My trip to Delhi had been confirmed.
I was worried about not making an appointment with the US embassy for a visa.
I was worried about the interview because there were changes in my professional portfolio.
I was worried that I would have to stay alone in a hotel for 10 days.
I was worried about budget constraints.
I was sad I would have to spend Christmas away from home.
Well, the very next day of my arrival, I got my US visa in a walk-in interview.
I stayed three nights in a seven-star hotel (I stayed with Lyonchhen and his delegation as a friend of mine was part of it).
I had more than enough money to shop and spare.
I got friends to spend my time with and accompany me.
I could finish my work and return after just two days.
What made this possible?
God’s amazing grace.
Everything fell into place like a jigsaw puzzle.
And not because of coincidence.
Although you can say that even coincidences are brought about by God.
I got more than I had asked or hoped for.
God had talked to me through Matthew 6:29 when I was at the Paro airport lounge: “And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”
God did glorify me and how!
Christmas is approaching.
It’s a time to re-pledge and rededicate ourselves toward God.
I cannot make any promises but I will try my best to be a better Christian and human being and never ever underestimate God’s amazing grace.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
IF I DIDN'T KNOW.....
If I didn’t know pain, how would I joy?
If I didn’t know hate, how would I love?
If I didn’t know trouble, how would I peace?
If I didn’t know betrayal, how would I loyalty?
If I didn’t know suffering, how would I empathy?
If I didn’t know poverty, how would I cherish plenty?
If I didn’t know loneliness, how would I comfort the friendless?
If I didn’t know depression, how would I wipe away another’s tears?
If I didn’t know want, how would I fulfill the needs of the deprived?
If I didn’t know travail, how would I God?
If I didn’t know hate, how would I love?
If I didn’t know trouble, how would I peace?
If I didn’t know betrayal, how would I loyalty?
If I didn’t know suffering, how would I empathy?
If I didn’t know poverty, how would I cherish plenty?
If I didn’t know loneliness, how would I comfort the friendless?
If I didn’t know depression, how would I wipe away another’s tears?
If I didn’t know want, how would I fulfill the needs of the deprived?
If I didn’t know travail, how would I God?
Thursday, November 17, 2011
OF SARCHOKPA BUS RIDES AND VULGAR KHALASIS
I was going to the far-east after two long years. I had stayed in remote Trashigang for almost ten years with my family including a year alone as a bureau correspondent for the first private newspaper in the country before being reposted to the capital.
From Thimphu, it takes two days to reach Trashigang and the same applies on the way back. I noticed a peculiar pattern on my four-day journey back and forth in a bus.
The first day, I excitedly boarded the bus and noticed an unkempt young man hovering around the bus. I thought he was the driver but later, a man smartly dressed in a pangtha gho whom I had mistaken to be a gentleman about to board the bus took control of the wheels. The other was the so called “khalasi” (in borrowed Bhutanese parlance) or famous “bus conductor”.
Everybody was speaking in Sarchop so I put in my bit – a smattering of words here and there. The journey from Thimphu to Bumthang where we halted for the first night was ok – if that is the term one uses for boring music, yawns and unusable toilets where we halted for breakfast.
Apparently, the driver was not a chatty, effable one (until later) and every time a good song came up in the music player, he forwarded it but I bit my tongue though it sorely tested my less than saintly patience.
The next day was louder. The passengers warmed up to each other along with the eastern weather. Then followed the “khalasi’s” usual routine – of flirting with the belles in the bus. He was standing just before me and I was sandwiched between the girl who was the target of his corny jokes and who to her credit matched his “wit” with equal candor.
The other passengers joined in and when we reached Mongar, a middle-aged woman clambered up next to me. She would not leave the “khalasi” alone, with her repertoire of equally crude jokes.
Then a father of two kids and the driver started cracking jokes about “mewakchas and fewakchas” (women and men). I think you got the gist. Everybody at least seemed to be enjoying the crass jokes, which we Bhutanese term “humour”.
We finally reached Trashigang and departed ways.
On my way back, the same pattern repeated itself, though the “vulgar verbosity” started a bit earlier, towards evening of the first night back towards Bumthang.
The next day, the whole ride back to Thimphu was riddled with jokes about the male and female anatomy, with suitable metaphors used by the driver - a pot-bellied dark man, the “boy or kota khalasi,” two middle-aged village women (it’s the “aunties” who lead) and again I was in the centre of this cozy and should I say crazy group.
I hate to be judgemental here- of course, many will say that this is the everyday scenario in buses and it’s a Bhutanese way of connecting but I was wondering – Can’t we do far better than that?
I agree there was much merriment involved but in reality not everyone was enjoying it. There was a young man and woman seated together. When the jokes began to get dirtier and dirtier, the man got up and moved to the back seat out of obvious embarrassment. And when the “kota” hinted to his boss about it, the whole group threw a volley of harsh words at him indirectly.
Then, there was a married couple with a kid who also did not take very kindly to their rude remarks about their relationship in front of the whole horde of travelers.
It is not that we should be a robot-like lot with no sense of humour but there is a right and a wrong sense of humour. Cracking jokes, especially ones that are not pleasing to the aesthetic imagination and at the expense of others is height of rudeness.
There are intelligent, bright, innocent, good jokes and if we are good observers with a touch of wit, we can sense something funny in the most atrocious or simplest situations. The Bhutanese need to realize this.
Bhutanese seriously need to learn the art of good conversation.
Good talk counts as much as good manners.
From Thimphu, it takes two days to reach Trashigang and the same applies on the way back. I noticed a peculiar pattern on my four-day journey back and forth in a bus.
The first day, I excitedly boarded the bus and noticed an unkempt young man hovering around the bus. I thought he was the driver but later, a man smartly dressed in a pangtha gho whom I had mistaken to be a gentleman about to board the bus took control of the wheels. The other was the so called “khalasi” (in borrowed Bhutanese parlance) or famous “bus conductor”.
Everybody was speaking in Sarchop so I put in my bit – a smattering of words here and there. The journey from Thimphu to Bumthang where we halted for the first night was ok – if that is the term one uses for boring music, yawns and unusable toilets where we halted for breakfast.
Apparently, the driver was not a chatty, effable one (until later) and every time a good song came up in the music player, he forwarded it but I bit my tongue though it sorely tested my less than saintly patience.
The next day was louder. The passengers warmed up to each other along with the eastern weather. Then followed the “khalasi’s” usual routine – of flirting with the belles in the bus. He was standing just before me and I was sandwiched between the girl who was the target of his corny jokes and who to her credit matched his “wit” with equal candor.
The other passengers joined in and when we reached Mongar, a middle-aged woman clambered up next to me. She would not leave the “khalasi” alone, with her repertoire of equally crude jokes.
Then a father of two kids and the driver started cracking jokes about “mewakchas and fewakchas” (women and men). I think you got the gist. Everybody at least seemed to be enjoying the crass jokes, which we Bhutanese term “humour”.
We finally reached Trashigang and departed ways.
On my way back, the same pattern repeated itself, though the “vulgar verbosity” started a bit earlier, towards evening of the first night back towards Bumthang.
The next day, the whole ride back to Thimphu was riddled with jokes about the male and female anatomy, with suitable metaphors used by the driver - a pot-bellied dark man, the “boy or kota khalasi,” two middle-aged village women (it’s the “aunties” who lead) and again I was in the centre of this cozy and should I say crazy group.
I hate to be judgemental here- of course, many will say that this is the everyday scenario in buses and it’s a Bhutanese way of connecting but I was wondering – Can’t we do far better than that?
I agree there was much merriment involved but in reality not everyone was enjoying it. There was a young man and woman seated together. When the jokes began to get dirtier and dirtier, the man got up and moved to the back seat out of obvious embarrassment. And when the “kota” hinted to his boss about it, the whole group threw a volley of harsh words at him indirectly.
Then, there was a married couple with a kid who also did not take very kindly to their rude remarks about their relationship in front of the whole horde of travelers.
It is not that we should be a robot-like lot with no sense of humour but there is a right and a wrong sense of humour. Cracking jokes, especially ones that are not pleasing to the aesthetic imagination and at the expense of others is height of rudeness.
There are intelligent, bright, innocent, good jokes and if we are good observers with a touch of wit, we can sense something funny in the most atrocious or simplest situations. The Bhutanese need to realize this.
Bhutanese seriously need to learn the art of good conversation.
Good talk counts as much as good manners.
Monday, October 31, 2011
CHANGE & MEMORIES
The seasons change…..from spring to summer to fall and winter.
The lunar cycle is in constant motion.
The Milky Way changes the course of its billion stars and asteroids once in eons.
The seed germinates, flowers, gives fruits and withers.
What in life is permanent? Nothing.
Change is the name of the game, the only thing that’s constant.
People change, circumstances, relationships and feelings, too.
It is like watching a rainbow.
The beautiful hues which appear at the confluence of rain and sunshine disappear within minutes.
We can only treasure the moment.
Hold onto it. As if our life depends on it.
Because what is a life without memories?
Without those old black and while images eaten by silverfish?
Or the fading colours of those perfumed portraits?
What is man’s love if not a transient phase?
But the effects are eternal.
It shapes a woman’s dreams and self-image.
The memories of her first kiss or her first love-letter make her smile.
The memory of their baby’s first steps or words makes her parents shed a tear of remembrance.
Memories are precious and they last but the events preceding them do not.
There is also hurt and pain from the past.
Grim memories – maybe a heart-rending word, or neglect or sheer hatred.
But we need to let go.
God not only told us to forgive our enemies, he told us to forgive ourselves as well.
By letting go of past hurt and regret, we forgive ourselves and love God.
Change changes the world but we can change the meaning of change by changing ourselves with the times.
The lunar cycle is in constant motion.
The Milky Way changes the course of its billion stars and asteroids once in eons.
The seed germinates, flowers, gives fruits and withers.
What in life is permanent? Nothing.
Change is the name of the game, the only thing that’s constant.
People change, circumstances, relationships and feelings, too.
It is like watching a rainbow.
The beautiful hues which appear at the confluence of rain and sunshine disappear within minutes.
We can only treasure the moment.
Hold onto it. As if our life depends on it.
Because what is a life without memories?
Without those old black and while images eaten by silverfish?
Or the fading colours of those perfumed portraits?
What is man’s love if not a transient phase?
But the effects are eternal.
It shapes a woman’s dreams and self-image.
The memories of her first kiss or her first love-letter make her smile.
The memory of their baby’s first steps or words makes her parents shed a tear of remembrance.
Memories are precious and they last but the events preceding them do not.
There is also hurt and pain from the past.
Grim memories – maybe a heart-rending word, or neglect or sheer hatred.
But we need to let go.
God not only told us to forgive our enemies, he told us to forgive ourselves as well.
By letting go of past hurt and regret, we forgive ourselves and love God.
Change changes the world but we can change the meaning of change by changing ourselves with the times.
Monday, October 24, 2011
LOVE IS.......(for a woman)
LOVE IS…..
Sharing when there is nothing
Crying and laughing together
A touch, a hug, a kiss
Travelling for 24 hours to spend five minutes with him
Getting up in the middle of a wintry night and seeing if the blanket is covering him, too
Making him a hot cup of tea after you return tired from work
Buying him a pair of shoes when your own need repairing
Making a birthday cake for his mother
Letting him have a guys’ night out
Listening to him rave about his favorite soccer team and not yawn
LOVE IS ALSO…….
Keeping away when you know you should
Correcting gently when he makes a mistake
Encouraging him to be with other friends
Caring about his spiritual and moral life
Telling him not to be extravagant especially on you
Letting go of the past &
Letting him go if needed
Sharing when there is nothing
Crying and laughing together
A touch, a hug, a kiss
Travelling for 24 hours to spend five minutes with him
Getting up in the middle of a wintry night and seeing if the blanket is covering him, too
Making him a hot cup of tea after you return tired from work
Buying him a pair of shoes when your own need repairing
Making a birthday cake for his mother
Letting him have a guys’ night out
Listening to him rave about his favorite soccer team and not yawn
LOVE IS ALSO…….
Keeping away when you know you should
Correcting gently when he makes a mistake
Encouraging him to be with other friends
Caring about his spiritual and moral life
Telling him not to be extravagant especially on you
Letting go of the past &
Letting him go if needed
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
THE GOD ARGUMENT
Admit it. Most human beings in the world are a broken lot. It is the culmination of a long list of unfulfilled dreams and heartaches since we started being cognitive and could reason or feel.
Parental expectations to academic performance to peer pressure to conforming to societal norms, and the result is we often have people who are not reluctant to label themselves “social misfits” and some even declare it proudly because it elevates them to an altogether different realm from the usual “social butterflies” and “commons”.
Apart from these people who claim not to belong to the normal world order, we have others like atheists, apatheists, free thinkers, radicals, conservatives, fanatics, humanists, secularists, you name it. There is every category of people alive on the earth but the bottom line is – WHAT MATTERS?
Evolutionary biologists term people as just an aggregation of selfish cells and molecules which battle for survival as in Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection where the “fittest survives”.
It leaves no room for a human soul or the existence of the Divine.
And unfortunately, many people are broken just because they cannot connect to a source of external Supreme power which exists.
However, surprisingly, the theory of ultimate secularization, which most atheists and agnostics propound, with science making all its gigantic steps is not only nullified; it is being reversed.
In the 21st century, there is a global revival of religion. According to Dinesh D’ Souza, the author of the best selling “What’s so great about Christianity,” more than 90 percent of Americans believe in God, and 60 percent say their faith is important to them. America, thus supposed to be the most secular country in the world is the most religious country in the Western world.
He also states that despite the limitations imposed by the Chinese government, it is estimated that there are now 100 million Christians in China who worship in underground evangelical and Catholic churches.
“Thus, the thesis of inevitable secularization has lost its credibility.”
Ever wonder why this is happening?
Peter Berger argues that “modernization helps people triumph over necessity but it also produces a profound crisis of purpose in modern life. The greater the effects of modernization, the stronger the social anxiety and the striving for something more”.
“Secular culture itself produces a deep need for meaning in life and therefore also for religion," says Wolfhart Pannenberg
I always argue that people essentially are spiritual beings. They have something inside them which materialism and hedonism cannot fulfill. There is always a longing for something more meaningful and the sense of an everlasting.
I would like to believe that a human being is definitely not a robot-like creature which just thrives on survival, satiating its desires and passing on its genes. Living without reason, purpose or hope is one of the greatest tragedies mankind could ever face.
We hope because there is something intrinsic in us which makes us do so. In the same way, we believe in the Divine because there is a sense of the spiritual within us.
We may scoff at the idea of a monotheistic God or Creator but even Science cannot prove cent percent that there is no Divine Being that governs the world and its functions.
In fact, most modern scientists state that the latest findings of Science support religion.
Now, coming back to my lead. How many of us have been broken? Broken by inacceptance, guilt, hatred and shame? Why would we feel this way if we were unfeeling creatures? If we were simply machines made to consume resources, reproduce and die, why do so many find solace in the spiritual?
Every heartbreak has a life lesson to offer.
We often strive for the eternal when things in the limited world don’t go our way. In fact, that is a blessing.
Here I would like to quote from a devotional, “A Cup of Comfort”:
“Have you noticed how God uses broken things? A broken flower blossom gives off sweet perfume. Only broken soil can accept seeds to produce a ripe crop of wheat. And the bread must be broken if it must sustain our lives. So...what about a broken person? What about you?”
Ask yourself this question and think if it’s time you changed your perspective about life and existence.
Parental expectations to academic performance to peer pressure to conforming to societal norms, and the result is we often have people who are not reluctant to label themselves “social misfits” and some even declare it proudly because it elevates them to an altogether different realm from the usual “social butterflies” and “commons”.
Apart from these people who claim not to belong to the normal world order, we have others like atheists, apatheists, free thinkers, radicals, conservatives, fanatics, humanists, secularists, you name it. There is every category of people alive on the earth but the bottom line is – WHAT MATTERS?
Evolutionary biologists term people as just an aggregation of selfish cells and molecules which battle for survival as in Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection where the “fittest survives”.
It leaves no room for a human soul or the existence of the Divine.
And unfortunately, many people are broken just because they cannot connect to a source of external Supreme power which exists.
However, surprisingly, the theory of ultimate secularization, which most atheists and agnostics propound, with science making all its gigantic steps is not only nullified; it is being reversed.
In the 21st century, there is a global revival of religion. According to Dinesh D’ Souza, the author of the best selling “What’s so great about Christianity,” more than 90 percent of Americans believe in God, and 60 percent say their faith is important to them. America, thus supposed to be the most secular country in the world is the most religious country in the Western world.
He also states that despite the limitations imposed by the Chinese government, it is estimated that there are now 100 million Christians in China who worship in underground evangelical and Catholic churches.
“Thus, the thesis of inevitable secularization has lost its credibility.”
Ever wonder why this is happening?
Peter Berger argues that “modernization helps people triumph over necessity but it also produces a profound crisis of purpose in modern life. The greater the effects of modernization, the stronger the social anxiety and the striving for something more”.
“Secular culture itself produces a deep need for meaning in life and therefore also for religion," says Wolfhart Pannenberg
I always argue that people essentially are spiritual beings. They have something inside them which materialism and hedonism cannot fulfill. There is always a longing for something more meaningful and the sense of an everlasting.
I would like to believe that a human being is definitely not a robot-like creature which just thrives on survival, satiating its desires and passing on its genes. Living without reason, purpose or hope is one of the greatest tragedies mankind could ever face.
We hope because there is something intrinsic in us which makes us do so. In the same way, we believe in the Divine because there is a sense of the spiritual within us.
We may scoff at the idea of a monotheistic God or Creator but even Science cannot prove cent percent that there is no Divine Being that governs the world and its functions.
In fact, most modern scientists state that the latest findings of Science support religion.
Now, coming back to my lead. How many of us have been broken? Broken by inacceptance, guilt, hatred and shame? Why would we feel this way if we were unfeeling creatures? If we were simply machines made to consume resources, reproduce and die, why do so many find solace in the spiritual?
Every heartbreak has a life lesson to offer.
We often strive for the eternal when things in the limited world don’t go our way. In fact, that is a blessing.
Here I would like to quote from a devotional, “A Cup of Comfort”:
“Have you noticed how God uses broken things? A broken flower blossom gives off sweet perfume. Only broken soil can accept seeds to produce a ripe crop of wheat. And the bread must be broken if it must sustain our lives. So...what about a broken person? What about you?”
Ask yourself this question and think if it’s time you changed your perspective about life and existence.
Friday, September 16, 2011
SUNNY SIDES UP!!!
Animal figments:
Bulls cook up a lot of shit
Lizard tales are always broken
Parrots crack up a lot
Crocodiles smile to welcome while their tears are a façade
Pigs take mud baths as beauty treatment
One can never make out whether a hyena is laughing or crying
How come zebras never cross the road?
….like moths to a flame
….like flies to a jar of honey….Damn! The flies definitely have better taste!
Mom silverfish: Darling, are you still hungry?
Child silverfish: Yes, the book you gave me was too light.
The Chinese discovered silk and tea
The Greeks discovered philosophy
The Italians Art
And the Bhutanese an excuse
Albert Einstein apparently encountered a lot of static in his experiments. Evidence: His flyaway hair
Mona Lisa’s smile fetched a fortune. Lucky we don’t have to look for the toothpaste otherwise we would have to spend a hell lot of energy and resources for it
With the China-India-USA intrigue building up in the Himalayas we need little heat from global warming to melt the glaciers
Heard in the (famous for media people) Jorden restaurant:
“Are you a vegetarian?”
“No, I am a carnivore.”
“Monks in Bhutan do a lot of monk(ey)ing around”
Heard in a Bhutanese home:
Father- In the good old days, we used to go to school in shabby clothes, walk in chappals, collect firewood and water, and cook ourselves.
Son-I would rather be in the bad days
Girl 1- I paid Nu 10,000 for my new hair-do
Girl 2 to Girl 3 (in a whisper)- I would not pay a penny more to look like that!
Bulls cook up a lot of shit
Lizard tales are always broken
Parrots crack up a lot
Crocodiles smile to welcome while their tears are a façade
Pigs take mud baths as beauty treatment
One can never make out whether a hyena is laughing or crying
How come zebras never cross the road?
….like moths to a flame
….like flies to a jar of honey….Damn! The flies definitely have better taste!
Mom silverfish: Darling, are you still hungry?
Child silverfish: Yes, the book you gave me was too light.
The Chinese discovered silk and tea
The Greeks discovered philosophy
The Italians Art
And the Bhutanese an excuse
Albert Einstein apparently encountered a lot of static in his experiments. Evidence: His flyaway hair
Mona Lisa’s smile fetched a fortune. Lucky we don’t have to look for the toothpaste otherwise we would have to spend a hell lot of energy and resources for it
With the China-India-USA intrigue building up in the Himalayas we need little heat from global warming to melt the glaciers
Heard in the (famous for media people) Jorden restaurant:
“Are you a vegetarian?”
“No, I am a carnivore.”
“Monks in Bhutan do a lot of monk(ey)ing around”
Heard in a Bhutanese home:
Father- In the good old days, we used to go to school in shabby clothes, walk in chappals, collect firewood and water, and cook ourselves.
Son-I would rather be in the bad days
Girl 1- I paid Nu 10,000 for my new hair-do
Girl 2 to Girl 3 (in a whisper)- I would not pay a penny more to look like that!
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