Yet another 'Lomba' away from Home

I just found out that my folks at home are busy with the Lomba celebrations. This is one time of the year I miss home and my folks terribly. It's been ages since I was home on the occasion of Lomba. I have been trying to be gay all day laughing at silly jokes, overlooking others' fault and tried my best to be patient because I didn't want my new year to start on a bad note. On the whole the day's passed pretty well.

I still intend to clean my office and my house thoroughly. Afterwards I plan to cook many delicies and have nicely. This year at least I'm not lonely, God with his good grace has granted me with company of this wonderful person and I am happy and thankful of the presence of this person in my life.

2011 has been a pretty good year for me in terms of career development, financial gains and personal relationships. With God's grace everybody had good times. On this scared and joyous occasion my my New Year (Lomba), I wish everyone a Happy Lomba and a very successful and fulfilling year ahead.
May peace prevail on earth..

Lomba Tashi Delek @Everyone.

Spent my ‘National Day’ in the Coal Mines

Unusual as it sounds I have spent Bhutan’s 104^th National Day in the coal mines along with the truck drivers and laborers. The road to the mines was sheer nightmare; rough, bumpy and narrow.  Literally speaking, it was a roller-coaster ride.

Some 5 kms from Deothang, the SD Eastern Bhutan Coal mines stood. Acres of forest have scraped of its trees but it looks beautiful. I have always wanted to pay a visit after seeing the picture of the mines from a past Kuensel’s edition.

I meant to take my camera but the battery was dead before I could take one photo. As a result I had to resolve to using a friend’s mobile camera. I have spent the entire duration there taking pictures of the beautiful landscape but due to my poor photography skills I could not do justice to the mines. Some of the pictures I have uploaded to the sliding images on my blog.

The return journey wasn’t as scary also we did not meet so many trucks on the way. After spending sometime in Deothang we returned to Samdrup jongkhar. It was 3 pm in the afternoon.

Rest of the day was spent in watching BBS TV. With tears in my eyes, I have watched 4 times His Majesty’s National Day speech. The heartwarming words have renewed my sense of patriotism and love for our kings. Long live our kings and happy belated National Day.

Confused

In my effort to improve the outlook of my blog I have completely distorted it, lost the old settings and stuffs but I am happy that finally I'm adapting to change (I used to be afraid of changes in the past), which I suppose is a good thing.

In the coming days, I hope to improve everything about my blog and begin to write again. It's been so long without any post.
For today, I sign off....

Couple of Stories

Ram may be a wealthy man, a man of power but he lacks the basic ingredients of live; love. At 43, Ram's never been married. Thanks to his step-mom, who did not want to see him happily wedded? Though Ram has always considered him as his own mom and showered her with love and care the feeling wasn't reciprocated.  And hence Ram wasted good many years of his life without love. Now there was no hope for the poor rich guy.

Ram may not have been the best looking man or he might have quick temper but he was a good human being. Fortunately for him, he had the best friend and business associate that had his best interest at heart. The search for a potential bride for Ram who loves him and not his money has so far proved futile and so life went on.

Priya is a middle class woman in her thirties who's been looking after the welfare of her family all her life and it skipped her mind to look after herself. She gets along with her father, a simple and humble man. Together they make a good pair. 

However, her mother is a total contradiction, though obese she likes to think she's stylish and fashionable. A middle-aged woman and a mother of three children she's a real gold digger. It's of no use blaming the mother because she only wants her children not endure the same fate she had for herself.

Priya's siblings are the handsome younger brother and the pretty model-like sister. Nobody knows as to why Priya couldn’t share her brother's lean feature or her sister's angelic face. Nor did her father doubt her mother's fidelity. The only person blaming her is her mother for not having secured a husband by now. The brother's marriage had to be on hold because he refused to get married before his elder sister does.

Ram and Priya may not admit to themselves that there's something brewing but to the onlookers they make a striking pair. For instance, the lady in the lift once compliments how good they look together. For now, we'll leave them to their feelings and let them realize they are truly a match made in heaven.

This reminds me of another love story, of Dagay and Lemo’s. Well Dagay is this normal working guy who screwed up his studies and landed a small job in the remotest part of Bhutan. His meeting Lemo was no coincidence neither fated but case of lost bachelor wanting to have a normal life. The first few months might have gone well but troubles started when the initial excitement worn out.

Today five years and two children later, the couple couldn't remember why they got married in the first place.  Things turned ugly when jealous Lemo keeps tab of the carefree Dagay. Public humiliation is one thing that Dagay had to endure on most occasions. On one occasion, Lemo scolded her husband badly which affected Dagay's respectable public reputations.

Dagay may be a huge and heavy-set man but his size is in contrast to his say at home. Dagay has to do the basic chores of cooking and dropping his children to school. Lemo, on the other hand, takes pride in her control over her husband. In her doing so it did not occur to her what her husband might be going through, the weight of torment that could cost her marriage.

However, Dagay, the good old gentleman did not mind his wife's tortures and continued living. He considered her  nagging as his duty and responsibilities. To these days, Lemo hasn't improved a bit and someday it'd be too late to mend the fences.

Perhaps somebody got to tell her to check her wrinkled face in the mirror once in a while.

Snakes: A common sight during monsoon season

A dead snake hanging from electric pole

BPC's electric poles have yet another use; for snake drying.

Scared of snakes? Then it's no place for you to be. Snakes are everywhere; on the road, on electric poles, behind your door and in offices. Snakes of all shapes and sizes, of all colors are on display this monsoon.

Samdrup jongkhar: An observation by a new resident

When we entered the Bhutan Gate (that borders SJ with Indian state of Assam), one of the men from our taxi had white hair which was actually black when we started our journey in Phuntsholing. It was in the last week of February and that was how dusty the place used to be. Gradually the dusty roads were replaced by black-topped and paved road and the place looked much better as time passed by.

Today, three months later I've developed a sense of belonging to this place. Although a small town and deprived of any sort of entertainment, this town has got its own charm. People here are not really workaholic like that of Thimphu but they are more human. If you visit the town you will see men in boxers and vests leisurely walking around, hands rubbing their potbellies as if this little act can do away with the heat. Women suit-up with printed cotton kiras with matching tegos and flat sandals, and absolutely no makeup.

If you observe you won't see many people in town, can't blame the people, the shops around here only sell groceries and vegetables? Fancy clothes are luxuries the town shops simply couldn't afford.  However, most people walk to/from office. The buzz comes only in the evening side when people go for walk to the S/jongkhar - Dewathang highway. Old and young alike, wake up as early as 4.30 am to walk or to jog, sheer freaking behavior (or so I thought).

Taxis are the thing that is seen only in the taxi parking lot. People hardly take taxis locally, nor do the drivers entertain local. All taxis go to Phuntsholing, Trashigang or Gelephu. Still few cars owned by the residents are mostly branded foreign cars.

Inflation rate is totally outrageous. The price of the commodities dwindles all the time. A broom  stick that cost Nu. 30 in Thimphu, is sold at Nu. 80 in Samdrupjongkhar. A pack of maggi costing Nu. 10 is sold at Nu. 15 here and the list is endless. Shops on the outskirts of town must be buying things from the town and selling at a high rate and so explains the fluctuation in the price of commodities.

Despite all the flaws there are good stuffs too. Men here entertain themselves with archery, football, jogging and bars. Women indulge in walk and sports. Rumors have it that there is rampant gambling too; however, I haven't seen it happening yet.

Few famous hotels like Friends, Mountain and Shambala are always crowded irrespective of occasions. Either people are overjoyed or bored to death in a small town like this, to be able to hang out every night to celebrate.

When you first arrive in the town you feel like you are some kind of sensation, with your mobile phone buzzing with calls from strangers but you soon will soon learn that the same happens with every new comer in the town, beginner's excitement I guess.

Above all, the town’s total attraction (according to me) is having the Indian city of Guwahati nearby. If you’re willing to spend around 10,000 bucks, Drukair will drop you in Paro in less than an hour. Also there are recreation centers like parks and others on the way to Guwahati.  I have had the pleasure to take a peek at those parks on my way to Guwahati and they are awesome.

Well, Samdrup jongkhar is one of Bhutan’s class A thromde where you need to cross 2 giant Indian states viz. West Bengal and Assam (if you happen to come via Pling), in the extreme South-East corner of Bhutan.  You need SSB escort to come or go but once you reached it’s a beautiful town and a small community.

Of Corporate Vision and Leadership

Some people by nature are born to rule. It's an inborn talent. Those persons radiate self confidence and intimidate others that surround them. They are not difficult to recognize because they stand out from the lot. What makes a leader of one is one's ability to interact with people from all walks of live.

Leaders come in different personality types. You can't become a leader by imitating the most successful leader in the world. That strategy is doomed from the start. The leadership qualities you possess must be something nurtured inside you. Remember, the first step towards success is identifying your own leadership strength and qualities. To a certain degree, leadership skills determine the success an individual or organization achieves. However, leadership alone is not enough to steer an organization or an individual, for that matter, to attainment of success.

A clear vision of what one is set out to achieve is an integral part of the whole thing. Keep you vision intact from the day one and let your employees or hired-hands too understand your vision and share the rewards and credit afterward.

Dale Carnegie in one of his books said, "people can learn to move from directing to guiding, from competing to collaborating, from operating under a system of veiled secrecy to one of sharing information as it's needed, from a mode of passivity to a mode of risk taking, from one of viewing people as an expense to one of viewing people as an asset."

 Communication is vital in today's corporate world. "I'm the boss and I'm always right," were most accepted form of human interactions in the workplaces in the past. "Barking rights" or so they used to be called, were the prerogatives of the executives in the past. And loudness was then equated to toughness but not anymore. Today people realized the importance of communication. "Any idea is a good idea," my boss says it always, "and ideas are accepted from all levels of employees in my department." Though we communicate everyday, an effective communication is but rare everywhere. We're all on the different level, whether you are the company's CEO or a sub-staff, it's just a different job. Hence, communications need to be a two-way street.

Do nothing to discourage people from taking the risk of communicating. Do not punish your inferiors for telling you what's on their mind; if it's a good idea, take into consideration. If it's a bad idea just discard it.

You can't go on saying, "we're the best company in the locality, come join us," to each and every individual, though today there are media to pass on this message. You have to make them want to join you. It's a leader's job to foster these feelings. Everybody wants salary at the end of month but the real motivation never comes from financial benefits. There's something called job satisfaction and contentment. Those who work only for paycheck hardly get anything done.

"There's only one way under heaven to get anybody to do anything," Dale Carnegie said, "and that is by making the other person want to do it." As a superior, show your subordinates the respect, encourage them, let them speak up, include them in the decision making and above all make them feel valued and that's where true motivation comes from.

Dealing with people (associates, clients, customers) probably is the biggest challenge, especially in business. It's important to sometimes look at the things from other people's perspectives, put yourself in others shoes. As a leader, offer genuine appreciations to your employees/subordinates so they'd know that you know their worth and values it.

First snow fall and disappointment

It is true expectations lead to disappointment. I've learned my lessons early not to expect a lot from people be it family, friends or other people. 

However, against my better judgment, I've expected a lot from the climate. Can you believe it, when I couldn't trust people how could I possibly trust the climate or weather, whatever you prefer to call it? Well the past couple of weeks have been exhausting even on the weekends. So I was really looking forward to this snow fall and the holiday following it.

The weather turned chilly, there was no sign of sun in the sky and the fog engulfed it all. My mood started soaring; the day I have been waiting for isn't far away. Well we were all sure it'd snow on January 18, but it didn't. But so what, the weather is still pretty much the same, one day couldn't have made any difference.

That night I slept very late, it was 2 AM in the morning when I finally dozed off. I was sure it was going to snow the next morning. I had planned to stay all day in bed to give rest to my exhausted body and strained eyes. I set my alarm at 8 AM and slept that night peacefully. The next morning as soon as the alarm went off, my first instinct was to peep outside expecting to see layers of snow but to my utter disappointment, the streets are dry as hay.

Totally pissed at the climate, I closed my eyes for a while. When I finally got up to get ready, I was already late for office. Not only me, I have encountered many colleagues yesterday who experienced similar situations. For instance, some didn't get breakfast, some couldn't pack their lunch boxes, and some were late for office. All because of the damn snow that refused to come down on us.

The weather condition wasn't any better last night. I should have known better than to expect but poor me, I was still expecting the impossible last night too. I was hoping for the snow fall, so I again stayed up late, checking constantly on the snow. As the hours drifted by there was very little snow. Whatever fell on the ground was soon absorbed by the ground. I lost all hopes of snow and went to bed. Morning I drew the curtains apart to gaze outside only to find there was no snow again. 

When I reached office, it was announced on BBS that today would be holiday on the occasion of Thimphu's first snow fall. Though there's hardly any snow visible outside, a holiday is what everyone was craving for. I was about to leave the office for some relaxation when my supervisor stopped me. Well somebody had to remain in office for support and unfortunately it was to be me because everybody else had already left. And so I landed up spending the entire day in office.

For all it's worth, there's only 24 hours in a day.