GNH - Where else?

His Majesty the fifth king has been personally visiting the earthquake affected families and comforting them. Words like "I will take care of you" from His Majesty stands as a testimony of a benevolent father of the nation. This, just gives every bhutanese the moment to pause and reflect how fortunate we are to have monarchs who stand by us during adversities. And what more can people ask for?

Gesture of His Majesty holding out his gho's pocket to collect the flying kisses responded by the children just reveals that GNH is happening. And His Majesty is making it happen.
The properties that have been damaged could have been restored under the command of His Majesty anyway. But with His Majesty, travelling personally and granting kidu just makes me feel that what counts the most is the smiles on the faces of those bereaved families which once lost have now been restored.

Forgetting their losses, people have gained the faith to carry on with life as long as they have monarchs like His Majesty. This, the people's happiness, is what I think GNH ultimately meant. And as a citizen, all we can say is, 'Thank You, your Majesty'.

What is new on BBS?

Very recently BBS started this system of translating whatever people say on the camera in the language the program features in. Good initiative indeed. Bhutanese audience will get the most out of whatever is being said in another language. Of course all television networks do that. Change is inevitable and desired provided that it has the desired effect.

But as faithful follower of the programs, I find this change very weird, especially when short remarks are translated. Often what is being translated seems too short compared to what is being said by a person on the camera. Well, for people who understand both languages, it will never be a problem. It sounds bizarre when the voice over and the real voice do not synchronize well.

Do we really need to translate?

Well, one possible and clever option could be the reporter paraphrasing whatever is being said or summarizing the messages conveyed. Or we could work to synchronize the two sources of the voice.

Likewise, how many people in Bhutan do you think watch weather forecast every hour? Not many really. Maybe weather forecast once both in Dzongkha and English would be appreciated. Rather than spending so much time reading uncertain weather, it makes more sense if more time could be allotted to feature programs because they are rather too short especially when there are Live discussions.

We all know it is a lot of effort on BBS team and we understand it fully.

This is the voice of a concerned citizen and has no aim of criticizing any person or the organization as a whole.There are far too many good things happening at BBS. And people appreciate that.

Of journey and lessons in 15 minutes...

I have seen and heard many people preaching philosophies about life. Many find it in television while most find it in books. For me, I find myself encountering the philosophy every morning on my way to the office.

I stay in Babesa and travel to office with my sister in her car. It’s just 15 minutes drive till my office. However, I never thought that the lesson of life would be encapsulated in those 15 minutes.

Life is a journey, they say and my journey starts with a gentle slope climb. Life is not so hard so we move on. Soon we are on the meandering road – life is full of twists and turns. In turnings, we go slowly. At times, taking the same road for granted, we go faster. Unexpected, we meet a car from the other side– life is full of surprises.

At times, the road is narrow and a vehicle approaches from the other side. We stop; drive back a little for the other car to pass. In life, we have to stop and reflect on our past deeds. We have to trace back sometimes, even when we are down to create a space to move on.
Next, we are on the expressway along with other speeding cars. We join the race of life. In life, no one is alone. We over take a car - life is a competition. But this time, the speed of life fluctuates and those better than us will leave us behind.

Then it’s an uphill climb near the Lungtenzampa. With gears down, we slowly ascend. Life is slow but steady. Once on the top, we pick up the speed again. We enter the town, a bustling place. We move under the direction of the traffic police - Life has rules for smooth flow.
Few minutes later, as we near the office, the gate opens and smiling faces greet. I reach office but I have to leave immediately for coverage. I move again...
Well, that’s why for me, life is a journey, not a destination...

Orientation - more than a fun time

Like an annual event, streets of Thimphu will once again be crowded with hordes of graduates. Graduates from as far as Trashigang, Samdrupjongkhar and Samtse will be in the capital by 24th of this month to complete the preceding formalities for the National Graduates’ Orientation Program which will commence from the 8th to 19th September.

It will be a time when familiar faces from your schooldays to college will greet you in every alleys of the town - a time, when everyone will realize that they have got enough of friends. Parties and gatherings will be illustrious everywhere.

From the past experiences of what I heard and saw, everyone’s purses will be thick at least during those two weeks. Therefore, most of the business persons especially the restaurant, bar and discotheque owners are anticipating a booming business again. It will be fun time again. But is that all as to what orientation means?

Of course it will be out of the ordinary to meet old friends and have fun but is that the notion we should be carrying about the orientation? Isn’t there more than ‘fun’ that we could yield during those two weeks?

Until recently I have been meeting many of my graduate friends and I was not surprised to hear them share the idea of orientation as a ‘fun time’. Candidly speaking, I am not against the idea. In fact I am looking forward to attending it too but I think we should consider more of what is in the orientation than what happens during the time.

Orientation, as it literally means familiarization, is a time when we will once again be brought in close proximity with our culture and tradition. It is not regarding how attractive are the dresses we wear but the way we wear them. It is not about the way we look, but the way we present ourselves. It is not to say that we should be proud of our tradition and culture but knowing the reason why we should be proud of it.

More importantly for those sitting for the RCSC common examination, most of the answers for the questions asked during the examination are to be found during those two weeks.

Therefore, I think, orientation should be viewed more broadly as a means to personal and social development and not just as a two-week long time of fun...
The rest, lies with the rest!