Here I go again!

With much hopes and anticipation;

With renewed dedication and energy;

The duty with oodles of responsibilities resumed.

Exhilarated with the success of my outcome;

Little had I known about the winds of destiny,

The conspiracy to drift me away from my very soul.

Trying a Different Genre

As the days draw closer for me to move to my new destination I am gripped with the feeling of uneasiness. The first question that has been pestering me for the last several days has been “Will I be able to shoulder the responsibility that has been bestowed upon me?” I haven’t been very confident in convincing myself on appropriate response either which had led me to open some books which are usually referred by my husband. (I did not even bother to give those books a second glance earlier)

The storm

Unpredictable weather is one thing that I have to get used to here in the southern belt. The morning was bring and sunny with lots of dust around and the temperature was on ever increasing pace. I could smell the sweat that perspired from the children’s forehead in absence of the electricity that is supplied from across the border which is almost non-existence.

Time to move again…

My orders to the new place of posting had been out for more than a week now. It was out on the 1^st of March 2013 and it said that we had to report to the new place of posting without fail before the 10^th of March.  I had requested the ministry to reconsider my placement since there is acute shortage of teachers in my present Dzongkhag and the nearby schools are in dire need of some additional teachers. I had been informed that my case would be discussed in the HR Committee meeting and informed within a week time. Thus I wait for confirmation…

Fall In! Fall In!

I hadn’t thought of writing this before but constant remainder from some friends made me pen this down. A few days ago I was travelling towards Phuentsholing when my phone buzzed (it was in vibration mode). On responding to the buzz, the caller at the other end shouted “Fall in! Fall in!” and I couldn’t help bursting out into a huge laughter getting a quizzical look from my friend who was travelling with me. And later on I had to explain to her in details what it meant and it was then that I thought I would write something about those many fall ins that we had during our two weeks training at Tencholing.

No entry

It happened to me when I was at Samdrup Jongkhar. I shared the compound with the Drangpon and we had policemen on duty (they usually took turn) assigned to the Drangpon who kept a vigilant eye on the gate. I had shifted there for a while but I didn’t know many residents there. I only knew my colleagues, who were reluctant to visit my place because they weren’t usually allowed inside the gate by the police on duty.

Fire round

A boy came to his teacher and asked, “Sir, Mi zhuma ga English gai hangten yekpey ya ?”

The teacher being humorous in nature said “what is Mi in English?

The innocent boy replied “Fire sir”

“And Zhuma?” the teacher asked again

“round Sir” responded the boy again.

The year that was

Less than a week for the year to end and I cannot help reflecting on the year that had been.

2012 greeted me with the news of my husband’s transfer to the wilderness. It was just two years since we shifted to the place and we had not expected it too soon but it happened. We could not cancel the transfer, so I too had applied for transfer on marital ground which was accepted without much delay.

The last gathering

Of more than thirty people only eight of us are female. Due to our different subject and grade levels that we teach, we hardly have time to sit together and talk during our working days. Thus, we decided that we would gather for dinner before we break for our long winter holidays.

@ Vegetable market…

The vegetable market day on Saturday started some months ago after we shifted here. We were invited during the inauguration and after that I and Mrs. KT had been a regular visitor. Sometimes we saw many vendors with varieties of local products while most of the time, there were few female vendors with some snacks and fruits. The vendors  usually remained in the vegetable market shed for about an hour to sell their products.

The End

“All is well that ends well” … True! we have successfully ended the academic session for the year 2012 today. We had huddles with transfer of principals in the middle of the session when we felt like an abandoned orphan without any one to guide us but we managed to stay afloat.

Quitting

My parents’ have emphasized on the value of hard work and dedication from my childhood days. The first thing I remember about my father when I started working was his words “Zhung lu cha leyzhum bey zhu go” (Serve your country well!). He said that if we serve the country well the rest will automatically follow the trend and all will turn out well in life.  He repeats the same even today whenever I call him or see him.

An extract

Sorting out things and packing to move to the new destination was not an easy job yet one cannot escape from it when time came. I was doing the same  (in the month of February 2012) when I came across a cartoon full of books that belonged to my late brother-in-law.  At first I thought I would just pack it and send it home but my younger sister who was helping me pack thought better of it and we started sorting out his books.

We started taking his books one by one and came across a notebook. I didn’t pay much attention to it by my sister kept on reading the note and passed it to me and asked me to read through it. The following lines are some of the extract from my late brother-in-law’s note.

I salute you!

http://www.kuenselonline.com/2011/?p=39718  

The hardship that you are facing to bring changes in the lives of the remote highland children is indeed commendable. You are an inspiration that many of us need. We grumble about the competence about our administrators and the behavior of our students but you have accepted the challenge and stood firm with your decision to serve those students despite the harsh conditions and misfortune.

I salute you Madam Chimi and Keep up the good work. 

My Son's favourite character

One of favourite book that my son always talks about is “The chronicles of Narnia” written by C.S.Lewis. I initially bought the book for my daughter when she started reading fiction some years ago but later on when my son started reading, he asked me to read some pages for him whenever he saw the movie “The lion, the witch and the wardrobe”. One reading lead to another and before long I found myself reading all the 7 books in the series and my son soon read them all on his own.

Thoughts

I have never been much of a writer but I used to be a voracious reader during my younger days which certainly have deteriorated as the years passed and I found myself swept in the whirlpool of my domestic and professional life which left me with a limited time to pursue my one time favourite hobby (reading).

My Nephew

It has been a while since I had baby-sat. My youngest child turns 11 this September and I have almost forgotten how to handle a small child but I am learning it all over again since my 3 year old nephew came to stay with me. Staying late night…crawling with the child and holding the tiny hands every walking hours seems to be the only thing I seem to do these days.

Rural life ...

I cannot exactly say that I reside in rural community since the place does not have a close resemblance of urban vicinity. When we look at the facilities available in the area, it would certainly fall under rural description yet the ministry of Education rates it as semi urban. The reality is, this place (Jomotsangkha) boarders Assam in the extreme east and remains cutoff from the rest of the country during the strikes in the neighbouring state since we do not have road access from within the country.

My summer vacation of two weeks started on 29^th June and I boarded a taxi plying to S/Jongkhar with my son. I was not very keen to journey through the flooded Assam state but I had promised my daughter and I didn’t have a heart to break my promise. It had rained continuously for weeks and we had heard the news that the Brahmaputra River had swollen flooding many district of Assam and many vehicles were stranded the day prior to my planned journey. But as luck would have it, it suddenly stopped raining and I found myself boarding a taxi with my son. We travelled through the flooded district of Udalguri and Darang and were very disheartened to see so many homeless people taking shelter by the roadside. Most of the houses were submerged in the water.

Catalyst

I remember my chemistry teacher explaining the term “catalyst” as a substance that causes or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected, something that cause activity or friction between two or more persons or forces without itself being affected.  I remember very few lessons from that chemistry class that I attended about two decades ago but the term “Catalyst” still remain very clear in my memory even after all these years. It may be because I came to relate it with some people I come across or with some incidents that happened around me.

The Rebel in me...

This morning, I walked to my school in anticipation as my students would sit for their exams soon. I wanted to check into the rooms assigned for my students before they commence their writing and what did I find? There wasn’t any arrangement for class PP to III students. The teachers teaching those primary classes were supposed to make their own arrangements. I as a teacher teaching one of those classes wasn’t aware of it and it was unheard of in my entire teaching career. I couldn’t help the rebel in me emerge and speak out.

MY FORGOTTEN BIRTHDAY :)

Unlike my previous years, my birthday went unnoticed. L No one remembered my birthday at home until after breakfast when my son suddenly asked the date. He apologized and wished me and wanted to inform his dad about it but I prevented him. I wanted to know how much my husband remembered about the special days though I knew that he would never remember until I tell him. And True to my assumption, he did not wish me even in the evening. He asked for his usual cup of tea in the evening when I accused him of being so absent minded. He looked at me baffled wondering what he might have forgotten. But when he came to know about my outburst he apologized profoundly. All I could say was “Its ok…no big deal”.

2nd June

I had planned a plantation program with the scouts and a fellow scout master to celebrate the Social Forestry day in collaboration with the Drungkhag administration and the scouts were very eager and looking forward for the day. After some wait, the day arrived and we put forward our proposal to the principal for approval. He consented to our proposal and we saw ourselves moving away from the school campus towards the temple near our school carrying the saplings that the scouts had carried from home on the day.

No more toffees and gums!!!

I was listening to the discussion about the rupee crunch and how it had affected the people in our locality with some colleagues when the topic diverted into getting toffees and gums in place of loose change from our Bhutanese shopkeepers. I thought I was the only one facing that problem and didn’t join the discussion earlier but as I listened to more people sharing their frustrations I could help wondering how complacent I had been in that matter earlier.

The noise

When I first shifted to this place, people warned me of the frogs. Some warned me that the frogs that plagued the area are unusually big compared to the normal frogs and are hunted and eaten by some local people. I was wondering about the appearance because different people described it differently. But nothing matched the description when I heard them croak one night in unison, I felt like I was in the middle of the highway with lots of vehicle plying in every direction. There was so much noise like a millions bees in migration. I hardly slept a wink that night. The noise did not stop till the sunrise and I was relieved to feel the peace once again after a noisy night.

I cannot write :(

I open my laptop and try to punch some keys to type something but I find that after spending about half an hour, the words doesn’t make any sense. So I punch the delete button and erase it all. My precious thirty minutes wasted… Similar incident had been prevailing ever since I have shifted to this new place over two months ago. I haven’t been able to pen a single page. At first I consoled myself saying that I haven’t had any time and I would continue my scribbling when I had time as I get accustomed to the new environment. I believed that I would really continue my scribbling but now I am beginning to think otherwise.

All for nothing

A friend called me and informed me about the Trongsa Penlop scholarship at RCSC website. She felt that I should give it a try though I had already talked to her about taking a break for a year from studies. I had been pursuing bachelors degree  for the last three years and a three year diploma course before that. When I told her about my decision, she asked me to give it a second thought.

All packed

Boxes piled everywhere

I try to move about,

But get bumped anyway

on things laying around

A week at Mongar

When most of my friends reported to the school on 10^th February, I was out of station attending a curriculum workshop. Unlike the workshops and seminars I had attended earlier, this workshop was different. We had the session after 5.00 pm and it went on till 9.30. My friends found this change in timing quite amusing but then we had no other alternatives since the whole eastern region had power blackout during the day for about a week.

Nangi Norbu

My younger brother (who takes care of my aging parents in our native village) is quick tempered which leads to exchange of some words with his wife quite often but he is also very witty and always find a humour out of every serious situation.

Purple cabbage

On my usual vegetable shopping, I came across a very unique cabbage. THE PURPLE CABBAGE! I wanted to try it out and bought one. I didn’t show it when I reached home because I wanted to surprise my family the next day. I carefully wrapped it in a newspaper and put it inside my refrigerator.

The next day, my kids were outside playing under the winter sun and my small nephew was nagging me about going to the shop. It was almost time for me to prepare lunch so I handed over my nephew to the baby sitter and headed inside the house and got ready to prepare the meal. 

Sorting and packing

I am packing my things whenever I get time. I make a list of things that I plan to put in different bags and container. As I sort out things, I come across things that I hadn’t laid my eyes for ages. “Oh! God! Why did I buy that?” I groan and curse myself for wasting money on such useless things.

The Year that was

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The first day of the year 2011, I was away from home. It felt awful. Then the days changed into weeks and a couple of weeks later I was back home to my family. The academic session started on a smooth note and my kids did very well in the school academically.

Chiphen Rigphel Training

Pic courtesy :http://chiphenrigpel.blogspot.com/view/snapshot

T

he Nu 2.5B ‘Chiphen Rigpel - Enabling a Society, Empowering a Nation’ project, with its aims to make Bhutan a knowledge economy within the next five years was termed highly ambitious when it was launched at the inaugural ceremony at Jakar HSS by the agriculture minister and education secretary on 18 February, 2011. It aims at making at least 100,000 Bhutanese students completing higher secondary school in the next five years to be computer literate and equipped with the necessary skills to participate in a knowledge based society.

Time to pack...

After sitting in the monotonous IT class for the whole day, I return home expecting for a relaxing evening with my parents, sisters, brother and kids. I drop my colleague at her place and get home only to be greeted by a gloomy face of my husband whom I didn’t expect to be home until very late in the evening since he got some VIPs to attend to. I raise my eyes in gesture and he simply breaks the news. “I am transferred”. I thought he was kidding and said so since we didn’t expect his transfer as we have been here for only two years. He told me to look into the Home Ministry website. I did so and Yes…his name was clearly listed in the transfer list. 

The difference

I stand on the lump of the hill

Overlooking the stream

That divides the valley

On my side is a small hamlet

the home of a few inhabitants

on the other side is haven.

The hamlet looks bright at night

Like the twinkling of the stars.

cars zoom along the newly paved road.

Yuden… Yuden…

Away in the midst of crowed street, I take a ride to my university on a bus. I ride the bus every afternoon to my university where I spend six hours listening to monotonous lecture on theories and the science of applying those theories in practice when I return home after another two years. Yes! I have been away from home for a year now and I still have two more years before I bid farewell to the fast changing urban life that is chewing away my soul.

It’s finally over

The daunting task of three years has finally ended. When I first got enrolled in a distance education program three years ago, it felt like a never ending task. The first day of the winter residential class in 2009 almost made me regret my decision. The day ended in daze and I among forty five others were given an outline of the first semester programme. Loaded with loads of assignments to carry home and list of presentation to be made during the residential class I had  very hard time coping up with the long sitting hours in the classroom from 8.30 in the morning till 4.30 in the evening with one hour lunch break.

Impermanence

Happy are we when we gather;

But when the things change,

And the time passes,

We witness our world shatter.

We will miss you

The trees are just as green as before, the birds sings and the autumn sun shines as clearly as it was yesterday. Yet the familiar surrounding seems suddenly dull and lifeless at the moment and the sunshine seems to have gone out at a stroke and the birds seem to have muffled their songs.

My nonsense

Three years ago, when I started scribbling, I never thought I would have a blog of my own where I would fill the page with my never ending nonsense which didn’t make sense to me (forget about making sense to the others).
Initially I just wrote some craps for http://www.nopkin.com/ to amuse myself but later  when I started receiving comments for my craps; I started writing on some prevailing social issues like violence against women and some fictions which some of the member of Nopkin thought to be my very own story depicted as fiction. Most of my readers were quite disappointed to learn that those stories were fictitious rather than my real story.

Bazu Guru Dung drup…

Lama Dondup and Chung Rinpoche

A week long Baza Guru dungdrup recitation is underway here at Zangtopelri in Samdrup Jongkhar. Presided over by the renowned Trulku Chung Rinpoche from Tharpaling in Bumthang, the baza guru dungdrup is organized by the ATI foundation – a non-profit Buddhist foundation for the wellbeing of the kingdom and the world. It began on 29^th October.

Festival of lights

http://rosemariejohn.com/tag/diwali/

Diwali- also known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated by the Hindus. It is one of the most important festivals of the year for them and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. Having lived most of my growing years in the Southern Bhutan among the Lhotsampas, I had been a keen observer of the transformation of the celebration.

The drive to the countryside

Having shifted to the urban center some years ago, I had forgotten the sight of the greenery that filled our countryside. A few weeks ago, when my husband suggested that we visit a neighboring village, I was very much against the idea because I had some assignments due and I needed to concentrate on it. Coincidentally, my daughter also had her History project due the following week and she needed time to work on it but then we all thought we needed a break from the mundane routine and the drive away from the town that sunday would do us good and went along with the idea.

The blessing

Some  pictures from my trip to receive the blessing of the relics of Lord Buddha, Sangay Shacha Thupa, and his two chief disciples, Sharibu and Mougelgibu on 22^nd October 2011.

Waiting for the blessing

Source: www.bbs.com.bt

The relics of Lord Buddha, Sangay Shacha Thupa, and his two chief disciples, Sharibu and Mougelgibu arrives today at Dewathang. It will be displayed for three days (from 22nd to 24th October). The people from the neighbouring places have flocked here to receive its blessing since yesterday and the small town is flooding with people of all walks of life. The town had never seen such crowd till now. There is hardly any space to walk on the pavement and the roads are filled with vehicles of all models. I even saw a tata nano this evening. the rooms in the hotels are full and the private residents are also packed with visiting devotees.

The festivity

The much awaited Royal wedding was a festive occasion for every Bhutanese. We also took part in the celebration in our own small ways. Here are some glimpses of the celebration.

teachers at work in the morning

The fairy tale wedding

In the mystical kingdom in the Himalayas

The whole nation celebrated

The union of the destined couple

At the Puna Dewa Chhen-Poi Phodrang,

The seat of the founder of Bhutan.

To the new beginning

source: http://www.facebook.com/jetsunpem

As the countdown began for the historic event in the history of Bhutan, I sat glued to the TV to get the news updates of the event whenever I had some free time at hand (especially in the evenings). It fills me with immense pride to see the King and queen to-be walk hand in hand in public. It is rightly said that “words are few when the heart is full”- the feeling that I am experiencing is beyond words. I rejoice with the whole country and celebrate the royal wedding with pure joy and sincere prayers for the Royal couple for the new beginning. Wish you a very Happy Wedded life!

Action Poem

Pictures from class II poem recitation competition 2011

the stage is set

The Annual concert 2011

Some of the pictures from the concert- a tribute to the Royal Wedding that was held earlier this month but I couldn’t upload the pictures due to some reasons.

Class PP A dancers all set to rock the stage :)

The rude awakening

 “The 6.8 tremour on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011 is a reminder that this precious life is unpredictable. For those who have not invested in the next life, it's a warning that the time to prepare for the next life is NOW! There's no opportune time for being a good human being. When one breathes his last, let there be no regret for having squandered thi...” writes one of my teachers on his notes on facebook.

The earthquake again

Just about two years ago, Bhutan suffered a major disaster due to earthquake. The date 21^st September 2009 hasn’t been faded from our memory and now the nightmare seems to be repeating. The only thing different this time is that the epicenter has shifted to Sikkim.

Technology Impact…?

More than two decades ago, when I went to school, my only mode of correspondence was through letters. I wrote letters to friends, parents and siblings. In case of emergencies, we used to send wireless messages which came with cost. Telephones were out of bound for the kids my age and I never really learned to use it until I started working.

The big day draws near…

“You can drag the horse to the river but you cannot force it to drink water”, I heard one of my colleagues remark. I couldn’t help laughing out loud since I was on the verge of similar outburst. I had been teaching dances for the class one students for about a month and they still couldn’t synchronize properly. There were some children were very fast at picking up the steps but the majority of them couldn’t even understand the rhythm and stamp their feet to it. A few days into the selection and I choose twelve of them for the concert and began their practice session.

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.