http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/2010/bhutan-news
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Summer Residence -Zhung Dratshang
His Majesty the King and Jetsun Pema welcomes His Holiness the Je Khenpo and the Zhung Dratshang to Thimphu yesterday. The Zhung Dratshang has now moved to its summer residence at the Tashichhodzong.
A monastic wedding
 |
| The Bride and the Groom |
An American couple had not only chosen Bhutan to tie the knot, but chose to do it in the Bhutanese way, entailing rituals and blessings of the protecting deities. Dressed smartly in gho and kira, the couple, Justin Koller, 37 and Shannon Kishel, 32 from Colorado, United States, silently acknowledged the thruesel ceremony administered to them and received the khadar (ceremonial scarf) that united them as husband and wife at around 8 am in a simple, but spiritual, ceremony.
The couple said they chose Bhutan for their wedding, because they wanted to have a spiritual retreat for their honeymoon. “The pujas and music performed were soothing and much appreciated. It was very powerful,” said the groom, Justin Koller, who is an engineer.
Buddhism is not new to the couple. Justin Koller is a Zen Buddhist and Shannon Kishel, a Buddhist enthusiast. The bride Shannon said, “Besides deciding to have a Buddhist wedding and learning more about the Buddhist philosophy, we were also interested in Bhutan’s development philosophy of Gross National Happiness.”
The wedding was long planned. Both wearing versions of mentse mathra, the couple said they had consulted astrologers in Bhutan through their travel agent, Sakteng tours. “The astrologer chose what colour we should wear and said that their elements blended so perfectly,” said Shannon, whose red mentse mathra took three weavers three months to weave.
The couple will leave for the United States after a week.
They will be having an additional wedding ceremony in August in the United States, which their family and friends will attend. Since the couple is writing the proceedings for their own ceremony, it will be a blend of Christian, Buddhist and Native American wedding practices.
By Dechen Yangzom
http://www.kuenselonline.com/2010/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=19619
The case of the fugitive father
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| Left alone in this world |
Nineteen-year-old Sithar Lhazom was contributing woola (compulsory labour) for some gewog developmental work when she met Jigme, a machine operator.
They met in Barkhue, Zhemgang, where he worked for the construction of Buli-Barkhue farm road in Shingkhar. She used to ferry cement from Buli to the gewog centre.
For the class two drop out, Jigme’s proposal to marry her meant an escape from the harsh village life she endures everyday and she was more than happy to accept the proposal.
Sithar Lhazom conceived and was six months pregnant when her ‘husband’ went to Reutala in Trongsa to work. “But he promised that he’d come back and take me with him,” she said.
That was in 2010.
Today, Sithar has a five-month old baby, whose census she could not register, because she does not have a marriage certificate and an identity card photocopy of the father.
Jigme, Sithar said, instead of coming back to take her, changed his mobile number and told people that he was not the father of her child.
Carrying her one-month old child, Sithar Lhazom walked for two days till Buli, and then hitched a ride to Reutala to meet him. “But when I reached there, he refused to even look at my daughter,” she said.
Sithar Lhazom returned home and her parents asked the gewog gup to mediate. In February this year, Jigme came with a few bottles of beer and Nu 500 to settle the case mutually.
When her family asked him to settle the child’s provisions, he said he didn’t have the money, but told the family that he owned a Maruti van in Wangduephodrang and that the family could keep that.
He left once again to get the maruti van and never returned.
Sithar and her family filed the case in Zhemgang dzongkhag court in February, but the court could not proceed with the case since they could not summon Jigme. “We couldn’t locate him with the address she gave us,” Zhemgang drangpon, Sonam Dorji, said.
The drangpon also said that, since it was a civil case, the court could not seek police intervention. “Even if we seek their help, they need a proper address, which is lacking in the case,” he said.
The court has decided to ask Sithar Lhazom to find Jigme’s whereabouts herself.
Meanwhile, Sithar and her family, whose two-storied house was razed to ground by fire on the night of May 21, said they needed his identity card photocopy to have the child’s census with them.
“I’m worried about the future of our granddaughter,” Sithar Lhazom’s father, Sonam Zangpo, 56, said. “Without the father’s details, we won’t be able to register her.”
Sithar’s neighbour said Jigme is from Chema village of Yalang gewog in Trashiyangtse, but he could not trace him. “Court and police should help to find him to bring justice to the mother and child,” the neighbour said.
By Tashi Dema
ACC names and shames: A who’s who of society is to be found on the list of offenders
http://www.kuenselonline.com/2010/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=19612
Anti Corruption Commission officials have posted online the list of officials, along with their names, who have failed to declare their assets, including those that did after the deadline of March 31 (see table).
Commission officials, in an earlier interview, had said late declaration of assets was as good as not declaring them.If the commission was to go by the Act, commission officials said, the penalty was either impeachment or removal from office.
As one member of Parliament observed, to which some commission officials also agreed, the penalty was disproportionate.
Therefore, for the time being, a letter was written to the ethics committee of each agency to act against, or reprimand their employees, who failed to file in their asset declaration, or did so after the deadline.
“The anti corruption bill, which specifies a penalty and monetary fine such defaulters are liable for, is being revised at the Parliament,” a commission official said.
In an earlier interview, commission officials had said they received intimation letters from authorities concerned, on actions they took against employees, who failed to declare their assets.
The purpose of emphasising on asset declaration, commission officials said, was because it demanded greater public accountability from public servants, the custodians of public resources.
As of 31 March 2011, 327 of 471 schedule I public servants declared their assets on time, bringing the compliance rate to 69.43% as against 86.86% for the year 2009.
The commission’s annual report, 2010, stated the trend of asset declaration was still poor, because of non-existence of asset declaration administrators in most agencies.
Besides, it was also because of weak management of agencies and the commission’s non-enforcement of asset declaration rules that demand impeachment or removal of non-declarants from their office.
As of April 2011, 13,955 non-schedule I public servants have declared their assets online, as compared with 4,644 in 2009.
By Samten WangchukWednesday, June 1, 2011
Gross National Happiness !!!
We say Gross National Happiness (GNH). Did you really look into what GNH actuals means?
Can somebody define in one line? I don't think most of us can't. Some will say, 'one's happiness', some says 'Country's happiness'. Our Fourth King has introduced GNH but did anyone asked a layman what it means to him/her? There have been lots of seminars, meetings and as well as many country knows Bhutan by 'The Country of Gross National Happiness'.
We receive lots of tourists and i'm sure they have a Question mark on GNH. Did the tourists asked any of you what does 'GNH' means? or Did you been able to answer the tourists?
I heard someone say, "GNH to him/her is, if s/he wants something & gets it, then thats GNH to her/him". Do you really think that is? For me, i have heard about GNH, GNH..... but really didn't understood it. I even studied the book on Gross National Happiness and the four pillars.
I have put this topic here so that everyone can share your views on it and we can learn more on Gross National Happiness and we can be able to share with people around the Global wherever we go.
Please do comment in your own words.... Palden Drukpa Gyalo.
P.S: I have an article on GNH on my blog. Writer Unknown.
Can somebody define in one line? I don't think most of us can't. Some will say, 'one's happiness', some says 'Country's happiness'. Our Fourth King has introduced GNH but did anyone asked a layman what it means to him/her? There have been lots of seminars, meetings and as well as many country knows Bhutan by 'The Country of Gross National Happiness'.
We receive lots of tourists and i'm sure they have a Question mark on GNH. Did the tourists asked any of you what does 'GNH' means? or Did you been able to answer the tourists?
I heard someone say, "GNH to him/her is, if s/he wants something & gets it, then thats GNH to her/him". Do you really think that is? For me, i have heard about GNH, GNH..... but really didn't understood it. I even studied the book on Gross National Happiness and the four pillars.
I have put this topic here so that everyone can share your views on it and we can learn more on Gross National Happiness and we can be able to share with people around the Global wherever we go.
Please do comment in your own words.... Palden Drukpa Gyalo.
P.S: I have an article on GNH on my blog. Writer Unknown.
Warmer than normal this May -- 25/05/2011
Maximum daytime temperatures in Thimphu valley soared to 30.5 degrees Celsius last Wednesday, the first time the mercury has climbed this high in the month of May, say weather officials.
Northwest Bhutan in the past week was drier than normal, weather forecasting officials with the meteorological unit said. There had been light showers late in the evenings, but not enough to cool down temperatures; besides there was very less cloud cover. Southern and eastern Bhutan also recorded higher temperatures than normal.
“Unless Thimphu valley experiences the coming monsoon, the temperature will keep on fluctuating,” a weather forecasting official, Sonam Tashi, said last Friday.
The Indian meteorological department has predicted the monsoon to start from June 10 in Bhutan, and the Indian state of Kerala. But the Bay of Bengal has already started experiencing monsoon showers from May 29.
After recording a high of 30.5 degree Celsius on May 25, maximum temperatures in Thimphu valley on May 28 and 29 dropped to 28 degree Celsius, as measured by the station within the economic affairs ministry complex. The station is at an altitude of 2,380m. In May last year the hottest day measured a maximum temperature of 28 degree Celsius.
Thimphu valley’s hottest day in the past 16 years was recorded on August 22, 2006, when temperatures touched 33.5 degree Celsius.
“When you have to sit under a fan after walking home from office is a sign that things are getting warm,” Cheten Lhamo, a civil servant in Thimphu, said.
Drukair Flight Delayed
For the first time, i saw Drukair flight got delayed. The weather was so clear, bright & sunny, no sign of any clouds but flight got delayed... Had to wait for hours (approx. 7 hrs) to see off my brother and his friends. Better there was no connecting flight, otherwise what a day!!! For me, it was a day as i had to take half day leave and go to office late. Was saving my leave for some important thing this year... But all is well now. I hope my brother reach his destination save and sound :)) :)
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Two october weddings
This article is the second and the final part of the ‘Queens of Bhutan’ series
Françoise Pommaret, PhD
This is the story of another royal wedding in October. That was long ago, in 1951, in Paro. When the National Geographic published the wedding story of Prince Jigme Dorji Wangchuck and Ashi Kesang Choden Dorji a year later, the world really discovered Bhutan and the Royal family.
The photos of the beautiful bride riding a caparisoned horse down the mountain followed by a brightly attired retinue, to meet her King was exotic, and had a fairy tale quality for a world which was out of a long war and needed to dream.
This occasion was perfect and, although Bhutanese people had no idea about this article, the country became known beyond the British and Indian spheres. The article also helped to shift the focus of attention from the King alone to the King and the Queen.
King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (b. 1928) has just succeeded his father and the lady he was marrying was far from unknown to him. Her father Gongzim Sonam Tobgay Dorji(1896-1953), from Haa valley, was the Second King’s close assistant for external affairs, he was the Bhutanese agent in Kalimpong, and her grand-father Kazi Gongzim Ugyen Dorji (d.1917 ) was a trusted confident of the First King as well as the Bhutanese agent in Kalimpong . Her mother Mayum Chonying Wangmo Dorji also called Rani Chuni (1897-1994) was a strong woman and the sister of the then King of Sikkim Chogyal Tashi Namgyal (1914 -1963).
She was known for her religious deeds but also, like her husband, for her progressive view on education, like starting the Haa school as well as educating Bhutanese in Kalimpong. These family ties are illustrated by a wonderful 1935 New Year photo taken in Calcutta where the families are pictured together and the future Third King sits in the front row next to his future queen, respectively aged 6 and 4 years.
Ashi Kesang Choden Dorji (b. 1930) was educated at St Joseph Convent in Kalimpong, then at Loreto College in Darjeeling, and later went to England for further education in an exclusive school. The new queen therefore not only spoke perfect English but she also had a great grasp on hospitality rules and etiquette as well as a deep understanding of religion. Besides her charm and intelligence, these qualities were going to be invaluable in her new role. King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the Father of Modern Bhutan, understood from the geo-political situation that if Bhutan wanted to survive as an independent nation, it had to open to the world.
In 1954, Queen Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck accompanied the King during their state visit to India and a strong friendship was born between Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the royal couple. It was followed by the historic visit to Bhutan in 1958 of the Indian PM and his daughter Indira Gandhi. These visits resulted in the ties with India being strengthened and in 1961 it became the first and foremost development partner.
In a span of ten years, the Queen gave birth to five children, and the heir to the throne was born in 1955. She was a great traveler and often visited her mother Mayum Chonying Wangmo at the Bhutan House in Kalimpong while upholding the name of Bhutan amongst her friends throughout the world and entertaining scores of visitors in Thimphu and Paro. She also strongly supported the King in his endeavor to establish a modern education system in the country, his development activities and Bhutan’s accession to the UN.
The queen’s kindness and élégance radiate throughout the numerous photos taken of her. She was a photographer’s delightat a time when print media ruled.
After the Third King’s prématuré death in 1972 and the coronation of their son Jigme Singye Wangchuck as the Fourth King in 1974, the Queen, who had a keen interest in the religious culture of Bhutan, dedicated more and more time to her religious practices and Works while still keeping contacts with her international friends and hosting important visitors.
Her religious devotion, encouraged by her mother Mayum Chonying Wangmo, made her the patron of many important religious masters, including His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche who presided over her annual rituals at Kyichu and Kuje temples for the prosperity of the King, the country and the people. She also sponsored religious public teachings by HH Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and many others important lamas. Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck supervised the restoration of numerous temples and chortens ad as early as 1961, she advised the Third King to protect and establish a Buddhist Institute at Semtokha Dzong, and in the early 80s, she influenced the establishment of a National Library. She generously sponsored the constructions of new temples such as Guru lhakhang at Kyichu, as well as the Demchog and Jamyang lhakhang in Punakha Dzong, the Kagongphursum and Zangdopelri in Kuje, amongst others. She also restores temples and established monastic schools in the true line of Buddhist Queens.
The chapter that Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck contributed in Brilliant Moon (pp.239-262) reflects her unfailing dedication to Buddhism and Bhutan.
Now, the Royal Grand Mother Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck still involves herself in cultural activities and was influential in the Dragon’s Gift exhibition which toured the world. With Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck, the Queen’s role in Bhutan was no more confined to being the head of the royal household, a Buddhist patron, and the consort of the King but had important public responsibilities. She empowered the Queen of Bhutan with an international stature. This is a role that the present Queen Mothers have perfectly endorsed, and which has been amplified by the development of the print, audio-visual and digital media in Bhutan and the world.
When in October 1988, His Majesty the 4th Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck married Ashi Dorji Wangmo, Ashi Tshering Yangdon, Ashi Tshering Pem and Ashi Sangay Choden of the prestigious Zhabdrung lineage, the event did not make headlines around the world, let alone in Bhutan.
TV was not yet in Bhutan, and there was only one newspaper. The marriage was a traditional ceremony in Punakha, followed by lunch parties at Dechenchholing palace. Few at that time would have guessed the fantastic development of the media and the extraordinary influence the Queens were going to have in the country and beyond. Most of the Bhutanese had even never seen a picture of the Queens.
From 1998, with the opening of the country to TV channels, BBS, and internet, the outlook on the Queens has changed even if the respect of privacy is kept.
They are seen on the screen, walking, travelling throughout the country and talking to the people in the remotest corners of the kingdom. Their activities reverberate through Bhutan and the world in audio-visual form.
The Queens, like their predecessors, are devout Buddhist and have restored many religious buildings.They have built several landmarks such as the Khamsum Yulley Chorten in Punakha and the Druk Wangyal Chortens and temples at Dochula. They have also immersed themselves in social work and have become patrons of charities and cultural institutions which all have a website.
Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck is also an author who has greatly contributed to the history of Bhutan through her books. The Queens, now Queen Mothers, have a voice of their own and their voices are heard. They attend not only official functions but also international events where they represent Bhutan. Universally considered beautiful and charming, they are also empowered women who play a crucial role in the age of media supremacy to bring forth the image of Bhutan in the international arena and contribute to social awareness in the country.
Ashi Lemo, who walked from Kurtoe to Bumthang in 1902, was a woman of her time and the Queens who followed her played an increasing role as per time and circumstances. But nobody could have imagined even a year ago that when on May 20th, 2011, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck announced his wedding, the news would be immediately tweeted throughout the world.
Trashi Delek. (Concluded)
The writer, also known as Tashi Om, has been in Bhutan for 30 years. She works with the Institute of Language and Cultural Studies of the Royal University of Bhutan, Thimphu.)
Gross National Happiness
What is happiness?
In most of the industrialized countries, happiness is often equated with money. The gross domestic product (GDP) is routinely used as shorthand for the well-being of a nation.
But Bhutan has been trying out a different idea. Concerned about the problems afflicting other developing countries that focused only on economic growth, His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuck when crowned as the fourth hereditary king of Bhutan in 1972, decided to make his nation’s priority not its Gross National Product (GNP), but its Gross National Happiness (GNH). It is rooted in the Buddhist notion that the ultimate purpose of life is inner happiness. Bhutan being a Buddhist country, Bhutan’s King felt the responsibility to define development in terms of happiness of its people, rather than in terms of an abstract economic measurement such as GNP.
Material well-being alone cannot ensure that you’re at peace with your environment and in harmony with each other. Gross National Happiness (GNH) is an attempt to define quality of life in more holistic and psychological terms than Gross National Product. While conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH claims to be based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other.
The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance. Motivated to preserve its pristine nature and unique culture, Bhutan has thus far succeeded in limiting exposure to global trade, foreign capital investment, modern mass media and tourism. Bhutan believes that its indigenous culture is generally self-sufficient and has little to gain from conventional western development. The country has for centuries followed a traditional model of development which is based on improving the quality of life, while respecting natural and cultural constraints, rather than the quantity of material production and consumption. As such it forms a reminder for conventional western development planners that development can also be based on non-material values, such as cultural, social and environmental values.
As the term Gross National Happiness was first expressed by the fourth King of Bhutan His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Bhutan took the lead in promoting the GNH movement in an attempt to pursue happiness at the national level. The King of Bhutan set an example by partaking in the movement organized by the Center for Bhutan Studies. The movement covers eight areas: psychological well-being, health, balanced use of time, education, cultural diversity, good governance, communal vitality, ecological diversity and resilience and living standard.
Adrian White, a social psychologist at the University of Leicester, has produced the first-ever “world map of happiness.” White based the rankings on the findings of more than 100 studies from around the world, including data on life expectancy from the WHO and various national surveys about satisfaction with life. Denmark ranked first in the survey, which covered more than 80,000 participants from 178 countries, followed closely by Switzerland and Austria. Bhutan ranked eighth and was the only Asian country to make it to the top 10 list. Taiwan came in 68th and China 82nd.
“I feel that there must be some convergence among nations on the idea of what the primary objective of development and progress should be - something Gross National Happiness seeks to bring about”.
- His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, the Fifth King of Bhutan.
In most of the industrialized countries, happiness is often equated with money. The gross domestic product (GDP) is routinely used as shorthand for the well-being of a nation.
But Bhutan has been trying out a different idea. Concerned about the problems afflicting other developing countries that focused only on economic growth, His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuck when crowned as the fourth hereditary king of Bhutan in 1972, decided to make his nation’s priority not its Gross National Product (GNP), but its Gross National Happiness (GNH). It is rooted in the Buddhist notion that the ultimate purpose of life is inner happiness. Bhutan being a Buddhist country, Bhutan’s King felt the responsibility to define development in terms of happiness of its people, rather than in terms of an abstract economic measurement such as GNP.
Material well-being alone cannot ensure that you’re at peace with your environment and in harmony with each other. Gross National Happiness (GNH) is an attempt to define quality of life in more holistic and psychological terms than Gross National Product. While conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH claims to be based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other.
The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance. Motivated to preserve its pristine nature and unique culture, Bhutan has thus far succeeded in limiting exposure to global trade, foreign capital investment, modern mass media and tourism. Bhutan believes that its indigenous culture is generally self-sufficient and has little to gain from conventional western development. The country has for centuries followed a traditional model of development which is based on improving the quality of life, while respecting natural and cultural constraints, rather than the quantity of material production and consumption. As such it forms a reminder for conventional western development planners that development can also be based on non-material values, such as cultural, social and environmental values.
As the term Gross National Happiness was first expressed by the fourth King of Bhutan His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Bhutan took the lead in promoting the GNH movement in an attempt to pursue happiness at the national level. The King of Bhutan set an example by partaking in the movement organized by the Center for Bhutan Studies. The movement covers eight areas: psychological well-being, health, balanced use of time, education, cultural diversity, good governance, communal vitality, ecological diversity and resilience and living standard.
Adrian White, a social psychologist at the University of Leicester, has produced the first-ever “world map of happiness.” White based the rankings on the findings of more than 100 studies from around the world, including data on life expectancy from the WHO and various national surveys about satisfaction with life. Denmark ranked first in the survey, which covered more than 80,000 participants from 178 countries, followed closely by Switzerland and Austria. Bhutan ranked eighth and was the only Asian country to make it to the top 10 list. Taiwan came in 68th and China 82nd.
“I feel that there must be some convergence among nations on the idea of what the primary objective of development and progress should be - something Gross National Happiness seeks to bring about”.
- His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, the Fifth King of Bhutan.
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