Complicated and indescribable life

It was almost like coming fire out of water for those who are known to me when I shared about my marital affairs because it sounded totally out of their expectation.  I had made up my mind not to get married till my graduation and for few years after, but after reaching to Sherubtse, a damsel named as “cheche” to her parents forcibly struck my heart with great thrust. Since then I tried every possible means to win her heart which I ultimately succeeded. Now, we are happy to share our sorrow and happiness together which as a partner for life, it is a must.   I do not have slightest regret from loving and marrying you rather I am very much pleased to have you as my life-long partner. You came to my life as a boon and to partner me to tread on the winding and thorny paths of my life. 

 I just can’t live without you and my loving daughter. We met and shared our emotions with  smile and the days and even the years passed unimaginably so fast and now it is more than four years that we have shared our life together. Still we have miles to go and lots to achieve with our collaborative efforts provided everything go as expected and no unforeseen circumstances overlook us. Our togetherness was not very financially sound and it would remain so for foreseeable future but was emotionally very strong and bonded. We have lived up to the expectations of our loving parents and we owe unfathomably to them for their untiring efforts to make us what we are today.  Nevertheless your emotional support has tremendously boosted my confidence and was source of inspiration which I hope to have it unconditionally hereafter too. 

We have had good amount of verbal scuffles and misunderstandings, often shouting at each other at the peak of our voices which often hurts the sentiments and pierce each other’s heart nonetheless, deep down we always have soft corner within.  Such things are common between two hearts that share both happiness and sorrow together because I do believe in an adage “true love never runs smooth”.  Thank you Cheche for your motherly care to my daughter and hope you will be good mother to her ever as you always did.

To my dearly loving daughter, I may not be your perfect father and good at parenting but I assure you my support and fatherly guidance to do better than myself and make your life as meaningful as possible. I only long to see you grow, be a good daughter to your parents, get yourself educated and one day become a dedicated, committed and respected citizen of the country. Besides her everyday motherly love showered upon you, the birth pang your loving mother endured perseveringly itself is a sufficient indication of how thankful you should be to your mother. Having said that, your mummy is equally valuable for nurturing and upbringing you so as to make your stand equal to your counterparts.

I know how much imperfect and lazy I am but what to do I am just that way. “A leopard cannot really change its spot”. I try to be the best but uncountably for a good number of times, I was rude and spoke many things that potentially hurt you. Sorry for that and do forgive me. For all these years, you were so caring and considerate but sometimes as rude as I am. When we were single, we saw couples enjoy and now when we are couples, we see singles enjoy, life is really complicated, inexplicable and hard to describe and intricately woven in the unending worldly entanglements. Nevertheless, we are a happy and a dedicated partner to each other. I am committed to stand and live to my standard in word and spirit.

With each passing day, month and year, you will only become dearer to me and our daughter has further cemented our relation and gave us the confidence and inspiration to live our lives. From our togetherness for all these years, I have learned to be a better human being and candidly, 18 years of schooling has neither taught me nor my parents but you did it. Thanks for that. I have no words to say but to seriously admit that my life will remain incomplete without both of you. I LOVE YOU and WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU WITH ALL MY HEART.

Bhutan- My land and My soul

In the greater eastern Himalayas, is a country Bhutan considered heaven on earth where the drukpas live understandably in a peaceful kingdom with just over 6 lakhs people in it. Bhutan have a living traditional culture when culture for many nations is lost and forgotten. And these vibrant cultures define Bhutan in this modern world. Bhutan opened her doors of isolation in the early 1970s and today after 5 decades, Bhutan continues to build up her ties with many nations and make every concerted efforts to further the relations with those countries with whom Bhutan have enjoyed their assistance in many areas of our development. Thanks to the successive visionary royal kings of Wangchuk dynasty for steering the nation and as a citizen we must protect the sovereignty of the nation by upholding the true Bhutanese values and culture. So let us not stop to be Bhutanese which ever nation we dwell in and let us remain Bhutanese forever both in our act and spirit. 

We are proud to be born in Bhutan and so we are proud to be Bhutanese. Bhutan is a peaceful nation and so are the people of it. People born in Bhutan are those fortunate ones perhaps due to the country being blessed by great Buddhist masters and the unwavering dedication, prayers and faith of the people. We are helpless to hear and see many innocent people dying in many of the war-torn nation but only to feel sorry and pray that let us not be the victim of it. My only prayers will be to be born in Bhutan in my future lives too with a sense of belongingness, decency and above all truly Bhutanese at heart and in soul.  

Every time we switch on our Television set, we painfully see and hear innocent people being killed and injured in the bomb blasts, suicide attacks, nuclear threats and these happenings are headlining the every news channel the world has. But we are fortunate to be born in Bhutan where such inhumane acts are very rare except for a century old civil unrest. It may be because, Bhutan being the blessed land and her people being Buddhist we are not the victim of such callous acts. Everyone on this earth should value and respect human life, a life not to be played or experimented with nuclear or unnatural dangers of human life. We must at our best make our fervent prayers today not to be born in such nations even we were to take the life as an animal.

Long Live our Wangchuk dynasty and long live Bhutan!

Karma Thegsum Decheling Monastry

It was in mid 2004 when this monastic construction began in the tribal village of Barshong   which the locals referred the monastic site as Sangshuwang, a semi-forested area used by the local cattles and horses as grazing land then and the perhaps the history has it that popularly known dhangling tsho (lake) in the east (khaling) was to be here in this very site. It took almost six complete years perhaps due to sophistication in building it in a very traditional style with finest wood carvings and paintings. 

A fateful day in October 2010, the formal and grand inaugural ceremony took place with the blessing of khabje Thrangu Rinpoche, many other rinpoches from Bhutan and locals from far and wide participated in it. As i recently visited my village in Barshong (the monastic site) though momentarily, i felt fortunate that i have lived to see her stand in full glory. Thanks to 8^th Zuri Rinpoche and many of this western students and donors around the world for providing the financial assistance to build this architecturally one of the finest dratshangs and of course the Barshongpas for our collective fortune to have such a majestic structure. 

I offer the following aspirational prayers:

“May many aspiring individuals come to learn in it

May all who have the opportunity to learn in it serve the people

May the dharma brothers and sisters enjoy good health so as to learn and serve

May all who have rendered a hand to build it generate great merit and live in peace

May the Rinpoche’s dharmic endeavours continue to flourish ever

May there be no hindrance and obstacles for Buddha dharma to travel”

            May it benefit all sentient beings far and wide

May i for eternity have the fortune to learn in it

                May i one day enlighten from it”

                            Long live Zuri Rinpoche, Long live our enlightened masters and long live                        Buddha Dharma!               

Thank you Mum and Dad!

I came into this world 26 years ago with soft and delicate body parts and you as a parents have done your job wonderfully well in upbringing us and now you have left nothing to do for us but only to wish that your sons and daughter are able to stand on their own feet.       

                                                               

You very carefully and with much love, has brought us up and certainly there are no words to convey my hearty gratitude for your great care because of which your sons and daughters are now happy to say that I am the son/daughter of Sangay and Zangmo and we will never and at any cost forget what you have done to us.

Though it was immensely hard to bring up 10 siblings still, miraculously you managed it. Having no sources to fulfill the need of every child, but somehow you managed averting all the oddities and vicissitudes of life and gave us what others have in them. Painstakingly we reached where we are presently and now the responsibilities befall on every one of us to make your life as comfortable as possible and every one of us do share an equal stake in it in whatever little way we can. Difinitely, you could have vivid memories of having silently cried in grief, suffered, sacrificed and troubled for us.

Not having what others have and especially I had struggled hard and indeed I had hard life both in my college and school days still the hardship that you have encountered and  endured perseveringly as parents is very much touching and would weigh much more than mine. Knowing the situations and circumstances under which you lived, I have asked very little for my studies and I did best to earn myself and yet your love and attachment and a mental support was a source of inspiration amidst troubling life I had.  Life may not be that cruel to anybody as it is to our family but we are proud that we are at least better off than those dying out of hunger in many other countries. 

It is really painful to recollect the hardships of yesteryears that you have painfully encountered to feed ten stomachs yet as far as I can remember, we have not missed out even a single meal. We are sorry for your hard life, please. Today, although I stand in my own feet, I feel sorry for not being able to help you financially yet I have my prayers for your happy, satisfied and longer life ever after.

Perhaps, I have also much attachment to my paternal grandpa and grandma as I have spent more than half of the later part of my educational life and by being the mum and dad of my loving father, you also have suffered for me. Thank you for all the sacrifices you have made for me and I am proud to say that I am here because of your guidance and help. 

Thank you, Mum and Dad for your love and care with which you brought us up and added flavor to our life.  Thank you for everything and may you live with all the vigour, strength and in peace.

Silver Jubilee: Barshong Community Primary School

This very day was the much and long awaited moment for us and having studied in this very school and as a first batch, it gives us tremendous happiness and proudness to have gathered here for celebrating the silver jubilee of the school. 

I have a very special connection with this place because this place so-called Barshong is the very place where I was born, brought up and schooled. And this school was from where I actually began to sow the seed of education and my educational journey thus began here from. I unfathomably owe to all the past and present teachers who have served and is serving the school with fullest dedication. I salute to all my teachers and to this very school for having given me the light! Students and teachers will come and go but this very school must live long for eternity and continue to serve the community and our nation for schools are the places where the future leaders of a nation are groomed and chiseled and finally produced, ready to serve the today's ever hungry nation. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our royal government for providing us the free education when education remains as a mere dream for many aspiring youths in many of the countries around the world. Thank you, your Hajesty and thank you the Royal Government of Bhutan!

Though it is hard to admit that any changes have taken place even after more than 2 decades but am sure that this very school though old and ramshackled, continue to serve and nurture the ever young hearts and minds of this very village.  Coming all the way from Thimphu was tiresome but this very day shall be indelibly imprinted in our minds. I sincerely admit that I  am very much happy that I made it here to be the part of this very momentous event. 

I want to inform this august gathering that we have students from this very school successively completing their graduation and please do not cut-off this very unbroken line of succession.  Many of our friends who once studied in this very school are serving our nation in different capacities and I am hopeful many who will come through this school in future will be the generation with content and contribute to the growth of our nation and make our poor parents dwelling in this small hamlet of Barshong, happy and proud. 

I know most our parents are not very well-off and frankly I grew up in this very village struggling to support for my educational expenses. Those bygone days are quite hard for me to reflect upon but those hardships that I have painfully undergone have actually shaped my future and made me what I am today. I realized then schooling isn't meant for everybody who aspire for but I had a conviction that I must in any way work hard to reach that apex point no matter what circumstance comes my way. And today reflecting those hard days, it gives me some mixed sense of achievement and jubilation as I could manage to overcome it but also sadness overwhelms me as it was encountered painfully. 

25 years ago, I had fond memories of growing up, playing with friends in these very premises of the school and receiving the priceless education from our much-loved and untiring teachers. Dear young friends, we have never lost our karmic connections for having born, brought up and schooled from this very school and 25 years from now, you will be again joining us in the celebration of yet another 25 years of the school ie. Golden Jubilee of the school with all splendor.  Though we are living in this impermanent world with completely uncertain life, let us at least hope and make an earnest prayer for it to happen and to be the part of the golden jubilee celebration that will happen 25 years down the line.

My dear young friends, the world is becoming increasingly complex, getting the job isn't everybody’s' cup of tea and competition is becoming stiff but do not lose your heart at these instead develop positive attitude and work hard and if you are hardworking, nothing is impossible. I wasn't a good and brilliant student then but if you are hardworking and have confidence in yourself, you are bound to succeed in your endeavors.

Lastly, as a alumni of this school let us connect the unconnected and reconnect our fraternity and sisterhood and make our alumni circle ever strong and vibrant. Thank you dear teachers, our special guest  and thank you my young and energetic friends for taking pain in arranging this remarkable and  perhaps, the historic moment in the history of our school and ourselves. Thank you one and all! May god bless this very school and May god bless us all! HAPPY CELEBRATION!