Mass Tree Plantation

On 6th March 2016, Saturday, I joined the nation in planting 108000 tree saplings to mark the birth of Prince of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. In Thimphu, hundreds of people, Excellencies, monastic body, civil servants, students and teachers, army personnel and general public participated in the plantation. The saplings were planted in Kuenselphodrang just below the statue of Buddha Dhordenma.

It began with the prayers for the long life of the prince and the peace and prosperity in Bhutan for all times. A tree was planted by each person and each tree was given a name tag and contact address on it. 

The programme was initiated by the Tendrel Initiatives in collaboration with Department of Forest. Five or Six people will be deployed in the areas to look after the saplings and will contact the person who planted the sapling if it requires proper nourishment through the contact address provided on the name tag. Each person will have to take responsibility in bringing up the tree till it has grown big enough to nourish on its own. 

The tree saplings were planted throughout the nation on the same day and same time. It was even planted by the villagers around their places and  a total of 108000 tree saplings have been planted on that day in Bhutan. 

I planted a pine tree with so much of love and prayers and I hope it grow big and healthy. I will make a visit to my tree and make sure it grow well and not die out. Planting trees help to maintain our clean and green environment. 

Corporal Punishment- A Punishment for Poor?

My definition for poor here is the one 'who doesn't have the courage to go against what has been forced onto them and accepting what is not right because 'if I react, I will be singled out'. People say "are there two laws in the country?" because they feel that the laws are not being implemented equally. Personally I feel the laws are equal for all but there are situations where people are made to feel that it is not equal.

I have heard of the ban of the corporal punishment in Schools but have never seen clearly where it has been mentioned. The law or the executive order stating the ban of corporal punishment in schools might have been implemented in urban schools but in rural areas, the punishment might still be going on unreported and students being the victim always. Myself being one of the victims of such harsh punishment when in school, I do not want to tolerate anymore. Once you are victimized in front of the friends or other teachers, the student is both physically and mentally traumatized. Mental trauma affects the students more than physical. The students get mentally disturbed and at times, they tend to behave abnormally that can lead to even suicidal incidences.

We can't always point out the reason behind the punishment is to bring students to right tract. In the name of correcting the students, there could be some who have been looking for such opportunities to punish that particular student due to some reasons. These reasons could be due to likes and dislikes that we human beings are used to with. Our human mind is not pure and we tend to dislike someone for no reason and like someone. These likes and dislikes developed by our own mind obviously will create favoritism in schools. There are also teachers who tend to point out their favorite students in classes. Those students obviously will at least not suffer such harsh punishment from the teachers to whom they are one of the favorites.

But unfortunately not all pupils are their teacher's favorites. Just a single bad day will have all things been poured upon him/her if he/she is being disliked for some reasons already. I have experienced the trauma. I could not concentrate on my studies, I did not feel like going to school and could not even share to my parents. But somehow my parents have known through some of my friends and were not happy too. Even to this day, I do wonder "was that punishment sensible? Did it really benefit me?". I am very sure it did not help me in any ways, rather it made me more introvert and aggressive. Many different kinds of thoughts pour-in in that state. And people even commit suicide in this stage if they cannot control this traumatic situation. 

So, as far as the quality of education is concerned in our country, the corporal punishment in all schools has to be banned and make the learning environment very conducive for all students irrespective of their family background, so that, they learn what they are intended to. 

***THE END***  

Gadgets; I Am Not Born With

I still remember the times when I along with few other friends used to watch TV through a netted window on our way home from school. We would spend hours enjoying the movie and reach home late talking about the just watched movie along the way. During weekends, I would be very happy and work as fast as I could when my mom say "we will go and watch TV at our neighbor's place after completing all works " and our neighbor's place is about two kilometers away from my home. On weekends, we would spend whole night watching TV even if there is nothing interesting to watch at neighbor's place. We would be ready to do anything just to watch TV. It was then in late 90's. 

As time passed-by, we grew civilized. That was the time we stopped watching TV through windows and rarely went to other's places to watch it. Moreover, we had to study a lot and became more responsible to help our parents after school. When we were in schools, we were for the first time introduced to computer in a computer Lab. Fortunately we used to have one class a week and would feel like magic playing with power point slide transition effects and word arts. We were also threaten by our teacher that we are not supposed to touch anything anywhere and would say, "You can't buy it even if you sell yourself". Frankly speaking, I could not learn anything from that class under such threatening warnings. 

When I was in college, I could hardly put on and shut down the computer. When in college, we used to have three classes a week and learned many basics. I managed just to pass (51 marks) in computer exam when in first semester and 50 was the cut-off point. Three hours computer exam were like in hell for me. I could hardly finish a question in an hour having to look for words on the keyboard and typing with one hand. At one point of time during internal exam, at the last minute, I thought I saved my work but I don't where did I click, I lost all my data, even my lecturer could not retrieve it and to my relief he rated me based on what he has been observing me for last three hours. He told me "I have seen you working". That was like; you know how one would feel. It was in 2010, my friend created a facebook account for me and only then, I started to learn facebook. As time passed by, I learned so easily the facebook and chatting helped me increase my typing speed. Aiding to this, having to submit many typewritten projects and assignments, I improved my typing skills drastically.  

I got my first mobile phone when I completed class 12 in the year 2007. I had to have one because I had to go to college then and I got my laptop when I was preparing for the RCSC in the year 2011. I don't still have a car. 

This was how I got introduced to various gadgets in my life. I really had a tough time moving at par with my other mates. The children at present are born with gadgets. It has become their toys. A year or two old children know more about computers and mobile phones than I had known when I was in college. The present generation is no more interested in TV; they demand ipad, ipod, iphone and many other smart gadgets. They demand car, not a toy car but a real driving car. Since they are born with these gadgets and they grow up with these, they will not face any problems in future and the exposure to outer world is high. These even have side effects if not used properly. If not properly being monitored by parents, there are chances that the children being carried away by these technologies and land up getting nowhere in future. Therefore, it is the parent's duty if the kids are small and it is one's own duty if you are adult enough to use the gadgets effectively and in a productive manner. 

I do not no whether I was lucky or not to have brought up in a gadget free society. However thanks to my parents, teachers and government for having provided me with this wonderful education in life where I am now not worst if not best in using these useful gadgets in day to day life. 

A Dream turned out to be a Nightmare

I am not, not among those who always have a dream to travel abroad, preferably 'Australia' and earn a life changing income. It is not only Bhutanese who wish to change their lifestyle in over 2-3 years, working in the dust in countries like Australia, USA, UK and many more, but there are also people from other parts of the world who share the same vision. People go there to enhance their skills and knowledge but one of the main reasons behind for going abroad is the hope of reaching next level in life when back to Bhutan or in their own country. I have that dream to be frank!

However, my only way to get there is through government scholarships like Endeavor and AUSAID if it is in Australia and NUFFIC if it is in Netherlands and many other scholarships offered by our government and by donor governments. If I have to go on my own like some people who manage to go there, I don't have that means. I appreciate people who manage to go there either through Scholarships or through self.

Taking the advantage of this increasing trend of Bhutanese desiring to go to Australia and other third countries to do job and earn more, some heartless greedy people make a good business out of it colluding with the same-minded people in some other countries cheating the innocent people. When someone is driving a beautiful car, when one is successfully running a shop, when one is peacefully enjoying the monthly income, when someone is happily enjoying the rental income of his/her building and when someone is leading a happy family life, their minds are being disturbed by promising them the surety of working VISA and Job in other countries like Australia. Playing with their minds, these heartless people convinced the innocent which was easier than anything and made him sell his car, made her sell her shop, made him resign from a decent job, made them borrow money from bank, relatives and some even sell their building, land and all their belongings just to pay the fee for the people who falsely promised them with the ready job abroad. Convinced with the process and the faked VISA that they got, some paid full amount (few hundred thousands) but some who are smart enough paid half.  When it was time for them to go to their long wished land and fulfill their burning desires, there came a huge blow right across their face when they came to know that they were actually cheated with a fake VISA and a false promise of job surety abroad. That was the time where their dreams turned out to be a night mare. Some lost their home, wealth and some were even abandoned by their beloved family. 

It is bit of a relief for them because the culprits behind this are under police custody and they have greater chances of getting what they paid them. It is too bad to cheat our own people. People are willing to do anything for the money. Of course, some agents are good and genuinely help people fulfill their dreams. Therefore, it is up to us to choose well the agent whenever we are to approach any agent for assistance. 

I have heard of many such stories of innocent people being hooked up getting nothing after having paid a huge amount. The point 'B' is our destination but how to go about and whom to rely upon to reach our destination is crucial while we are still in point 'A'. When approaching any agent for such assistance, it is very crucial for us to study the accomplishments made by the agent in the past. Study well, do not listen to one or two friends and make decisions hastily. It is not advisable to sell all our assets in order to get there. There are many sad stories of people going abroad and have landed nowhere. If we learn to be happy with what we have, there is nothing happier than this. 

Being a strong believer in Karma, I feel, if we are not supposed to be wealthy in this lifetime by our fate, no matter how much we try, there is no way we become wealthy. Sometimes with the dream of reaching the star, we will lose the tract to reach the mountain.  

"I Dont get Time" - Is it an Excuse?

Many a time we say, "I don't get time, otherwise..." This has become a common thing for everyone just to escape or avoid doing something of not their interest. People often say those who say I do not get time are the ones who are free all the time and the ones who do not do anything productive. Even I feel it is true, people who get time to do anything are the ones who are busy all the time. "I don't get time' is just another way of saying I don't want to do.  

That is not an excuse but a pleasing way to say 'No'. One of the best examples of this is keeping ourselves fit with morning jogging for gym, going for prayers, evening walk, reading, etc...People often say they do not get time to do these things, not because they are occupied all the time doing productive things but just because they don't like doing things. There is always exceptional though. I have read in one of the books that those who say they don't get time to work for their personal development like early morning walk, reading good books and praying are like saying I don't have time to stop the car when all your fuel has been consumed. How much in haste you are, if your car runs out of fuel, you will have to stop by the fuel station. It is also said that people who don't have time for exercises will later have time for illness. 

Therefore, whenever someone says I don't get time, always have a second thought that does he/she really don't have time to do what needs to be done. It should not be the lame excuses just to avoid doing things that could be done otherwise. 

Earth Quake- Conventional Vs Scientific Views

Conventional View

People call it Sayom (literally translated as moving/shaking of the earth) and in local terms people referred to it as Naka (Doesn't mean anything, just a name given by ancestors). It is believed that our world is in the hands of a Giant as it is shown in the picture. The circle called the Sidpa Khorlo or the Circle of Karma represents the six realms of Samsara. From the Buddhist point of view, it is said that this Samsara is divided into six realms and the earth is one of the six realms. When the mild earthquake strikes, it is believed that the Giant holding the six realms of Samara moves one of his body hairs. And if he moves his finger, the intensity of earthquake will be more and if he moves his body, it will be the end of world. It is also believed that during the earthquake, that Giant will be waiting at the doorstep of every household with a sack and whoever moves out first will be put in that sack and will be taken by him (meaning death). Therefore, during the earthquake it is believed that we should not move out at once, we have to throw something out of the door first and then have to move out. People also shout ‘Naka...naka...naka’ in order to drive away that Giant and stop the tremor. Some also believe that we should not shout and rather we have to pray and move out to open space. Some people in different region believe that during the quake, they have to say " sergi kawai dhos dhos" which means 'please support our buildings by the golden pillars' so that the giant will fear and give up thinking that the houses are made of strong golden pillars. But in some region people believe in contrary to this. They believe they should say such words because it would infuriate the Giant and will cause more destruction 

Scientific Views

The science says the world is made of underlying plates which are in a continuous motion. When these plates move and slides each other, certain energy is created which is being sent out as a seismic wave. This wave is being perceived by the world as tremors. The sliding of these plates results in the formation of ridges and valleys. This violent sliding of one plate on other causes the earth to shake and the point at which these plates slide is the epicenter. The Himalayan ranges are formed some millions of years ago due to the collision of Eurasian plate and the Indian plate.

Some earthquakes are also caused by volcanic eruptions. Due to volcanic eruptions, it sends a wave that causes the earth to move in the nearby areas.   

Being Positive Always

Life is full of ups and downs. There are days sometimes when you wake up in the morning feeling dejected, distressed, despaired and feeling like doing nothing the whole day. And there are times when one morning you wake up feeling so relaxed, energized, excited and ready to face anything the following day. This very few moments in the morning define the day for all of us. 

The feelings that we get in the morning is actually conditioned by the state of our mind the night before we went to sleep. Just imagine tomorrow is your birthday or a very special day for you. You will wake up feeling so excited and relaxed the next morning. And if you go to bed with so much worries and stresses, the next morning you wake up exhausted. So it is preconditioned. No matter where your life drags, you should look at it positively. Your car goes through rubble but you are being comforted by the cushion and do not feel the effect. In a similar way you have to cushion yourselves from all those negative things in your life. If you fail, remember, you are a step closer to your success. The successful people get excited with 'NO' in their life because they believe it is their 'Next Opportunity' to prove themselves that they are not what they seemed to be. Every failure in life has to be taken as a lesson and build foundation on it. It is said, wise men learn from their mistakes and the wiser you are if you learn both from your mistakes and the mistake of others. Shiv Khera in his book has mentioned that the only difference between the ordinary people and the extraordinary people is the 'extra'. That extra input that they put in makes them extraordinary. 

As far as possible in life, you have to avoid excuses. Excuses are the deadly trap that entraps you from reaching the success. You would feel you have cheated others giving excuses but you are actually cheating yourselves. Excuses breed mediocrity and mediocre people are always complacent. Complacent people are limited by many things in life and there is no way they are going beyond it. Looking at something positively breeds positive things only. Even the negative things can be changed to positive. If you are being criticized for your work, take it positively. Learn from it rather than confronting it. It means there is a room for improvement and prove your strengths. If you have lost something valuable, rather than repenting over and blaming self or others, try to be calm and look for a solution. Stop blaming each other because it will not help, it only creates disharmony. Even if you can’t find it and there is no other way you can find it, accept that it is lost and do not curse anyone because it never helps. Rather, pray that let it be useful for someone and give happiness to anyone who uses it. If you feel this way, there is no way you can keep on thinking about it, haunting you.  

So, even if you wake up full of worries and anxieties, calm down, go for a walk, get energized, reading some inspirational books, breathe deeply and make your mind still. Think nothing for few moments. Be in 'Now' state, not in future and not in past. That will help you boost your energy and you will have many options to tackle whatever situation you encounter. Maintain the positivity in you; never get too excited when everything goes well because you can't take the feelings when something goes wrong. The first few hours of your day right after you get up is very crucial. Start up with something positive like going for walk, reading some inspirational quotes/books and some mindful breathing exercises. It helps set up your day bright. I always remember this quotation by Shiv Khera, "Winners don't to different things, they do things differently".