POSTCARDS...COURTESY BHUTAN

Perhaps this is coming rather late in the day or perhaps this could not have come at a more appropriate time. The coronation of Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck as Bhutan’s fifth king on November 6, has prompted me to reminisce about my visit to Bhutan in May this year. The recollections will obviously prompt certain observations about the land and its people. Some could be contradictory or/and confusing but then which nation at the crossroads is without its fair share of binaries and contradictions?

On the morning after our reaching Thimphu, my more-than-eager-for-some-exercise friend, Kajari, decided to explore the hillside on foot. And so while I slept till 7.30, Kajari went on a walking tour of the winding roads. The Jambayang Resort at which we had put up is situated almost atop a hill and below it—about 10 minutes down the hill—she stumbled upon a timber factory. Kajari was more than happy to be interrupted by a friendly 18-year old, a worker at the factory, with whom she promptly struck up a conversation. The boy it seemed worked at the factory to assist his mother and support his family. But he had other plans. A Bhutanese friend who had landed a job at a call centre in New Delhi was urging him endlessly to try his luck in India. When Kajari asked him why he was not eager to try someplace closer home—maybe in Thimphu itself—he came up with an answer that might have orbited her off the planet! ‘Thimphu is phar(far) phrom(from) here’ (only a fifteen minute walk down the hill!!!). Thimphu—phasth(fast) life.’ Kajari stood stumped. For a teenager who was aspiring for a comparatively ‘good life’, his destination was far-off Delhi. This was not surprising but what was pretty inexplicable was his referring to the Bhutanese capital as fast and far-away. We had to check that out! We concluded that he must be a lazybone, a lackadaisical and worthless dud who will continue to daydream (Delhi is not far,eh?) and lazily chat up tourists while his mother will slog through 12-hour schedules at the factory.

But lo and behold! Most ‘enterprising’ young men we observed at Thimphu were laidback and apparently unambitious, looking after small businesses. Even our driver-cum-tour guide showed similar traits. Mind you, they can work very efficiently if need be. These youths want to earn money and keep pace with the world but cannot quite seem to do much about it. Funnily enough, they do not seem to regret much either (pardon me- I admit that exceptions do prove the rule). So was this phenomenon typical of Bhutan which has just one college/university, a lack of employment opportunities and extreme weather conditions? Not so really. Recalling an earlier post I will say that Bhutan is a proven classic example of a country that thrives on Gross Domestic Happiness rather than Gross Domestic Product. They are a happy people who love their benevolent king and would rather have a monarchy than a democracy (I was given two postcards featuring the then king-elect for free at a roadside shop in Paro because I had shown some touristy curiosity about him). Thimphu is ‘phasth’ enough for them and honestly I cannot imagine many of them in big metropolises around the globe, calling the shots. (Don’t get me wrong) Not that it would undermine their value in the scheme of life or that they deserve to remain where they are. I will give concession to the fact that the modern world is still new to Bhutan which works at a pace all its own. Therein lies the charm of this nation. Perhaps its people have an instinctive wisdom or an innate knack for being happy with little which mortals like me can only crave for and envy in a cut-throat world.

Going back to the question of monarchy, the new king’s father, Jigme Singye Wangchuck has been loved and obeyed since 1972 when he ascended the throne. And he has shown a rare wisdom which has stood his country in good stead. He, along with his Oxford-educated son, has introduced democracy to a country that just adores its monarch. So while two political parties—the ruling Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)—have contested in elections in April-May this year, they have time and again pledged their undying support to Bhutan’s royal family. I can safely presume that in my lifetime there will not be a bloodbath in the Wangchuck dynasty—like that which rocked the foundation of Nepal a few years back. For they know an easy way out. Slowly but surely, cautiously and seamlessly transfer power to the people of the land and their cup of love for you will brimmeth over. Of course, there have been rumours of underlying differences as to the choice of the new king (Jigme Singye Wangchuck has many wives and more than one son) but the people seem unaffected by this. To them their king is their God. And hell…why not? Over the last 10 years Singye Wangchuck has wisely and gradually led his country to modernization. Bhutan is just waking up to globalisation. Television viewing was unheard of until a few years back. In fact, for the use of television and the internet, official permission still needs to be sought and they are still seen in use in commercial and public spaces in Thimphu than in the privacy of homes. I recall a Saturday evening that we spent at Paro’s local shopping enclave. Kajari was busy shopping and, as usual, I was busy photographing. I chanced upon a tiny diner filled with amused lamas, checking out some bogus Ekta Kapoor serial on the telly. The moment they discovered that an intruder was clicking away gleefully to capture this unique scene, they just got up and left the diner after paying, giving me a scowl that I still recall with a shudder. Today’s Kolkata edition of ‘The Telegraph’ informs me that mobile phones and internet is catching on in Bhutan and youths wearing Nike footwear ‘are not an uncommon sight’. I cannot help but feel a tinge of sadness.

One of the things that I could not help notice and admire during my visit was the sight of men, women and children wearing their national costumes—men in ‘gho’ and women in ‘kira’. They have to wear these as a rule for all official purposes (no moral policing this, mind you!) I found them wearing the ‘gho’ and ‘kira’ both for work and for pleasure. I concluded that they comply with a law not for fear of penalty but because they do not know how to be any different. If Nike and denim are becoming popular in Bhutan, the day is not far when Thimphu will look like any other city in the world—a willing victim of a synthetic American culture, of US imperialism and softpower (as international relations expert Joseph Nye might have put it).

Bhutan, you are gracious, hospitable, simple, pristine and distinctive. Don’t change. Not so soon. Not now. The rest of the world needs to learn from you.