i miss u my love

It’s been just 4 months we have been married and here I am in this unknown country away from you. I have known you for the past five years yet it feels like I have just met you yesterday. There is still so much I don’t know about you which makes our relation even more special because it is ‘discovery time.’

Many people I know have asked me if I had enough of my relation. My response was simple and quick ‘No, I still have so much to learn about my love.’

I still don’t really how we actually got tangled in the marriage thingy but come to look at it; I think it was for the BEST. We had decided not to get married for another 5 years or so, but look at us now; we are married and tied to each other for ever.

‘If you are given a time machine, would you go over your wedding all over again?’ I was asked a couple of times. Well, NO! I think once was enough. But I would definitely like to go back to the time when we were kids. My husband and I had been in the same school for two years but I do not remember a single time we spoke to each other. I would definitely want to change that.

When I saw you after 9 years in Bangalore, I was surprised for you looked different. Well we didn’t speak then too but as we met often at our friend’s place, we began to know each other better and by the time we realized, we had become best buddies.

From best buddies, we took our relation to another level. On August 8 however, you decided to propose me and there I was, happily accepting it. I knew then that you are the one i want to spend the rest of my life with.

However, I hadn’t expected us to be married after five years, so soon eh, but here we are, on the eve of our fifth anniversary, we were pronounced man and wife.

Today is our fourth month anniversary and I miss you a lot. I know we had made plans to go out for a holiday but that will have to wait for some weeks. I will be home in 3 weeks love. I miss you. Happy Anniversary. LOVE u

'SERVUS' Germany!

Not even in the wildest of my imaginations had I ever dreamt that one day I would be in Germany. And when I finally did, after seven excruciating hours of flight, I knew this was too real to be true. After several days now, the feeling is finally settling down.

Winter is here in Europe, and is far too cold than I was prepared for. Despite the biting cold and thick fog that covers the landscape most of the time, Germany is a beautiful place. I am in Vilshofen in Passau, the city of three rivers where Donau river is joined at Passau by the Inn river from the south and the Ilz river from the north to go to the Black Sea.

This was my median excursion into Europe and besides the little Google research I had done, I barely knew of this vast country.
Not until I reached Munich when a young gentleman helped me with my bag at the train station. I was told that Germans could be an unfriendly lot but to my utter surprise, they were in fact the very opposite. They were nice, helpful and kind.
 ‘Servus,’ and ‘gruss gott’ are greetings that I have been hearing since I landed here. It is either a welcoming or departing greeting in German. Another word is ‘Danke’ which means thank you.
Believe it or not, I have never been to a church. And here I visited the St. Stephan’s Cathedral or Dom St. Stephan, the largest church organ in the world. The Cathedral organ represents one of the main tourists’ attractions.

With a population of about 50,000 living in Passau and about 17,000 in Vilshofen, markets get a little crowded during the weekends. My arrival here coincided with the preparations for Christmas. It was a flurry of activities.

Trees were being trimmed and lit with colourful lights, houses being decorated, children going through the advertisement books to check out gifts they want their parents to buy for them and parents checking their check list of what needs to be done or ticking those that have already been completed.

Children wait for the first Sunday of the last week of November to light the first candle to signify the countdown of the Christmas. I was given an unexpected honor to light the first candle at my host’s home too.

As you walk along the Passau city, you reach the city hall where the markings of the water level and in which year have been marked. It is incredible to see how high the markings go. It was just so great.

Having been in Germany for only one week, I am certain that I do not like Pretzel, known as ‘Brezel’ in German. When I told Carmen Keller of not liking pretzel, she gave me a shocked look.

She said, “Everybody loves Pretzel,” and further added that there is no childhood if there was no pretzel.

But the Bavarian beer, I must admit, is a fine beer. If you ever come to Germany, you should definitely try the beer.

One tradition that caught my attention was the symbol that indicated that someone had a baby. A wooden stork is pitched at the junction towards the house. A line of cans/tins hung above the stork symbolises the birth of a girl and vice versa.

That’s it for now. But I still have 20 more days to explore.

From Himalaya I am…

I have been in Germany for the past 2 weeks and it is weird how people think about Bhutan. Oh! You are the girl from the Himalayas… and the funny thing is people think that people from the Himalayas are suppose to be in some kind of stone age… not that I am angry. Well they feel angry for having thought otherwise.

I have done the same too. Before I came to Germany, I thought people here were rude and mean. I thought I would not feel at home at their place, but I was wrong too. I cannot say the same of the other people in Berlin or Munich or other big cities in Germany, but I sure can say for the people here in Vilshofen. They are very different from what I thought they would be.

Well not many people here have heard about Bhutan and the few lot who have heard about Bhutan are so happy to meet an alien from an alien country… they have so many questions and I am glad I could answer their questions. But many also feel that Bhutan is too backward to be too civilised or be informed of the happenings around the world.  

I once sat down to watch a movie and I was asked if I have watched this movie or that movie. And my answer was ‘YES.’ And the response I got was, ‘you are supposed to be from Bhutan, from Himalayas.’ What is that suppose to mean now? I asked myself!

The other time, when I told them that there is no McDonalds and KFC in Bhutan, I was asked if we have Pizzas and if I have ever tried burger…

They are even surprised at how comfortable I am with my laptop or doing something with the computer…  I guess they were expecting some kind of an alien who knew nothing… I am glad I was able to change their perception about Bhutan and the Bhutanese people.

RAVING AND RANTING WALLET

a confession on a wallet
The brand is the only pride I have. Lous Vitton that I am. The rest, you might say, is a tragedy that unfolds every other day. Of course I am handy, portability is my forte.
I was bought from a departmental store in India. Since then, as fate would have it, I have mostly been carrying Bhutanese Ngultrum, though the Indian rupee makes its round from time to time.
I am proud when I go around with my tummy bulging out. My master is a reporter and every day I get the singular opportunity to meet different people. I have known a lot of people and I am also the sole witness to a lot of conversations. At times I also disagree on issues but keeping it to myself is all I can do.
The first week of every month sees me stuffed with new and old notes but by the second week I would have thinned out. When my master receives his salary I have difficulty getting the breathing space but when he is broke I lay thrown on the bed or under a pillow and the little stored is also snatched away from me. That is when I pray for the next month to begin.
At times I have to go hungry for a month and that is when I am embarrassed the most. Making out from the frown on my master’s face these are the times when the atmosphere gets a bit stressful.
I would be flung across the room, into the closet or on the bed. I would be there for a long time until my master would come back and make a search, desparately for cash.
I have a lot of friends. Besides my usual companions – two credit cards, a citizenship identity card, a dozen of visiting cards and an ATM.
I am made of leather. I am foldable and this is one of the reasons why my kind does not wear out fast. When I am old I am immediately replaced.
One of my confessions is that I have never taken a bath.
Humans believe that ‘You should not wash wallets lest money will keep flowing out.”
To keep up with their myth, I have never been washed. Humans would rather throw my kind than wash us.’
Though I was never used in the past, modern day human feel incomplete without me. I am here to store cash.
Today is September 10 and I have just been loaded. I am comfortable for the moment but I fear this month I would have to go hungry for a longer time as my master has just paid his yearly vehicle registration renewal fees along with a penalty for late payment.

it’s not all about sex and size, viagra speaks

Certainly, size doesn’t matter as long as it is of some purpose. Mark my words. Small can do wonders sometimes. It is as if the strength lies in it size.

If you are thinking kinky stuff or otherwise, this is not one about that. I am a living example of how good and all power small can be.

Though I am just about the size of any usual tablet, I have the ability to solve two of the most personal and serious problems of mankind – heart and sex related that is.

Scientifically called sildenafil citrate and popularly known as Viagra, I was first developed more than a decade ago by scientists who were testing a drug for its ability to lower blood pressure and coincidentally came out with a remedy for erectile dysfunction or lack of erection during sexual performance. Eureka!

Interestingly people on whom the first the blue pill were tested for blood pressure didn’t want to give it back. Of course you know why! 

Since then millions of people around the world have used me, the magic pill – the reinvigorator of lifeles passion.

I have been proven effective on both men and women to cure heart problems while as nature wants it, men alone can use me to solve erectile dysfunction. 

Heart patients use me to relax parts of the heart to allow normal flow of blood to and from the heart and during erectile dysfunction, I am used to develop the ability to maintain prolonged erection in sexual performance.

I come in blue, pink and red colors though I feel more colors would be a welcome to meet the tastes of different people. But again on a second thought I drop the idea as I am a drug that must be used when required and should be avoided when not.

I have been popular since inception but authorities have been cautious of my use. A special prescription from the doctor is required to use me. I cost about Nu 22 a tablet, and come in a box of four tablets bringing the cost to Nu 85 a packet.

Some say I am very expensive and I totally agree but I would also like to believe that the advantage that I bring along is worthwhile.

My kind has been around for over a decade saving lives and families and vow to continue doing so. I have been adorably called big fun by men whose sex drives I have solved.

Sitting on the shelf of a pharmacy I have spotted men who are tempted to buy me but are too embarrassed to ask. Well! I would like to say that I belong to the directives of the doctor and I just cannot be bought for money. Strictly prescribed!

PS - i was told that after my article came out in the paper (Aug 27), there were people coming to the pharmacy to purchase Viagra.. How crazy is that!!! i said "Strictly prescribed" yet some people don't get it!

sangaygang gets nasty frank on sex and sin

CONFESSION

Tell you what, I have seen it all. All sorts of people in all sorts of cars for all sorts of occasions. I have been a bemused spectator, ogling into some of the weirdest activities human beings so ardently engage in. I am guilty of being a silent, unseen, voyeur. But can’t help it, either? The car-owning-generation just finds it too romantic out on a dark road.

Since time immemorial, I have stood here tall and majestic overlooking the capital city. I have witnessed Thimphu metamorphose from a small medieval hamlet into a bustling modern town. At night, it looks like a star studded sky right below me. I am glad the darkness has disappeared.

I have changed too, over time, in both good and bad ways. Long meandering roads run around me, the many curves that young and old seek out after dark. A broadcast tower was raised a long time ago. I serve a good purpose, too. The old and the fat walk the trails to burn the extra flab and to stay fit. How I pity them when I see them profusely sweating, tired and exhausted. They should have known better and before, unhealthy lifestyle poses lot of health hazards.
For many young couples, I have been the starting point of their journey of love. For others, I have been the perfect getaway – silent, secret, dark and away from the prying eyes. One night stand or more, here the darkest desires give vent.
It is quite amusing that I am treasured for the wrong reasons. Yet I am being violated for the very same wrong reasons. I would not mind if they had the courtesy to wrap the used condoms and throw it away in a dustbin or flush it down the sewer. They are too tired.  After all, the car is not designed for this purpose!
And then there are those late night revelers, who drink and scream and shout. And fight, at times. They disturb the serenity of the night. When they finally leave, there is a heap of garbage all scattered around. Civic sense has gone to the dogs, I dare you!
As I became popular, I have had several monikers to my credit. Lovers’ point is but only one decent name that I can write here. Others are a little too gross.
Days are much quieter. Sometimes tourists visit to enjoy the bird’s eye view I offer of the capital. During weekends, families come for picnics bringing along little children who enjoy the fresh air and play in the grass. Cyclists, a growing number of them I have observed, also come here. It feels good to see the contrast. Definitely I mean different things to two completely different types of people – the diurnals and the nocturnals.
Of late, however, the number of nocturnals has dramatically decreased. I was informed that they are keeping my cousin hill, southward, busy throughout the night. Looks like, people have found a better place! That’s altogether another story.
What is unsettling is that this new found peace is rather too quiet for me. I am so used to seeing people around day in and night out. I feel rejected. I bolster up – I will have to learn to cope. This is what I have always wanted. Inner peace! Inner peace! Inner …
Oh, here comes a visitor. A red car. Just two of them, ahuh!  First timers. Nervous. Oh boy! Here I go again. I think at times, these distractions are good for me.
By the way, for the record, I am Sangaygang, named after the enlightened one.

a small monk with a gun

Instead of prayer beads, a small monk near BOD, Thimphu takes out a toy gun and shoots at people walking by :)

our day has finally come..

What a good Sunday to have two families gather for an important discussion of our lives.. i say 'our' because it is just not me but my twin sister too. It was June 12, a day that is still so fresh in my mind. Though the day was very important for me, i was there sleeping the whole morning (till 12 noon) while my twin sister and my parents busy cleaning and preparing lunch for the important guests coming to our place. Oh! i did feel bad in the morning but then! i realized that even if i was up, i don't think i could have done anything to make their work easier - a illness as an excuse, some might say...

But i was excited as the clock ticked 1 pm.. Everytime i heard a vehicle pull over the parking lot but each time i was disappointed. But when a red Vitara pulled over, my heart started beating faster than the normal beat.. i was excited. 

Finally the wait was over.. an official gathering of the guy's and the girl's family. 

Dawa's grandfather -jojo,we call him - the head of the family, his aunty, his uncle but referred to as Brother and his twin brother Nima. 

I had always wanted to delay the meeting of these two families. some say commitment phobia but i would rather like to put it as a chance for my Dawa to enjoy his bachelor's life and a chance for him to explore his independence for a little longer. 

My twin sister Sonam Lucky and Nima were more than happy to tie knots. I am happy for them as they were sure of what they wanted. 

 left to right - me, (Dawa's family) brother Jigme, Aunty Karma and Jojo and  my family (Dad and Mom). Nima and Sonam Lucky on the floor.

Jojo wanted the four of us to get married the same day. He said "Its unique and it is my dream to see the four of u marry on the same day." All i could do was smile and i stole a glance at Dawa to see his reaction. He seemed more than happy. i hope he is really happy.

Wedding bells are yet to be heard. but more than that, what is important is that IT WAS A FRUITFUL EVENING :) and a positive nod from both the families...CHEERS!!!!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

mommy (Dechen Wangmo), I LOVE U and Happy Birthday

I am sorry Mommy for not being a very good daughter to you. I have not wished you on your birthday or mother's day for the past 25years. I was ignorant and I thought you didn’t really care much whether we wished you or not.

I have not known your birthday for all these years and I apologies for my mistake.

It took me 26 years to realize that no matter how old you are, a small birthday wish can make so much of a difference in that person’s life.

I have never wished my mother on the Mother’s day. “It didn’t matter,” I told myself whenever my friends ask me if I have wished my mother. But now I have realized that “IT MATTERS.”

I wished my mom on the Mother’s Day and even gave her a small gift. The smile and the happiness I saw on her face were worth walking the Thimphu Street for hours to get the perfect gift for her.


Today is my Mother’s birthday. MANY MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY MOMMY. You are the BEST. I can never imagine my life without you. Thank you for Everything :)

Happy April Fools' Day

In the morning, I was trying to explain to my baby what an April Fools’ Day mean but he was least interested. He is in class I and he is just 7 years oldJ. He is sick and he was least bothered to hear me out but still I went on explaining how people try to make a fool of you on this day.

April Fools’ Day is celebrated all around the world on April 1 of every year. It is celebrated as a day that tolerates practical jokes and general foolishness.

But do we really tolerate the jokes?

I have been fooled so many times before and I am determined not to be fooled today. I have been reminding myself that today is Fools’ day and that I should not be fooled.

I lit a cigarette, my morning dose without which I cannot work, and waited for someone I could fool. It is 8.45 am in the morning and it is too early for anyone to turn up at the office. My guy with today’s Observer issue joins me at the balcony where we normally smoke. Ting!!!!it clicked and he tries to fool me.

“Baby your kira has cigarette burns,” he said and in reply I said “April Fools’ Day my love.”

I don’t want to be fooled today but I sure want to wish everyone “HAPPY APRIL FOOLS’ DAY” and enjoying fooling J

a prudish urban bhutan takes the phallus away

It was in the winter of 2001 during Daga Tshechu as I sat with hundreds of others waiting for blessings from an almighty phallus. My embarrassment escalated seeing my father sitting in a tent.

The practice of blessing-receiving, hanging of the wooden phallus on doors and the painting of it on walls still continue.

But, the divine phallus has slowly started disappearing from urban Bhutan.

With the display so openly and rampant in rural areas, it is not a shocking sight for our villagers. However, the sight sure is an embarrassment for few in the city.

“Driving pass a building which has a phallus painted on the wall is always the most embarrassing moment for me, especially when I am with my father. It is more embarrassing seeing a big wooden phallus when I visit my village,” said Karma Choden, a teenage student.

The phallus is said to protect us from malicious gossips and that it drives away evil.

But many urban buildings seem to avoid painting the phallus today. Taking a stroll across Thimphu, one can see only a few paintings. But it would be on old buildings.

Earlier, every corner had a sign of a phallus. The stair railings had it, and a locket with a phallus was a showpiece hanging on everyone’s neck.

But now even the wooden phalluses in fields are being replaced by scarecrows.

During the rabney of a new house, a ritual of hanging of phalluses takes place to purify the ground and ward off evil spirits. The phalluses are hung from the eaves of the house in each of the four directions. 

“It protects my home and my family from evil spirits, it takes away the sting,” said Angay Gyem, with a toothless smile while chanting her prayers.

The paintings are all associated with the famous Buddhist saint; Drukpa Kunley also called the Divine Madman.

It is said that he would ward off evil spirits and subdue them with his penis. Painters use their imagination to carve and paint the phallus. It comes in different sizes, shapes, carved in wood, metal, stone and cloth.

Now we see it mostly in handicraft shops or as a decoration piece.

The disappearing of the phallus from the city seems to have come with modern education.  Are we becoming too prudish?

a half mast

~The national flag at Phunsum Primary School, Thimphu, is flying at half mast as a symbol of respect and mourning for the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami~

A very Happy Valentine :)

Today is Valentine's Day and it is no different from other normal days. How i wish i could turn back the time... the time when i was excited about the whole Valentine thing.
I remember when i was in BKK, there were guys would wait for their love with a bouquet. Same case in India too though it was not as grand as it was in BKK. But i have never really seen anything happening in Bhutan.
Though i had never received a bouquet or been proposed on this day, i do have some unmemorable memory of my past.
However, when i received a call at 12 midnight from my Love, that was all i could ask for. Truly speaking, i wasn't expecting it. It skipped my mind that it was The Valentine's Day!!!! we have been in a relation for nearly five years now and it is said that everything looses its charm after a  while. I kind of believed it myself.
But his call was all that was needed to change my feeling.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S  DAY :) keep smiling

asking for an outrageous benefit

When I was in Bangalore doing my degree, I heard people saying that it’s all well that goes under the table. Indirectly, they meant bribing. I had seen friends give money to make their papers and have also seen my other friends giving money to the police to take out their friends out of the jail.

Though the first hand experience I got wasn’t as great as those mentioned above, I was ashamed when this ‘uncle’ was out front asking for a benefit.

May be we are brought up in such a society where these things rarely happen. I mean there is no money bribing; however we cannot rule out ‘Changjay.’

Anyway, as I was I saying, he was out front asking for bribe. I was supposed to interview his nephew. Yet it was the uncle who replied my emails and who asked for the benefit.

I had already sent eight questions and was waiting for the reply, but my questions were answered with questions from his side asking what benefits he would get if he answered my questions.

Assuming (my editors told me never to assume because it means you are making an ASS of yourself) that his question was innocent; I replied that he would be getting publicity. Yet my answers were answered with a statement. “But you still did not answer what benefit I would get,” states his email.

This ‘Uncle’ came in the office, sat opposite to me asked me again ‘what benefit will my nephew get if he answers your question.’ At that time, I wasn’t sure what he was saying so I asked, ‘what kind of benefits are you talking about?’

 ‘Money or anything,’ he said.

Right then, Sir Aby walked in after having his lunch. His entrance was perfect. I had no idea how to handle this guy and when I told Sir Aby about the benefits he wanted, Aby sir told him on his face that Business Bhutan don’t bribe to get information and refused to do the interview.

The ‘Uncle’ threatened to take it to other papers and we gladly led him out of the office.

And then the door went ‘bang’ behind him.

a 'HAPPY' new year..

2011 came so fast. Like last year, my new year this year was much more happier and fulfilling. Like many others, I had a resolution and like many, I broke it. "resolutions are meant to be broken" and yes! i broke my resolution again. Though i don't enjoy the taste any more, i still want more and when i think i am going to quit, the taste is so strong, i don't feel like quitting. 'SMOKING is injurious to health, but i can't quit it, i guess that is what you call an ADDICTION.
Losar today was much a happy losar for me. No sick relatives or sick me like last year. Recalling the new year last year, I remember celebrating it on my bed. The bed that had become my friend and my work place. A very clear memory of the day - a puja being performed at the backdrop, mummy busy with the lunch, my sisters busy with their own work and my youngest brother as always irritating me. I was bedridden then, my whole body had swelled twice its normal size, my face swollen too and though i was hungry, my appetite just died at the sight of food.
On the other hand, my cousin sister was in the other room, shouting in pain.
Thank God! this new year however was a very happy one. My parents are happy and i am happy for them :)
Hope this year continues to be a happy and peaceful year for me and my family :):):):)
Losar Tashi Delek!!!