My Father & His Potatoes

My father is a passionate farmer. I haven’t seen a man so hard working and so dedicated for a cause. Growing potato is no man’s ‘cup of tea’. You need to first till the soil, for countless times, put manure, spread the seeds and then make endless beds. After plantation is done, he had to sleep in the fields, for the whole season of the crop, safeguarding the crop from wild animals such as boars. During those sleep-over, our family dog, Blackie, is his sole companion. Every night, right after dinner, he’d leave for the fields, with Blackie tagging along, like an obedient servant.
On the sloppy land, behind our house, the potato fields stretch for acres. In between those vast fields, he had built himself a small hut with a space just enough for a bed. Besides the hut is another tiny hut with only a roof above, for Blackie. The duo remains alert most nights, pricking their ears to any tiny sound of boars and other animals, fearing his hard labor might go down the drain.
At harvesting time, I was present myself for a day. My father literally glowed with pleasure and pride, never failing to compliment his big and red potatoes, odd shaped potatoes and others. The man seemed so energetic uprooting potatoes, encouraging others and talking of the big money he could fetch with his crop like last year and contemplating what all things he’d buy with the money.
A week later he was in Phuentsholing auctioning his potatoes, in the FCB yard. The potato prices plummeted there due to the good yield from the Indian state of West Bengal or so they said. He could fetch only Nu. 830 per sack or 50 Kilos. For god’s sake, he bought the seeds, 3 months ago, at Nu. 1000 per sack , hoping for better yields. It was all to less for his hard labor, missing the warmth of his home at night, the wages he had paid to so many laborers he had hired etc.
Later that day, he was on the phone with me from Phuentsholing. Though he didn’t mention his hopelessness, I could hear tears in his voice. I felt truly sorry for my poor, deflated father then. The man seemed pissed and disappointed with the end result.
In the beginning of the season, we’d always discourage him against planting so many acres of potatoes but no amount of persuasion works with him when his mind is made up. He was adamant on having his way, hoping to make big money. However, the unfavorable potato prices have achieved the unachievable; it made my father realize it was all not worth the sweat.
In the end, I still feel sorry for my father and all potato planters in general, for the losses it has incurred. If this trend continues in the future, I’m sure no farmer would want to plant potatoes. This incident/event is very discouraging for our hardworking Bhutanese farmers. All we can do now is to keep our fingers crossed, and pray for better yields and favorable prices the next seson for what’s happened has already happened.

Smart Guy Vs the Dumb One

Loving an arrogant but smart guy seems like a toughest thing in the world; when he’s hurt he doesn’t show it, when he errs he makes it look like you are to be blamed. He remembers every word you uttered over a year ago and yet he denies feeling anything for you.
At times like this, you prefer a dumb guy, who seems to have no smart bone in his body but still he appreciates everything you ever do. He hangs on to your every word and look at you with eyes full of admiration for you. And yet when you are stuck with this guy for a long time, you feel like creeping into a hole and never come back again, if only to escape him.
The arrogant guy, on the other hand, is full of himself, with an ego size of his spread. He never lacks a snide remark, never forgets to compliment your looks and never forgets anything you said. He quite diplomatic when, he never forgets your birthday, and never remembers your age. But this guy becomes quite intolerable when he becomes so critical of things you do, he always makes you feel so small that you become awkward in his presence. ‘Discomfort’ is the word that describes your feelings when you are with this guy.
But this simple, stupid, dumb guy? You tend to take him for guaranteed. You only receive his call at leisure and hardly return them. You turn to him either when you are bored or when you are in need of comfort, and tend to ignore him totally when this smart guy is around to shower you with his false charm.
However, in the long run, if you expect permanence or some sort of commitment from a guy, better stick with this dumb guy, for you’ll be appreciated and cared for, all your life, though there isn’t much excitement. And if you are in for a fling or short-term affair, go after this smart guy like ‘dog on a leash’ , because you are bound to lose yourself respect, confidence and courage, with his cynical remarks and criticism, if you had a lifetime ahead of yourself.