were supposed to meet.

All groups made very huge amounts. Some groups got clothes and dishes even. Since ‘accountability’ and ‘transparency’ was much stressed on the amount was counted in groups and handed over to the chief counselor. The net amount I believe will be handed to the office of Gyalopi Zimphoen which would eventually be distributed among the bereaved families and the victims.

I may not have done much but I am happy that I could do something for a good cause. Since it was for a social cause I was very happy to be a part of it. I contributed Nu 50 from my pocket. I hope the generous contributions made by the fellow citizens could help the victims. We are all proud to be there for each other in times of need and this must continue. Let no harm or disasters befall Bhutan; let the people enjoy eternal peace!!!!