Some say its a "Good Luck"

It was almost 9 PM on the night of 14th July 2014, Monday. After having a sumptuous diner at my friend's place, I came walking home and as usual there were so many street dogs howling everywhere. I was walking by the side of the road. I came across one meat shop "Canine Meat Shop". There were canines (Dogs) by that meat shop and they started barking.  I always used to pass from there and I was unaware of the Dogs. I kept walking when suddenly a dog out of nowhere bit me. I felt something bit me and when i looked back, it was a dog. He ran. I could not do anything and I kept walking although little pain.

Then I called my friend and asked her to accompany me to the hospital. I was very nervous because it was the first time being bitten by the dog. She was very much shocked too and walked out instantly and her brother, who was inside a car outside, drove us to hospital. Her sister in law told me, not to worry because it is a good luck and it means all my bad things will me removed. I also remembered an old story which says- dogs bark usually to drive away the evils and when they bite or bark at us, it means they see evils with us and they are trying to drive away. I was content because of such old believes.  

We were in the hospital in just five minutes. There were so many people waiting for registration at the emergency ward. I was having pain and luckily there was no bleeding. My pants might have played a vital role there because it was not torn by those furious fangs. But I got two wounds, a very deep one. I could see the blood clot at the surface of the wounds. I finally got registered and was afraid of getting delayed if it was a rabid dog. Waited so long patiently and there on the door I read something like "Waiting is good, wait until the ones who are serious are being treated...blah blah...” So I thought yeah let them get treated first. So waited patiently and there were so many registrations done. Finally doctor came and announced “we will send in depending on the severity of the case". He called first the one with Cat bite; he was 3 year old boy with Mom. They did not require any treatment, they were given some advises and sent. Next they called me, and then I realized I am serious case too. I went there and Doctor advised me to wash my wounds on running water with soap, get injections at a regular interval. I thanked him and got into the cabin where a sister awaits patient. She gave two doses of injections. I experienced the pain of injection after a long period of time, it was painful but bearable. She also gave the schedule for next four doses of injection. I went home, washed my wounds as advised and slept with pain of wounds plus two doses of injections on each hand. The next day it was bit better. Thanks to the free health care system in Bhutan, I am waiting for next dose of injections, Sister said " do not miss a single dose, if you do, you have to start it again from the first dose" I won’t miss it, because it is painful starting all over again.

  

The Influence of Developed Nations on Asian Culture and Traditions

Every nation and even every region or every group of people for that matter has their own well defined culture and tradition. And their unique cultural identities have come a long way and played a vital role in maintaining their sovereignty. For the small country like Bhutan who has less military equipment, the unique national identities play a very significant role in defining our own territory among other huge nations of the world. But like a prism, whose colors depend on the surrounding colors, every nation (People) has been influenced by its neighboring countries and for some it has even resulted in the loss of their independence and sovereignty. The developed nations will have everything developed and the developing and underdeveloped nations tend to follow their way thereby losing their own cultural identity. Since most of the Asian nations are either developing or underdeveloped, their lifestyle and way of living have been greatly influenced negatively by those of the developed nations which we usually term as "western culture". Firstly the way of dressing has been influenced where many people now go on with dresses which are sometimes socially and culturally unacceptable. Secondly the language we speak and the way we speak to different kinds of people. There are different ways to speak to different people and also depending on the situation we change our way of speaking. Thirdly every region of a country, like for example if we talk about Bhutan, every nook and corner of the country, people engage in different kinds of festival which have been a practice for a longtime. These significant values that have been a practice in various regions of a nation have been lost to a greater extent that present generations don’t even know that such values were being upheld by their forefathers.

If we happen to read ancient civilizations, every region will have their unique way of dressing. For example in Bhutan, we have Gho and Kira as our national dress and similarly in India they have Dhoti and Sarri as their national dress and goes on. But today almost all the people, both in India and Bhutan wear pants and shirts which are supposed to have flourished from the western nations. Our great leaders have been promoting our unique national dress but with modernization coming in, it brought in different kinds of technologies, the people of underdeveloped and developing countries are being exposed to various other developed countries and the way of dressing in those developed countries were seen as comfortable, easy to wear and more fashionable. One way by which the people were exposed was the social networks like face-book and you-tubes. On facebook people from all parts of world meet, they chat and became friends and they imitate those from other parts of the world. People also watch different kinds of videos through YouTube and television by which they are being deeply influenced especially in the way they dressed. These technologies along with the temptation for those fancy dresses worn by people in the developed world, people in the developing countries have been highly influenced and they developed such feelings that people who dressed in traditional way are considered primitive. This social stigma has led many people to imitate western cultures thereby deteriorating their own unique beautiful culture and tradition.

One way by which the people from various backgrounds unify is the similar culture that they share and the same language that they speak. For example in Bhutan we have Dzongkha as our national language and other countries have their own languages which signify that they are from the country they belong. We Asians are fond of using many honorifics while talking to other people and also to our elders. In Japan, they even have respect to their family members and to the outsider like we have in our country Bhutan. We speak with respect and clarity, with soft tone and polite. We speak with love and affection to our younger ones, to our friends and those at our age we speak in a friendly and equal manner and to our elders we speak with loyalty, in a humble manner and with respect. 

But these days, people feel themselves great when they speak other language than their own language. With the introduction of various technologies, people get exposed to many other languages. Watching movies and visiting many other developed nations have highly influenced our people. Like for example, our youths tend to imitate the language after watching movies especially the Korean movies. This would decrease the love for our own language. Even while speaking English, the accent our people pick up are all influenced by the accent of western people. Some elder people say our generation lack manner while speaking. This is true because, this generation has been exposed to many other life styles which are sometimes socially and culturally not acceptable. 

Festivals are the times when all the family members and also the community get together to celebrate and share. In olden times, all people used to wait for such festivals to come but these days it is not the same with this generation. After having listened and watched the life style of those people of the developed countries, our youth today tends to lead a life of those. People in the developed countries are busy in their own world; they will have either less or no time to spend times with their families or loved ones. They don’t have time for the community gathering and as result even they don’t know who their neighbors are. These people need not have to depend on their neighborhood because they are all developed and are independent.  This type of life style keeps oneself away from the people around and will never trust others or will never be trusted. This type of living style has influenced our people in the developing countries.  

   

The festivals in Asian region are all connected to religious practice. In Bhutan people in far flung villages practice various kinds of festival which have very significant purposes. Besides family gathering, most of the festivals are a day of offering to please their local deities. There are also a number of Hindu festivals that are celebrated, including Diwali, a five-day festival known as the festival of lights and marks a time of home-based family celebrations. Also the Tibetans still celebrate a variety of festivals and are the only time when their relatives from very far-away places come to spend time with them. Festivals in Asia are of great importance for the people here because it connects people. But these days, with people growing more westernized, they start giving scientific reasons and tends to avoid such important family festivals. Many of our youths in Bhutan today do not go out with their family to attend Tshechhus (Festivals) in Dzongs and Goendeys. This is because our youths are influenced by the scientific believes of the west. Also people have been talking about the change of religion especially to Christian mainly because people are influenced. However choosing a religion is one’s right of choice.

All the nations of the Asian Continent share similar values which have been practicing by our ancestor long time ago. We Bhutanese value many things like respect for others, peace in the society, love and affection for every living being around us. Now with the change of time, people are losing all these values. Today’s generation doesn't care about the respect for others, doesn't value peace and other values. Influenced by some movies and acts of western people, youths involve themselves in city fights, vandalism and behave like hooligans in the city. Where have the values gone? This is mainly due to the influence of the lifestyles of western people. It has a greater impact on our traditions.  Before in Bhutan, we never used to hear someone stabbing or being killed but now even in a small peaceful country like ours, we get such news. Girls and boys romancing in the crowd, use of abusive languages are socially and culturally unacceptable but are now being seen in the street. This is really thrilling and it is not inborn but is due to the influential acts seen in television or internet of people in developed countries. The use of honorifics in Bhutan, Japan, India and many other nations is also a very good practice and it is still being practiced. But some people even doesn't know how, where and when to use. This is because they are being exposed to other culture where there are no such practices and therefore these values will soon be lost from this generation.

Culture has to be changed with the time but it should not compromise the good practices that we already have. Culture like use of time, thinking globally and the use of technologies in farming, etc. are in fact a boon for our societies. Effective use of time and using our mind effectively are some of the good values that we have learned from the western people. And also the use of technologies in farming and many other activities have eased hardships for our people. These are also the practice originated in the developed countries and we have picked up. The developed countries will always be ahead of the developing and underdeveloped countries and therefore those countries will have influential effect to the later ones. Therefore we as developing countries will have to follow the path of the developed countries but it is in our hands to pick up the good practices and those practices which does not compromise any of our culture and tradition. But until today, our culture and traditions have been influenced by those of the developed nations. So it is the duty of every citizen of a nation to uphold the unique national identities of one's own nation. 

Takpa Tenpa Mawa - Aye Ten Mitshey

Ayeten drowa rigdu ga, kekhan sem chen tham chen, dungyel chhas khan dang, dewa ma chhas khan, ebi rang mawa. Gin thun denibu, aye songo baki dewa ga ju, gewa druphe khelay ani sen thun deni bu, gewa drup khan songo, thuri niktsing gai lhak ni mala. Dungyel ga ju, migewa chu genibu, songo mangpo ghi, migewa chu khai, pang me roibo mala.  Onu adu kai, ayeten rang, kham sum khorwa nang ka, dugyel chhume mawa nyong pe khena.

Ayee ten songo ga sem sho, sang magay pa ga, sem adu kai,mitshey ga, tak pa ten pa hang rang mani bu, eti rang mashilay dabu ani, ju ga doepa kai ni, ngam binang mawa, bedeng alay ga sem ghi, lue sem ga kith pa dasu rang mawa, roktey gai, rang drak pa phelay ani, namey samey kawa chath pa thong la. Tshai bang la, gadang ghi dro ani, roktey gai bangchan ani, gukor pheni phani, tson gabu, nup ne mithsey hang rang mangi wa, mep phe khan bu una. 

Tshaibang la, mithsey thumbu thur geni bu, khung hang rang mawa, zhu thur jam ni, nyo zey thur laklen thab ni, mithsey khai throlhak phe khan bu una. Ayee ten noksam lekpen ani mini, otha mitshey khai, nam shhi num shhi mawa ga mithsey gila ani, noksam miley seni, junor ga chhag sem bu mawa, bag chha zhhen chha, hang rang mawa ani, chholay khewa thur gewala. Rok tey, lama chhos pa bak tshaibang, milue tonglog mafe wa, tshey dhata dang chhima, niktsing ga rang fan ma ga, chhoe yang dag pa akhan bu la. Roktey dabu, sem tha chath pe roi nila, ayee ten mitshey den dang den ma gila ani bu eptur gila ani mina. 

Chham chham, nong rey nongrey gan nirang dela kam, otha mitshey ga, chhima fan ma ga chhoe thur bu, drufey marshhi ani, sem ka thruel nang tey bu, lang pe una, geni bu, rang ga pham pincha dang chham thuen bak, tshing loka thani, delay ga rang wa la mala. Nee onen thun, rang wa mala ani chhonila, chhhiwa mitakpa opha kam, jang, rang wa mala ani bu nalo mala.

Chhiwa mitakpa yeg khan la, eti ophe mo rangi selo mala, opha kam nila, laso kuchoe ani bu manala. Ayeten chhiwa mitak pa ga lam gai, gan thar khan ebirang mancha. Onu adu kai, otha mitshey thum bu nang ka, roktey ga phan ma lai alay marnibu, noth pa thur, mawa ani, hala rang geni bu, zhenpehn kai bay noksam mini, otha mitshey khai, takpa tenpa hang rang mala ani noksam lekpu mini, mitshey den dang den ma ani, choth pe ga den gai, dam pai chhoe yang dag pa ani, dru fey marni bu, noth pa lai thur mawa ani, chholay khewa khai, hang gai khak chhilo gewa la. 

Civil Society Organization and the Young Democracy in Bhutan

Civil Society Organizations (CSO) are the critical actors in keeping up the values such as human rights, environmental rights, women and children rights and voices many other critical issues which are either neglected or are unable to manage by the government or the state alone. The Civil Society Organization Act 2007 defines CSO as an association, society, foundation, charitable trust, non- profit organization or their entities that are not part of the government and do not distribute any income or profits to their members, donors, founders, directors or trustees.

The Act also differentiates CSO into two: Public Benefit Organizations (PBO) and Mutual Benefit Organizations (MBO). PBOs are CSOs which are established in order to benefit the section or the society as a whole whereas the MBOs are the CSOs which are established in order to advance the shared interests of their members or supporters, such as advancing the shared interests of people working in a particular profession, the businesses engaged in a particular industry, youth studying in a university, or people who are interested in a particular cultural activity, sport or hobby.

As per Bhutan Civil Society Organization Authority (CSOA), there are 31 CSOs registered so far out of which 25 are PBOs and six are MBOs. Civil Society Organizations have been existed for the benefit of the society in Bhutan for many years but were never registered. Therefore in recognition to the very significant role played by these CSOs, the National Assembly in 2007 enacted the CSO Act 2007 of Bhutan. In Bhutan the CSOs are registered starting from 2010 and within the span of last four years (2010-2013), 31 CSOs were registered.

Some of the roles of CSOs in Bhutan as reflected in CSOA 2007 are to protect human life and health, prevent and alleviate human suffering and poverty, disseminate knowledge and advance learning, help develop country economically and culturally, protect natural environment and promote social harmony and Gross National happiness.

Civil Society Organization’s role is very crucial in the democratic world because they are the organizations who can voice the minority, they are the ones who can bring the change to the lives of those neglected or unseen by the state or the government. The CSOs can help in framing the laws which are not detrimental in any ways to any section of the society. If any law or act is compromising the values of the society, they can raise their voice and can help government amend such law and Act. These roles are very crucial in strengthening the democracy.

Democracy in Bhutan is very young and it is at the conceiving stage. This transition stage is very crucial for Bhutan to groom the young democracy to have a vibrant one in future. One of the very important factors that help in strengthening the democracy is the full participation of all citizens who are eligible, either as a people’s representatives or as an intelligent voter. Intelligent voter here means not being influenced oneself by others or not being influential to others at the time of voting. Therefore it is very imperative to educate our voters especially those who are not aware of the democratic reforms in the country. These issues can be brought up by CSOs and these organizations help in addressing such issues. In Bhutan CSOs such as Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy and Youth Media Centre plays a vital role in educating the citizens about the democracy. When all people understand well about the democracy, they will know how to franchise their votes to select their best leaders.    

Another issue in Bhutan and in the world is the gender equity. In a vibrant democracy, everyone is equal and everybody has the equal rights. In the first parliament session of Bhutan, the women representation was only 14% and it is even less this time. There must be reasonable representation of both the genders in the parliament in order to address the issues related to all genders. With the establishment of Respect, Educate, Nurture and Empower Women (RENEW), many women were now given the support both physically and mentally so that they now don’t fear any circumstances. Any policies passed down by parliament must not in any way affect any section of society. These things are taken care by the CSOs concerned. For example the issues related to the disabled are taken care by the Ability Bhutan Society or Draktsho Vocational Centre for Special Children and Youth. Such COSs provide any information related to these sections of people to the policy makers so that friendly policies are framed. When any bill is being passed in the parliament, the effect of such bills will be studied by various CSOs. For example if the bills passed by the parliament is compromising the quality of our pristine environment, the CSOs such as Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) and  Bhutan Center for Nature Conservation would raise their voices in order to amend the laws which would otherwise hamper the natural environment. CSOs have been playing a vital role in shaping our democracy in various ways. 

In Bhutan, the democracy can be strengthened if we work towards achieving the goals of the wise philosophy “Gross National Happiness”. The ultimate objective of GNH is to bring about peace and prosperity for the citizens of Bhutan and also this is the same objective with which the Democracy was being instituted in Bhutan. If we are working towards achievement of goals of GNH, we are working towards strengthening democracy. All CSOs also work towards achieving the goals of GNH which would ultimately strengthened democracy in our country.

The very first pillar of GNH, Equitable and Sustainable Socio Economic Development is being supported by CSOs like Tarayana Foundation, Bhutan Youth Development Fund, Royal Textile Academy, Lhoden Foundation, etc….. These CSOs help our people to be self-sufficient by providing them with adequate knowledge and skills to produce anything locally that can be traded for living. Such CSOs will question the policy makers to realize that any policies framed must facilitate the living condition of those people. The other CSOs like RSPN and Bhutan Center for Nature Conservation support policies that would protect nature and its product which is the second pillar of GNH, the Conservation of natural environment.

The Royal Textile Academy, Handicrafts Association of Bhutan, Music of Bhutan Research Center, Construction Association of Bhutan, etc…. work towards promoting and preserving our unique tradition and culture. These CSOs would help our policy makers to frame a law which would help to promote and preserve our culture and tradition. The most important keywords for a strong democracy are the accountability and the transparency that must be upheld for all times to come. These components are taken care by all CSOs by acting as a watch dog for every move taken by the government. CSOs such as Youth Media Centre and Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy educate our citizens about the democracy and its component so that the people understand what is good and what is bad for democracy. Such education will help in upholding the accountability and transparency in the democratic world. In a way the fourth pillar of GNH, the good governance is promoted.  

Here are some of the activities of some of the CSOs that could help in strengthening the democracy to next level. During the endorsement of the Domestic Violence Prevention Bill in 2012 by the National Assembly, CSOs such as RENEW played a very vital role in supporting the bill to be passed by the parliament. This is how CSOs represents the minority so that the framed policies would bring lights to the life of the minorities. And whenever government adopts a plan to develop new infrastructures like road and mining site, CSOs such as RSPN and Bhutan Center for Nature Conservation act as a barrier if building of such infrastructure brings negative impact to our environment. Also CSOs such as Ability Bhutan Society and Draktsho Vocational Training for Special Children uphold the human rights and they play vital role in bringing up the minority sections of the society at par with other able citizens.

CSOs in general are very important entity in the democratic world in order to represent the unheard voices of some sections of the society. CSOs act as a bridge between the citizens or society and the government or state. They are the sources of information for the government or the state to frame laws that harm no one in the society but boost the life of all the dwellers irrespectively. CSOs help in strengthening the democracy by acting as a critical group to question any policy that brings or likely to bring negative impacts to the society. They are the force by which the government or the state is made to work towards bringing a balanced regional development. Therefore the CSOs in Bhutan are very important organizations that work with government to achieve the goals of GNH and bring about the peace and prosperity, which would ultimately strengthen the young democracy of Bhutan.

The 4 Seasons of My LIFE

The down pour in Summer,

Makes me Warmer.

On the bed the Snorer,

Eater and Shitter, I am the Rarer.

Flowers and Trees, Yellow they Turn.

Like the Flames Burn.

Land Barren and Birds Quite,

Here comes Flying, the Autumn's Kite.

The weather out is Freezing.

All get together Buzzing.

With blankets Pulled,

They say "Winter has Called".

With Green it looks Beautiful.

Birds chirp, its Cheerful.

Fresh Trees and Flowers Sprung,

It is the call of Spring.

He is Not Bad

Mr. Karsang has been studying so hard to get a decent job that would fulfill all his dreams and desires. He has been realizing so much that the government has been so generous in providing free education and health services, and deep in his heart he always thought of serving the country with full dedication and loyalty. The other dream is to look after his parents for they have sweated a lot for his education. 

He graduated and was then enrolled as the civil servant in one of the government agencies as a simple officer. He came with a positive attitude to do his job with utmost dedication. His feelings were very clean and only thing that came to his mind was to repay his country and parents for the good things they have done while he was climbing up the ladder of education.

He served so well with full of respect for his seniors and bosses. He would come at 8:30 AM in the morning while his seniors would turn up at 9:30 AM or 10 AM and would leave at 4:30PM in winter and 5:30 PM in summer while his co-workers would disappear after lunch. He would see his colleagues going abroad or in-country for training/tours and would earn more. He would see other officials having the luxury of using all the office equipment while he was given an old computer (but functions well and he was contented with that), an old chair, old table and did not even requested after having told by his boss that there is no budget. Even after having put in the requisition, he was not provided when his friends who were recruited together with him were provided everything new. He only got new stapler, 2-3 rims of paper, punching machine, paper tray and later on got heater and table fan. He has got no printer, no locker and no shelf to keep files. But these things did not affect his dedication to serve. 

He is the only one in his section and he has to carry out all the works alone coming from all the directions. He has to walk to Dzong or pay Nu. 60/- from his pocket and even once when he went to attend meeting (4-5 Kms away), he had to go by cab paying Nu.300/- because all office vehicles were not free even after requesting. When he has to print, he has to go office to office requesting as if it was his personal work. He was nominated for a ex-country meeting once but his name was slashed stating that he has not completed his probation period. He understood it because that is what the rule said. But later he found out that some of his friends from the same organization were sent for ex-country training although in probation period. “UNFAIR”. Now he has completed the probation period but not even a single training he availed, not even in-country. Every time work, one after another. Running after Heads to get the information and when he can’t meet the intended boss, his work gets delayed and he has to take the blame for that. He has to use his own mobile for calling someone and if he uses PABX, he has to sign and let them know whom he is talking to. The working conditions were not so good. 

He tried his best to serve well, but nothing around turn out so well to him. Then he learned that if he is not provided with favorable conditions to do the work, he is not doing the work. Then he started to respond..."no vehicle....no printer....no phone....no Head in office so got delayed....." and started blaming someone for the delayed work instead of taking himself. He was so pressurized every day, so he did not feel like coming to office to do the work. Having to pay rent, walking to office and sometimes by taxi, having to clear all bills with his meager income, he has become the poorest officer.

He got promotion and he is now in next grade and now he is no more the same as before. He doesn't want to keep quiet and serve. He wants to raise his voice because he learned that people try to get on top if he is quite. Everything wasn't fair enough for him. These things have made him like any other civil servants who just come to office to get salary at the end of the month. If civil servants think little better than this, if they work to bring change in the society, country would prosper but they are being treated to become what they have become now, so no words for civil servants. Mr. Karsang's attitude was not bad, he had very good intentions to work when he first joined the civil servants but now after 6 years in service, he is not the same as before. He just thinks doing job is just a business to earn a living. He was not born bad but made.

Unfortunate being

They have no mouth to utter a request

To say, 'It's too heavy to carry in scorching sun'.

Yet, they walk arduously under the harsh whip of merciless owner

To reach a destination where they would probably get to rest and feed.

So poor, so pathetic is the life of horses and mine with no option other than

To receive only whippings and put the blame on our fate.

They wander freely with some expectations

To see if they encounter some generous folks,

Who would offer them edibles with good gesture of welcome

To their house where they would feed delicious meat and food.

But to their dismay, they are rather found beaten up to blue.

So poor, so pathetic is the life of dogs and mine with no option other than

To receive only blows and put the blame on our fate.

Contributed by- Lhaksam Chedrup