The Art of Pen

𝐖𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬  𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐖𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧  𝐖𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐩 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐬  𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬  𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙑: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖 Nights were getting harder for a tourist like me who came to the USA to build a better life. My bedroom insinuated creepy as the days passed. I was alone and spent most of my time fiddling phones.  In the beginning, I fed myself with enough statistics and information on coronavirus. Soon, some parts of New York City were commanded by coronavirus. Many people were losing the battle with to virus.  To guard myself, I bought a sanitizer, surgical masks and few pairs of hand gloves. There were messages of warning from relatives, friends, families and husband.   Like any other days, at nine past thirty in the morning, I prepared myself to go to work. I wore a pair of grey gloves and a mask. I was heading to the subway where I ride a train. There was group of people who were waiting for the train as well. I maintained a huge distance as advised my health experts and scientist. Surprising, that group of people appr

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙄𝙑: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚’𝙨 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙜 Nothing impressed me more. Nothing deserved my deepest prayers and respect. To none but to my king. The fifth of Wangchuck Dynasty. His majesty the king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck. To the world, and to me and to his people, he is known as the People’s King. Definitely, the title was not a mistake. He earned it. If I am to put world leaders into the list of elites, my king is the number one! As soon as 76-year-old tourist was tested positive for the coronavirus, his majesty went himself. Risking his own life and his country.  Bhutan is one of the most visited Travel Destinations for tourists. It is a massive industry where it contributes millions of US$ to the economy. That is why, it is one of the five jewels of the country. As soon as first case was confirmed, every Bhutanese got into the war to fight the virus. On 6th March, 2020, education institutes of Thimphu, Wangdue and Punakha were closed.  It was time for nurs

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙄𝙄𝙄: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙘 China suffered alone in the beginning. More than 70,000 people were discovered to be infected by the virus in few months with the death toll rising to 20,000. Scientists, medical experts and doctors came together to combat the new virus. While treating the people, many doctors and nurses lost their lives. On 30th January, 2020! Italy became the second country invaded by devastating coronavirus. It was found in two of Chinese tourists. Italy added to the list in devastation of virus breaking the record of China in deaths and cases within the span 24 hours. Americans were still following their normal schedule. I was less bothered like all of them but, there was greater intensity of fear filling my heart. One evening, I went to the TV to update about the new virus again. I was agonized! Families were broken due to loss of one of their loved ones. Innocent babies, pregnan

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙄𝙄: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙪𝙩𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙑𝙞𝙧𝙪𝙨 Not a common thing for Bhutanese to become a tourist in some rich countries such as USA and UK. However, I became one. The one to live temporarily in New York as a tourist. Not like tourists who visit places for recreation but a tourist to look for a work. A work which gave me dollars. I settled my ground in USA after seeking help from some of my known relatives. The saddest thing was, my husband decided to remain back in Bhutan. Our marriage became distant. I got myself a job where I earned $20 in an hour. My responsibility was to take care of elderly woman who was 97 years old. I decided to work at least 10 hours per day earning around $200! I rented an apartment for myself which is quite far from my work place. It was on 25th of December, 2019, around 6 pm, I turned on the TV and switched the Channel to BBC news [British Broadcasting Corporation]. I could not believe what I heard from the news reader. “C

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙄: 𝙊𝙛𝙛 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙔𝙤𝙧𝙠 I was raised between mountains and hills. Listening to the singing of birds from nearby jungle and beholding the dancing leaves. Sitting on the seesaw made of rough plank and skating on the board made of old jerrycan. I grew with dust and dusty friends. We had less of possessions and more of laughter and happiness. I was born in one of the remotest districts of Bhutan called Dagana!  I was lucky. Many of my relatives live in United Kingdom and few of them in United States of America where the weight of dollar is heavier than the weight of ngultrums.  But, when I compare the weight of currencies, I am not hungry about money. People say that food, water, air and shelter are basic necessities for survival. When I think about it, yes! They were basic necessities when the human race was evolving. Now, world has changed and I feel that basic necessities are not food, water, air and shelter! I think it is money! If you have lot of money, you can

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚇𝙸: 𝙸 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙼𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝙵𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢 After the drama at the store, Tashi was taken by police. The owner was worried about me and she let me go home early that day.  “Lhamo! You must stand up for your own right. Man cannot come and torture you. They cannot threaten you with such kind of act”. The owner said. “He was my husband and we were married according to the wishes of our parents. After coming here, he changed. He considered our marriage as divorced. We don’t even have marriage certificate. I thought to report to the court but I am just turning seventeen. All our parents would be in big trouble”, I explained her everything starting from sickness to giving up of education and coming to Thimphu. “You have a matured mind. You could even think of your parents. As you said, they will be in big trouble. The marriage will be considered invalid by the court and they will punish people involved in arranging the marriage”, the owner said.

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚇: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚛𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚎 The following day, aunt visited me again. As soon as she knocked the door, I was expecting something good to hear. I could see it in her eyes. “Lhamo, I am here to drink tea again”. She joked  “You can visit me here everyday. I like spending time with you”, I expressed how happy I was to be with her, and even it was for few minutes. “My friend wants you as the sale girl in her store. Congratulations! You can join your duty from tomorrow. It is the perfect time for you. Tomorrow is the first day of July. The salary will be discussed when we go tomorrow”. Aunt was with the good news as I have expected from her smile. “Thank you so much. I will always remain in your debt. I can’t thank you enough”. “Where is Tashi? Didn’t he come home yesterday?” “He came and he left. He had been acting weird since the day we moved here. I knew why he was desperate to move out. He told me that he is in love with one of the girls in drayang. He al

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙸𝚇: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚘𝚛 𝙰𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎? “Lhamo! Lhamo!” A familiar voice of a woman entered through my ears.  Immediately, I opened my eyes and wiped my tears. Unfortunately, I could not dry my clothes which were drenched heavily with the rain. I turned myself as if nothing had happened. “What are you doing here in the rain?” The familiar woman was Tashi’s aunt who had been my hostage for a month. She was driving the car that uncle used to drive. “While I was running from the shop, I lost one of my slippers down the bridge. Now, it has been washed away”, I showed my left foot which was without a slipper. I threw the slipper intentionally and I was about to throw the other too. “Where are you heading, aunt?” I asked her. “I am here to visit you. I hope everything is good. Get into the car! You are getting wetter. Let’s talk once we are home!” Aunt escorted me into her umbrella and we drove back home .  Aunt was visiting our house for the first time and she was staring at h

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚅𝙸𝙸𝙸: 𝙸 𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚒𝚝 𝚊 𝚂𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎 I have never expected such an unimaginable reaction from the boy who agreed to my mother. She trusted him more than herself and offered me as his wife.  Giving up education on the name of sickness, I agreed to marry to him. After marrying at the mid teen, I have agreed to listen to his ideas of making our life better.  All the way from Tashiyangtse, I have agreed to come to Thimphu with him. After reaching Thimphu, I was like a person holding the Rubik’s Cube for the first time yet I acted like one of the residents of Thimphu.  Since the night we shifted to our own rented house and since the night I informed him about the pregnancy, I became the saddest person. I had to cry day and night regretting about my decision. I believe, my mother decided what best for me but my life was turning into a Bhutanese movie with tragic ending. I remembered Tashi’s mom. She told me to inform her whenever he behav

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚅𝙸𝙸: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎 “Uncle and aunt, we are very grateful for your hospitality and generosity. We had been your burden for a month. Yesterday, Lhamo and I have discussed about moving out”, Tashi brought the topic during breakfast. “What about the house and necessities? You could have told us about moving out so that we could help you settle at your home. By the way, where is the house? It would be better if we are nearer. Uncle and I can guide you”, aunt was worried. “For few weeks, I was preparing myself for it. I have ordered utensils and beddings from Phuntsholing. One of my friends is a driver and he is coming today with all the necessities. I also looked for zakar and today is a good day to move out. We thought of talking about it yesterday but everyone was asleep”, Tashi explained.  “If you are ready and if you don’t feel comfortable here, you can move into your house. Hope you figured out the rent?” Uncle added. “The owner of the house said that the ren

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚅𝙸: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙻𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝙲𝚒𝚝𝚢 As I have told earlier, I grew up in a small village in eastern Bhutan. Suddenly, I was there among thousands of people. Back in the village, I knew all the people. I called them neighbours. There in Thimphu, I had to call everyone in general. I had to call men ‘uncles’ and women ‘aunts’. I didn’t know their names and they were complete strangers.  Luckily, Tashi had his own uncle who grew up in Thimphu. He was there at the bus station to pick us up. We got into his car and we were leaving to his house. “Uncle, do you stay at the same building you had been staying for last couple of years?” Tashi asked. “Yes! I am staying in the same house. How are parents doing at home?” Uncle returned the question. “They are doing well so far”, Tashi replied “Who is she? Is she a student?” Uncle again asked about me. Tashi laughed as he heard the question, “She is my wife. I am married to her recently. She has been a student but she had to

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚅: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 As a matter of a family, I had to take part in discussion. But, I had to think it over. I dropped out from school to be with my mom and help her as she was getting old. My husband as a Gomchen, didn’t have a better option to earn a living. We would be parents of our own children soon. Then, we will have a responsibility of taking care of our own children and our parents who were getting old.  “The probability of earning is better in Thimphu. It is the biggest city of Bhutan”, Tashi added. I thought for a while and replied, “If it is for the benefit of everyone, I am willing to accept everything. As long as we can survive ourselves and help our parents, I will be appreciative of what you are trying to do”. “But, remember, as soon as we earn enough, we should be back to the village to help our parents”, I added. After saying those, I looked at my mother’s eyes. She was giving me a beautiful smile. For me, nothing was m

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙸𝚅: 𝚃𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚊𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙲𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝙱𝚑𝚞𝚝𝚊𝚗 There was a strange feeling to wake up from the bed where I had been sleeping the previous night. Since my dad passed away, I had been sleeping with my only mom. In the school, I had my separate bed. As a little girl, I had never slept with the man on the same bed. I was still feeling shy that morning. Whenever I thought about the first night of my life with the man, I looked at my mother’s eyes.  For my surprise, there was no response from my mother. She slept with my father and then, they have together given a birth to me. Now, I am inheriting the cycle of sleeping with the man, a man who was not my choice but my mother’s.   In few days, I and my mom went to the school. We completed legal process of getting out of the school. “Thanks to all the teachers in the school. My daughter could learn till class nine because of all your support. Now, I have decided that I will take her home to help me. Without her fathe

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙸𝙸𝙸: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚁𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕 The parents of Gomchen Tashi were among the people who came for the ritual. “Ama, we had been good neighbours for many years and we will be happy to be good to each other for years to come. I am ready to accept your daughter as my daughter in-law”, his father spoke loud enough to be heard by all the people. “She is a good girl and we know her well. She can be a good wife and good daughter in-law. I will be happy to have her as my son’s wife. I feel that my son is old enough to get married”. His mother was excited about her son’s marriage. When she told us about the age of her son, I had to think about how old I was. I was just fifteen and he was two years older to me. I went to school and he had been Gomchen since he was six. Tashi was considered as one of the brightest gomchens in the village. Even Azha Lama was proud to have him as his student.  Gomchen Tashi became capable of performing ritual by himself. He had inherited all t

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙸𝙸: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙰𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛 The question was the most difficult question I have ever faced in my life. There were tougher questions in mathematics’ examinations.  Although they were tougher, none of them decided my life. They just decided a step, the next and closest grade. But, the question my mom asked me was to determine the twist and turns of life. My answer would be a mirror to shape my own life. There were lot of options like those in ‘Choose the most correct answer’ on the question papers. I have seen maximum of four options but on that day, I had many. Indeed, thousands of them. “If I choose one, would it be the most correct road to lead my life?” I asked myself. “If I decide to marry, my journey to the education will come to an end. What will I say when my friends come as government officials? Would not I feel shy after giving up on my education because of the sickness? Can I afford education after resting for years at home?” Those were sets of questions that came

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙸: 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚝 𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎 “Azha lam and Gelong, good morning! Come inside”, my mom welcomed the spiritual head of our village along with few of young exciting monks. They were not really monks of who go to monastery to learn Buddhist text and scriptures. They were called lay monks. They follow a style of Gurukul of ancient India whereby several children of the village go to their master. By going to the master, they commit themselves to learn the tradition of Buddhist rituals in the village. They inherit the ancient tradition of the ritual and fulfill the need of rituals during sickness, death and auspicious Buddhist’s days like date ten and fifteen. “Lhamo! Get ready with the tea to be served to them”, my mom called me from the living room while I was hiding in the kitchen. “Why didn’t Lhamo go to the school? Everyone is in the school”, I heard Azha Lam asking my mom about why weren’t I at the school. “She is not feeling well these days. In the school, teach