The Art of Pen

By the time Wangchuk returned from India, my life was like day and night. I was happy that he returned home but I was sad that he was postponing our marriage. Whenever his parents talk to him about the marriage, he would look for reasons to say that he is not ready. I was victim of trusting the wrong person again. “Ongchu, you have already agreed to marry with Lekyuen. We all agreed that you two will marry as soon as you reach here. Now, what is the reason that keeps you from pushing your marriage farther?”, the father scolded him infront of me. “See Apa! See Ama! I don’t mean that I will not marry with her. I am just telling that it is too early. She is a teacher. What do I have? I don’t have a job, I am still young and I am studying. Will not it be better if I marry after I become fully independent?”, Wangchuk shouted back at his parents. My eyes could not carry the loads of his words. Often I had to wipe my tears. The quarrel and chaos went on in the house. I was hel...

The old page of Love Book had closed and the new page had been unfolded. I didn’t know how it happened. By the time I realized in the afternoon of the next day, I had accepted him. He became the second man to come in my life. Did I accept him by loving him? I didn’t feel it so. I said ealier that I liked him and his personalities as a friend but we don’t love all the people whom we like. Love and like may sound similar but they are completely two different things. I appreciated who he was and I liked him as a friend. I was going through lot of mental stress. He helped me forget all of them. So, I could not deny him. I had to be in relationship with him out of infatuation. He became the second man to come into my life. At times, I thought that he was really serious about relationship. Soon, he had informed his parents about our relationship. I was starting to live in a miserable place in a better way. His parents would often visit my home bringing vegetables and other things. I ...

Life is a Drama. Some people go and others keep on coming. It is a mixture of complicated things: sadness, happiness, betrayal, love, hatred and list goes on to infinity. I realized it after breaking up with Tashi, the man I loved with all my heart. That evening, Wangchuk has sent me a friend request on Facebook. I wondered how he could see me on Facebook. There are billions of people and there are at least hundred people with the same names as me. Later I knew that he was one of the followers of my page, All Time teacher. That is a page on Facebook where I keep my memories updated with my children. Finally, I was becoming friend with one of the most irritating persons I have ever met in my life. Honestly, he was handsome. He was tall and he was kind. But did I trust him? No! Absolutely not! After all, everyone says all men are same. A trust is not bought; it needs to be earned. The difference between Tashi and him was, he was to become an Electrical Engineer in few years to...

I tried to look as fine as possible. I cleaned my eyes with both of my sleeves. But, I could not remove the swollen part of my eyes. I can’t think how I looked at that moment. He slowly plugged out his earphones and politely began to speak. “Hello madam? Is everything alright?” I gave him a forceful smile and in broken words, “I am fine. Nothing is wrong here. Thank you.” “I see that something is not really going good with you. Your eyes are swollen. You had been crying for a long time”, he insisted again. “It’s nothing. Just a family problem. I had to cry. I am sorry, I look terribly bad here”. I began to stand and walk towards the school. He followed me. “You are a teacher here in the school right? Glad to know you today”. His voice followed with his footsteps. “Glad to know you too”, I replied him without bothering to look back. He kept following me. “Where are you going? Sorry to ask though”, I asked him. “I have a friend there in your school. He is also...

Since the day Tashi left for India, he was part of my world of memories. There were hundreds of photos in the album which we took together while we were in the college. Whenever I missed him, almost everyday, I looked at those photos and thought about the time, place and things we have done. It brought smile on my face although it seemed stupid. The one I have loved among hundreds of photos was a photo we have taken on the Convocation Day. I will not forget the day in my entire lifetime. On that day, he offered me a beautiful ring! So, I decided to print the photo into a considerable size, put it in a beautiful frame and placed above my head, just near the bed. We talked every evening on video calls. We sent kisses over the air to each other. No matter how much we sent them, thousands of kisses sent over the phone was not worth a single real kiss. It happened one evening. It was unusual and he acted so strangely. He was not responding my messages. I tried from all possible...

Did you ever experience how fast time flies when you are to depart with the person you love truly? Although our marriage has failed, we stayed together like college days. We met every day after my school hours. We would talk for hours like we were into relationship for the first time. The joy lasted until it was time for Tashi to depart for India. It was a decision made for him by his father. It was harsh for me but, like all parents do, his father thought about his son. He thought about his future. It was heart-breaking and a huge frustration for a person who fell in love with him but I had to understand. A cold wind below the valley sent a sad song all over my face. It was a song of departure! A Goodbye! It was the first time in three years that we will be staying away from each other. We will not be seeing each other. May be over phone calls and video calls. There will be no hugs and no kisses. Like attending someone’s funeral, we were standing on road in the early morning...

  His father was a tough man. He started scolding Tashi with all his might. From the look of his face, I could see how frustrated he was to know that his son has failed to get a job. I could not listen anymore. It was the saddest day of my life. “You two had been in relationship since the college days? What the hell has happened to youths of today? They want to marry when they can’t even feed their mouth. How are you going to feed your children Tashi? Will you be proud to tell your children that you don’t even have a job? Answer me first and prove me that I am wrong?” His face blushed with the fire of anger. As all mothers do, Tashi’s mother was helpless. She looked at my face whenever the intonation of father’s voice rose higher. “Ap, calm down! Our son is going to get job sooner. He can try for other jobs as well. No one becomes what they want. It takes time”, mother was trying to calm him down. “You are the who had spoilt our boy! You show lot of unnecessary symp...

The next morning, I was standing along with other teachers at Morning Assembly. There were around hundred girls and boys wearing the same school uniform. They were the cutest students. They sang the prayers to the God of Wisdom, JitsuenJampelyang and National Anthem to Tsa-Wa-Sum thanking the king, country and the people of Bhutan. “Kayjur!”, the School Captain commanded the students to stand at ease. Principal moved forward. He put his spectacles at the right place and spoke words of wisdom to those little children. I wondered if they had understood his speech or not. It was quite a long talk as he made some announcements and other important matters in the school. As a student, I recollected how boring it was to listen to long lectures. Many of the students would not even care what the person is speaking. The students at the back of the queue would be talking and teasing one another but without the idea of teachers in the front. “Dear students, I am going to introduce ou...

Before I share you about the life at Rukubji Primary School in Wangduephodrang, I wanted to share one of the saddest things ever happened in my life. This has led to every disaster. I passed the RCSC Examinations and I was placed as a new teacher at Rukubji. But, he could not. Tashi could not! Still we decided to go to Rukubji together. There was always a hope for another chance. When Thomas Edison could fail for ten thousand times, why not him? Just like Edison’s light bulb moment, I believed Tashi will have his success moment. After the declaration of RCSC Examinations result, he came to me and said, “Congratulations to you Lekyuen! But I am really sorry. I could not. I will consider this as the biggest defeat of my life”. He was disappointed in himself. I could see frustration burning like flames on his face. I saw him collecting them on his fist and punching them on the wall. “Tashi, it’s okay. You are not only the person failing to do that. You have lot of chances. For ...

For several months in Thimphu, we were the busiest people in Bhutan. There were lot of information to be gobbled in a short span of time. What we felt was, the Preliminary Examinations were at their fastest pace. We resembled those bees buzzing in the garden building their own kingdom of honey. So did we, we were on the road to the future. We were preparing for the job, money, home and food. We were thinking about our aging parents and our children. You might think who are the children? I mean after my marriage with him. We often talked in the college, “How many children will we have in the future?” “Five!”, he would say seriously. “Why five? I am not that strong to give birth to five children”. I would frown at him. “Basketball Team. I will be their coach”, he would laugh. “Lekyuen, honestly, two is enough. A daughter and a son. What do you think?” “Two is perfect. A son and a daughter. We will be a happy family of four!”, I would smile thinking about four dini ng c...

Love is invisible but it is a strong force. I believed it after falling in relationship with him. Three years! Three years was like a minute. I didn’t know how I have completed my college life in a blink of my eyes. Soon, we stood there wearing a gown on Convocation Day. The Convocation Day will be one of many days in life every graduate will remember. Wearing a gown on that signifies the sweat, hardwork and struggles a person has endured. It gives every person a sense of pride and accomplishment. Moreover, a gown represents a boundary between the childhood and adulthood. A person looks for independence. Paro was the most beautiful place in the world that day. There was a light breeze that slapped through our ears like a melodious song whispering a message of congratulations. It was also one of the loneliest places in the world because it has given us so much lessons and memories in life. It taught us what college life is. But after wearing a gown, Tashi was nowhere to be...