My Hunt for Aqualite slippers

One evening my children returned home excited. They were happy that their school authority had finally agreed to let them wear slippers during the summer months. It was a relief because my children had been washing their stocking every evening after school. They were briefed that they had to wear aqualite slippers and the school authority would not compromise with any other brand.

My hunt for aqualite slippers began from day one. I started visiting every shoe store in the town in search of the said slippers. Some were too small while the others were too large for my children’s feet. Having visited all the shops within the border, I drove across the border in search of the slippers. Every shop I visit they said, “Aqualite nahin hey” without me having to ask them. It was not only me who was looking for the slippers but all the parents residing here. 

This is life…

Amidst multitasking I try to keep my blog updated which is next to impossible these days. The queue of assignments to be completed on time (six assignments this month…three submitted online and other three yet to go) and the workload in the workplace with some colleagues absent from work is quite nerve wrecking. 

No arms No legs yet No worries…

 I came upon this video by chance and I am really glad that I did. http://www.youtube.co/watch?v=ciYk-UwqFK . I was feeling a kind of low as I normally feel these days due to so many things happening that is beyond my control so I got on the net when my fingers suddenly clicked the YouTube link. And loo! What do I see? A man without arms and legs yet he was doing things that even the normal people fail to do. The video showed him meeting people young and old alike and inspiring everyone with his simple talks. Wow! That was something I needed to watch.

Insuring the future

A decade ago, some personnel from RICBL came to our work place to sell their insurance schemes and a few of my friends joined the scheme but I turned deaf ears due to the bitter experience I had prior to that. My vehicle which was covered under the comprehensive insurance policy got damaged in an accident but when my husband made the claims, he was made to walk from one office to another saying some documents were incomplete and what not before he could finally settle all the claims and get the full amount and repair the vehicle. (Phew!  It took us about nine months)

The live teaching Aids

A few days ago, several people were frequenting my work place and there was a burst of activities. Some forest officials were marking the teak trees for felling around our campus while some people dressed in uniform with NRDCL logo printed on their breast pockets moved around with some Indian labourers in tow. After the marking was over, a few people marched in with their chain saw and started felling the trees behind our academic buildings which disturbed our normal routine due to the noise produced while the machine got operated. The children gave a restless look in the assembly and the classes were no better. The trend continued for two days and on the third day I saw a commotion during the interval. On inquiring I came to know that there was a huge elephant in our campus. 

My ignore button

In our course of lifetime, we come across people with diverse personality traits from varied socio-economic background. Some people are forced upon us as relations making it next to impossible to avoid or neglect them even when we despise them. However, we do have the right to choose our friends and have authority to decide who we want to be with.

Evening outdoors

This is the second evening I am staying outdoor because the rooms become unbearably humid and hot due to power failure. The fans and AC remain idle and the rooms are dark. The candle light adds more humidity to the room and I start sweating. I make a hurried dinner of vegetables and rice which takes not more than half an hour before I escape being roasted in the kitchen. I join the rest of the family outside and then after a few minutes, we take our place for dinner. Dinner’s served and my daughter helps me to put away the dishes before we join the others outside the house.

Unreasonable fare

The advancement that our country has attained technically is beyond my comprehension. The distance that one used to cover in two days at the earliest could now be made within a day and we can call anyone in the world at the click of a button yet the attitude of the people remains same.

Stuck up!

I hate this word “strike”. Every time I plan my journey, I am stranded somewhere in the middle of my journey. It had happened in the past, it is happening now and I know it will happen again yet I cannot come in terms with this word. 

Singing Rivers of Babylon…

The 1^st year and 2^nd year In-service candidates had hosted a farewell dinner for us as was the tradition since the Distance education program was initiated. The usual rounds of drinks were served and a couple of dances and songs by individuals and groups were presented and everyone around was joyous. The table I had taken with my friends was getting noisier every passing minute and we got some nasty glance from the people across our table but my friends were in their seventh heaven and didn’t give a second thought on it.

My ATM experience

I stopped carrying cash because I didn’t feel the need ever since I started using ATM card. Many a times my friends used to complain about the unreliability of the ATM but I always disagreed to them as I never had such experience until a few days ago.

The bumpy ride

The nine hours taxi ride from samdrup Jongkhar to Phuntsholing is something to reckon with and the ride becomes more unpleasant if you are alien to the fellow passengers. So I guess one has nothing to do then to doze off and get your head bumped whenever the wheels hit the potholes. And thank god my head still works after that bumpy ride I took yesterday.

Where have our farms disappeared??

Summer is the time for the students to relax and have fun but it is also time for some students to work on their project. For my daughter, she is to interview a farmer about “the change in farming system” for her geography project. Ever since her exams are over, she has been frantically looking for a farmer to interview for her project but we can hardly see any farms nearby. The nearest farm is more 20 kms away and I have promised her a trip to a neighbouring farm for her group after the LG election.

Educating a Girl Child- a necessity

  The issue of gender equality is a talk of everyday. And its promotion across the globe is a shared concern and repeated discourse in any international forums. It is, in fact, one of the tenets of every nation’s planned developmental projects. The education for female child, for this reason is, what I considered a matter most urgent and needs to be given new meaning.

The last morning before the summer break

I woke up at dawn and woke up my daughter for her revision. She is writing her exams and she still has some more papers to write before her summer holidays unlike the students of my school who must be in deep slumbers unaware of the dawn breaking and their mothers getting ready for the day. 

Victimized

It shocks me to learn how some men fool the innocent village girls. (Sorry if I sound feminist) but I can’t help it here. I was just having a chit chat with my regular group of friend in the staffroom when a colleague joined us. What he shared left us bewildered. Can a man go to that extent to satisfy his lust? (Oops! Sorry for generalizing again) well, without much ado, let me narrate some of the excerpts from his life.

Meche kiras and ghos

You visit any garment shop in Thimphu or elsewhere, I am sure you can find beautifully woven half-kiras neatly piled on the shelves which is usually known as “Meche Kira” (because the clothes are woven by Bodo women of Assam). 

The summer break

With the approach of the summer break, all the people near me are busy planning for their break but not without complain. Unlike the previous years, this year the education ministry issued an office order stating different summer break timing for different Dzongkhags and some of the schools had to bring forward their exams. Some are still wondering on the different summer break timing because the LG election will be held uniformly on the 27^th of this month.

My passtime

I don’t exactly remember when I actually started reading but I guess, it has mostly been influenced by the Irish teacher that we had way back in the mid 80s. She used to be our neighbour and had a nice collection of fairy tales and lady bird books. Her resource room in the school used to be filled with colourful posters and books and she used to read to us. Gradually, I started borrowing her fairy tales and before I knew, I found myself helping her in the resource room and reading more books.

Gossip online

Men often say women gossip a lot. (oops sorry…if I am being bias here) It’s just a cliché. Gossip has come a long way and now in the digital world we can even gossip with strangers on the online forum. For instance, there is always something to reflect upon after reading the post on kuenselonline forum. Normally I don’t visit the forum but sometimes it’s hard to ignore it.