Like the Transient Clouds

Call it a journey or an adventure, 

But, often confronted with bitterness is our life.

So transient, as the flash of spring lightning,

Euphoric moments are too ephemeral,

Though people often says

Happiness and sadness are but a state of mind.

Mind like the untamed pet as it wanders; 

It ascends the crest and falls to trough.

Often through chaos and confusions

Inner strength is ragged with devastating blows,

When so ignorant and apathetic the environ seems,

Shattering the hopes of survival as the fittest.

Worldly phenomenon is a real roller-coaster,

Each changing with fleeting moments.

Words of past though it reverberates now,

It just remains like the echo from distant rocks

Without a genuine tone and liveliness. 

As mood swings, traversing a life is exhausting. 

Home, the embodiment of bliss is away

And to reach there, I lack a pony to ride.

The gracious parents are beyond hills

And here, I lack an affectionate host.

My mind, it longs for the temperate breeze,

Yet, into scorching sun of tropical plains, I drench.

To My Golden Torch.

Through the ages of darkness, you lit my way

And helped me dispel the delusions away.

You helped me discover my inner strength,

When chaos and gullibility shrouded all my length.

When like a sluggish pupa, I struggled to move forward,

You helped me nurture a colourful wing to fly upward.

When due to bewilderment I paused for long,

Up the steep ladder, you pulled me along.

For me, you solved the puzzles from text books,

And cleared the blurs of distant looks.

You showered me with limitless values,

That helped me proceed towards wide avenues.

If not for your selfless acts so dynamic,

My life would have remained static.

With immense debt of gratitude,

Whole heartedly I thank you beyond amplitude.

Happy Teachers Day. 

Youth Related Problems in Bhutan;

Youth are the jewel of the nation. Bhutan is a young country with more than 60 percent of the population being youth between the ages of 10 and 29 years. The youth of today are the citizens of tomorrow and as such, the future of nation lies in the hands of youth of today. So the youth have the privilege enjoy better opportunities and priorities. 

However, at this age the very jewel of the nation is faced with diverse problems. Despite governments continued efforts in addressing youth concerns in collaboration with other youth-related agencies, we are faced with huge and more challenging youth problems, which not only deteriorate the life of youth themselves but also pose a great threat and concern for the society. Youth related problems require wider dimension for discussion and broader understanding for its solution.

source: rikkuwrites.blogspot.in

The diversity of youth related problems ranges from loss of values by defying the very ethos of our society, social alienation, substance abuse, the juvenile delinquency, unemployment, etc. Looking at the current trend in our country, the juvenile crime is causing more menace and anxiety to the society. It is indeed abominable for the general public to see the audacious youth commit various crimes like battery, stabbing, and robbery, gang fight etc.., but if we assess deeper into the cause, it might be the unemployment which compels our youth to adopt incorrigible lifestyles.

Unemployment is a serious issue in Bhutan. Though the overall unemployment rate is at a datum low of 3.1 percent, the percentage of youth languishing without work has remained at 9.2 percent for the last two years. The Labour Force Survey of 2011 conducted by the labour ministry shows that the youth unemployment continues to be a pressing issue. It is when the children doesn’t have a proper responsibility that they swarm the urban areas and socialize with the birds of same feather, thus doing many mischief. They lose respect for the elders and parents, they do not appreciate the sacred values rather indulge into hooliganism and inculcate the same to others. They land up taking drugs, smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol in name of entertainment.

While people might consider such youth coward and with week will power not having the courage to make one’s life meaningful, but then we never know what kind of mental trauma they are actually facing. Just imagine a situation where you have a degree certificate but could not get a decent job due to career mismatch. It was a mistake that lead you choose the wrong specialization, but it is more fateful when you have to visit one office after another in search for a job and land up nowhere. In fact, most of our unemployed youth are class X and class XII graduates, and the pain of getting a good job is even more painful for them.

Don't Misuse!

The youth problems are at the rise but it can be controlled if we have a will. Like the expectations that we have from our youth, they too anticipate something. What they need is love from the parents, advice and right guidance, career oriented quality education, better recreational facilities in the town, etc. They should be taught to be discrete and respectful for elders and need to shower to them all the sacred values that are steeped in the land of Gross National happiness. Government need to integrate social and economic policy framework to support our youth and help them develop entrepreneurship skills so that they can make their own living and we need to help them pursue their dreams. Moreover, our youth should in themselves, develop a concern for at least oneself and develop a mindset full of love for one’s life, because in love lies the secret power to overcome all the odds. "The positive force of love can create anything good, increase the good things, and change anything negative in your life." Say Rhonda Byrne in her book, The Power.

Meanwhile our societies should never fail in delivering the best guidance and facilities to our youth and keep a close surveillance to them not as criminals but as dynamic yet delicate minds so as to address the problems related to them. For a society that is undergoing rapid changes each passing day, minor problems are inevitable.

Under the Shade of Eucalyptus.

That Eucalyptus.

We were a batch of students on a field excursion to a nearby forest area. Escorted by Dr. Sivaji, a veteran Silviculturist, our task was to carry out the regeneration survey of sal. Sal, botanically known as Shorea robusta is one of the most profuse species and of great economic importance in the region. Speeding through the expressways, bumping over the convolutions, and with regular inertia of rest and motion, a two-hour drive finally reached us in a core of natural sal forest, which was so luxuriant and dynamic, beautifully adorned with greenish florescence.

By then, it was already eleven and the sun was blazing excessively from the azure sky. It has been always a hectic and torturing field experience due to the scorching heat in the mid spring months but then, it is better though difficult. The more pain one endures for a good cause, the more one reaps the better result.

Therefore, into respective groups we endeavoured our task. Taking the baselines, measuring the offsets, and amid the undergrowths of excessive herbs and shrubs, we were to carry out the survey. “A presence of one established seedling fetches five points, and under such situation the value of woody or whippy plants in the same quadrant should be ignored.” Dr. Sivaji directed us. Instantly I thought that the pains of little struggles in the journey of life should be ignored when we are yet to achieve a result that yields the maximum point.

By the time we finished our task, we were very exhausted. The bottle of water that I carried has become warm and it quenched no thirst of mine. Silently and solitarily I walked by the shades of nature and as I reached the edge of the forest, to my astonishment I saw a lone Eucalyptus tree growing there. Beneath the shade of the eucalyptus I rested.

Heard from above were the rustling of its feathery leaves and with the air filled with its fresh and pleasant aroma, I felt a wonderful sensation under its shade. It’s indeed really amazing when such a species of Australian origin have flourished over the entire world, and it’s more fascinating when such a lone exotic survives among the groove of native sal. More mesmerizing, when under its shade, I discovered my tranquil amid tiredness.

Life is a continuous flow. In order to meander the valleys, it has to torrent down the hills and cliffs. We should not be living within the limited boundary of an enclave but have to keep exploring the wider horizons to discover the real potential and values just the way the single eucalyptus has found its secure sanctuary.

Contemplating on the changes undergoing on the tree, I was enthralled by the way it responded to changing season. As the cold winter has long given it way to the warmth of spring followed by the sweltering summer heats, I could see the tree replacing its thick brown barks with thin layer glistening whitish one. Adversity is the mother of awareness. Like the old fissured barks, we have to peel off our anomalous habits and inculcate the budding of positive values. We never know, in our life, where we will face the quirky twist of fate. We should develop in ourselves, a sort of immunity to adapt to the odd changes.

Under its shade as I lay silently, I felt rejuvenated, profound and tranquil, free from weariness. But the silence was broken when I heard a song of an Indian roller from above. A tiny bird with a stunning plumage, I could sense its joy of freedom amid the woods. In its songs, the bird discovered its ecstasy. It was indeed a euphoric moment for me in the woods as well. In our life, we should soar higher like the free bird and should celebrate every escalation but not forgetting that we ascended from the ground. When the bird lands on earth, so does its shadow.

As thoughts and emotions kept arising, suddenly a leaf fell over my shoulder. I picked it up and could judge that it was indeed a green leaf without any uneven tinge. How such a healthy leaf got detached from the tree? I thought. Gazing up in the canopy of its stretching branches, I could see the branches dancing in breeze and upper in the sky, I could see clouds drifting but soon it disappeared from my sight. Just like the transient clouds, like the fall of a healthy leaf and like the branches shaking with forces of wind, everything is uncertain. The song of the bird too faded and only echoes remained in my ear. A gush of cold air caressed my face and I learnt that the sun has shifted towards the western horizon. It was time for me to go and join the folk who have finished another task. As such, the pleasant moment I enjoyed beneath the shade of eucalyptus was also transitory in nature.

However, the momentary bliss that I attained there, the free thoughts that I contemplated and the reminder of impermanence by the nature added in me an extra zeal to tackle the mazes in the journey of my life to make it worth a living one. I then joined my folks and retraced our way back to the college only to continue with the same mundane.

Simple Reminders from Nature.

Spring is the season of hope, with the nature recuperating from the pains of harsh winter. With the sprouting of new shoots, and blooming of fruit trees, the peasants hope for a bountiful harvest when the autumn season comes. They experience hectic days by slogging in the farm and their pockets would be now void of any savings or it might be less than half-full, with expenditure for their children’s education, farm seeds and equipments. At such a time, their only hope is for nature’s fair play with the beauty of spring.

beauty of spring

However, Mother Nature seems dissatisfied with the way our people are dealing with it and it seems least bothered about the hopes of our poor peasants. It is revealing more of its tragic fate than the lyrical essence and comical existence it possess.

Of late, forest fire devastated many parts of our country. The cause, be it due to cruel intentional or regretful accident, engulfed potential resource of the nation and also startled many innocent farmers, who have to rush for battling the fire leaving behind their field works. In such an adversity, Mother Nature instead of showering a heavy down pour, fuels up the fire by strong winds.

whats in the store of nature?

Besides, windstorms and fires are also leaving many families in destitute with their homes destroyed. I could not resist the mental trauma when I read news headlines that says ‘roofs of many homes blown by wind and heavy rain,’ or that ‘a house is being gutted down by fire’ etc. Last time, wind blew off the roofs in Wangdue and Punakha and now it has shifted its direction to the east, where as many as 14 houses were destroyed in Mongar. At such a time, it will be very difficult for the victims to restore their homes to former shape and recover their lost properties.

Moreover, the country is deep into agony due to the rupee crunch, the worst economic crisis the generation has experienced as they say. How much extra sum will our poor farmers have to pay for the new CGS sheets they will have to buy to restore their home?

So in order to remain self reliant and happily in our own homes, we should be visiting our farms than the vegetable markets, worshiping the nature than setting it on fire, practicing the cultural ethos than ignoring them, so as to please the guardian deities that dwell our homes. It is only when the Mother Nature is satisfied with the way we act that it bestow us the beauty, whose joy would last forever.

Everything that troubles us is but a reminder for us to change the direction we are following. 

World Meteorological Day: Powering our future with weather, climate and water.

 23^rd March: World Meteorological Day;

The other day, World Community of Foresters, Environmentalist, Biodiversity Conservationist and Nature Lovers celebrated the World Forestry Day with a note to reach to the common man, the importance of forest and the need for its conservation with sustainable utility. While celebrating the day, emphasis regarding the link between the green coverage and stream flow would have been definitely made, and so came the importance of forest for water and water for life.

Because they purify and slow the flow of water to the sea, helping to control floods and water pollution, the wetlands are considered as “the world’s kidneys.” As water is essential for food production whose demand is ever escalating owing to the arithmetic rise in worlds population, the foresters then joined the FAO agencies and world community to celebrate the importance of water on World Water Day yesterday with the theme “Water and Food Security.”

Forests are further considered as “the world’s lungs” because they take carbon from the atmosphere and produce oxygen, and it is this function that has attracted growing attention in recent years as the world faces the challenge of Climate Change. And as the world celebrates the World Meteorological Day today, the need for conservation of forest to ameliorate the climate is re-emphasized. The theme for World Meteorological Day 2012 is “Powering our future with weather, climate and water,” and this focuses on the critical roles of weather, climate and water services in powering a sustainable future for us and for generations to come.

Photo courtesy of Satori13  

Every year news headlines the newspapers where hurricanes and storms devastated the homes of civilians, where drought hit the farms of our peasants, and where the impact of climate change has is painfully felt. The greatest injustice on our watch is that those who did the least to cause climate change are the first and hardest hit.

So, to secure the life of our successors fully lies in the present generations. In this regard, Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of WMO has conveyed a message to the world and some important excerpts are as follows;

“Certain human activities are contributing to the warming of the climate system and have dire effects on our natural environment, such as increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea levels.”

“It will be extremely important to ensure that in all our efforts to implement the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), in particular to contribute to sustainable development, we always keep in mind the need to minimize as much as possible the atmospheric release of greenhouse gases.”

“Vulnerable communities around the globe are struggling to increase their effectiveness in preventing or mitigating natural disasters, close to 90 per cent of which over the last 50 years have been linked to weather, climate and water hazards.”

 “WMO has continued to stress that Least-developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other vulnerable developing countries should be increasingly empowered to use early warning systems to safeguard their fragile sustainable development, as well as the environment and the global climate, for present and future generations.”

“While many renewable energy projects must necessarily be large-scale, several ‘green’ technologies like wind, solar and hydropower are especially well-suited for the rural and remote areas,”

“Biomass production involves using garbage or even crops, such as corn, sugar cane or other vegetation, to generate bio-fuel or as a direct combustion material. However, care must be exercised not to release an even more powerful greenhouse gas into the atmosphere than the one we seek to avoid in the first place, as well as not to jeopardize, through energy generation, the food security resources of the concerned population.”

“By scaling up renewable energy and other low-emission technologies, it would be possible to provide universal access to modern energy services by 2030 without significantly increasing greenhouse gas emissions.”

“The 13 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1997 and global temperatures in 2011 were higher than any previous La Niña year, an event which usually has a cooling influence. Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have continued to increase unabated, reaching an all-time high in 2011.”

           Read the full Message HERE;

image courtesy: google images;

World Water Day: Water and Food Security.

22^nd March 2012: World Water Day;

International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. This year the theme for the World Water Day is “Water and Food Security”.

World Water Day Logo 2012

Water is one such element without which the existence of life is but a big question mark. About 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water. Of this ninety-seven percent of the water on the earth is salt water which is filled with salt and other minerals, and humans cannot drink this water.

courtesy: Riku Dhan Subba 

Two percent of the water on earth is glacier ice at the North and South Poles. This ice is fresh water and could be melted; however, it is too far away from where people live to be usable.

Just less than 1% of all the water on earth is fresh water that we can actually use. We use this small amount of water for drinking, transportation, heating and cooling, industry, and many other purposes.

Since water covers almost all corners of the earth, a mere 30% is occupied by land. This land is further fragmented into deserts, cities, mountains, etc and leaves only 10.57% (15.74 million square kilometres) as arable, and this minute fraction of land have to feed as many as seven billion greedy people at present. Statistics say that each of us drinks from 2 to 4 litres of water every day, however most of the water we ‘drink’ is embedded in the food we eat: producing 1 kilo of beef for example consumes 15,000 litres of water while 1 kilo of wheat ’drinks up’ 1,500 litres. So, the least percentile of less than 1% of fresh water has to not quench the thirst of 7 billion people directly but have to satiate the greed by producing nutritious food. So came the slogan “The World is Thirsty Because We are Hungry”.

save water, save money.

Food security is when all people all the time have easy access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for their dietary need and preferences for the better living and life style, and to produce such food, water is the fundamental output.

The following Video Clip Produced by FAOWater best explains Why is water so important to our food security?

To read more about World Water Day, ClickHere.


Yesterday, we celebrated the World Forestry Day. There is a close link betwwen the forest and sustainable water supply. Forests help sustain the soil and water base that underpins agriculture. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), eight percent of the world’s forests play aprimary role in soil and water conservation. Forested catchments supply a vital source of clean water for human use: an estimated 75% of usable water worldwide. So we should save the forest to save water and 

Save Water, to secure the Future!!!

World Forestry Day: Value the Forests.

21^st March 2012: World Forestry Day;

Bhutan Forest: source linked

This day marks the importance of the Forests. Forests has played a paramount role in the evolution of ethnological culture and shaping the livelihood of the people dwelling in close intimacy with the forests from time immemorial. Forests are the basic of life, which contributes towards environmental, economical and socio-economic development of this modern world. Thus, forests are one such creation of God, which helps the people and community meet their basic necessities for living. The world’s poorest of people rely on forests for food, cooking, heating and lighting, owing to multifarious services the forests provides in the form of timber and numerous non-wood forest products.

“Everything in nature is lyrical in its ideal essence, tragic in its fate, and comic in its existence.” Contemplated George Santayana, and as such the natural beauty of forest is a great source of inspiration for the innovative artists. It is worth mentioning here that Lord Buddha himself was born in the forest and got enlightened in the forest. His teachings were made simpler for comprehension by using many metaphors and similes from the elements present in nature and as such, rooted in the forests is the doctrine of Buddhism. Moreover, many believe that there are unseen spirits everywhere – in the earth and trees, sky and waters, rocks and forests, failing to respect them, they punish us with natural calamities. This calls for the conservation of forests from the spiritual point of view.

Life in the metropolitan city is never peaceful. There are noises of honking cars, and surrounding areas are filthy with stinking garbage. The air is polluted and water is not fit for drinking directly. A short recreational tour from their busy schedule by the side of woods would heal the entire mental trauma that the man faces in their what they ironically term luxury homes, when gush of fresh air filled with natural aroma from green trees and colourful blossoms caresses them. Added to the mystical serene are the sounds of chirping birds, rustling of leaves and flowing of pure streams. This is why a valleys adorned with natural forest rich in its biodiversity attracts many nature lovers, thus opening the scope of ecotourism.

Forests also serves as major carbon sinks and plays a crucial role in reducing the negative impacts of climate change. Looking beyond our narrow human greed, forest provides home to diverse animal species and maintains a stable and dynamic ecosystem. Furthermore, forests play an important role in prevention of soil erosion, and helps in maintaining a water cycle thus offering a protection to catchments and our agricultural lands.

fire continues array in forest

However, many forest areas are lost annually due to carelessness and unsystematic use of forest resources by humans. Intentional as well as accidental forest fires engulf thousands of hectares of forest cover every year. The expansion of urban areas and road networks further adds pressure to the nearby forest areas. Excessive grazing of cattle’s trample the newly sprouting seedlings of trees rendering the area degraded. Illegal cutting of trees and exploitation of the virgin forests disturb the wildlife habitats, which compels the wild animals to come in close proximity to human settlements causing great threats of human-wildlife conflicts. Wildlife is dying and species are prone to extinction. Watersheds are diminishing and fish spawning streams are shrinking. The air we breathe is getting polluted and world is getting warmer year after year due to global warming, only because the lost forests are not replenished.

We should therefore remember that when we take away the forest, it is not just the trees that go. If the forests go, so will be the fate of the entire population who depend solely on forest for their livelihood, and the balance of the entire ecosystem will be shaken, leaving dire consequences for all of us. With the disappearing of forest, so gone will the beauty of mother earth, so we should sustain the forest by protecting it to meet the requirements of products and recreations forever.

Save our Forest to Save Ourselves.

ལོ་གསར་ལུ་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས།།

photo credit: Pema Gyamtso/fb. 

༆  གནམ་ལོ་གསར་དུ་ཚེས་པའི།། བཀྲ་ཤིས་དཔལ་གྱི་དུས་ལ།།

མཁྱེན་ལྡན་ཕོ་མོ་ཡོངས་ལུ།། བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ལེགས་ཞུ་གེ།།

གནམ་ལོ་ཆུ་ཕོ་འབྲུག་ལོར།། ཆར་ཆུ་དུས་སུ་བབས་པས།།

ལོ་ཕྱུགས་བརྟག་ཏུ་ལེགས་སྟི།། ནད་དང་མུ་གེ་ཞི་ཤོག།།

སྨན་ལྗོངས་སྐྱིད་པའི་དབུས་སུ།། རྒྱལ་བློན་སྐུ་ཚེ་བསྟན་པས།།

འབངས་རྣམས་བདེ་སྐྱིད་ལྡན་ཏི།། དགའ་སྐྱིད་ཕུན་སུམ་ཚོགས་ཤོག ༑༑

Long Life His Majesty the fifth King.

Today is a very auspicious day in the history of Bhutan because it was on this date 32 years ago that his majesty the fifth king of Bhutan was born. And in order to pay tribute the schools all over the country celebrate the occasion with solemn gratitude and rededicate themselves for the service of nation and for that matter the entire nation join in hands and witness the cultural programmes organized by the school children to remember the day.  

Today I had the privilege to witness the day by visiting my first school where I firmly established my foundation for building my career. Sephu Primary School in her own little ways celebrated the day by little kids performing various cultural items following the welcome speech and chief guest’s speech. Despite limited time for practicing the items, they gave their best performance that made me remember my childhood days in the school.

Following is the praise they have composed for His Majesty the Fifth King;

བཀྲ་ཤིས་དུས་བཟང་ཚེས་པའི་ཉིན་མོ་འདིར།།

ཆོས་རྒྱལ་མི་དབང་འཇིགས་མེད་གེ་སར་མཆོག།

མཚན་བཟང་་ཡོངས་འཛེོགས་དང་བཅས་སྐུ་གཏམ་བསྟན།།

སྐུ་ཚེ་ཞབས་པད་ཡུན་རིང་བསྟན་པར་ཤོག།།

ཆོས་རྒྱལ་མི་དབང་གེ་སར་མཆོག་གི་སྐུ།།

གཏམ་པའི་མོད་ལ་འཚན་དང་པད་བརྒྱད་ལྡན།།

སོས་ཀྱང་དྲིན་མེད་རང་བཞིན་ཟིད་འོད་ཀྱིས།།

འབངས་རྣམས་འོག་ཏུ་བསྡུ་བ་ཡ་མཚན་ཆེ།།

བྱང་སེམས་སྙིང་རྗེའི་རང་གཟུགས་མིར་སྤྲུལ་བའི།།

མི་དབང་འཇིགས་མེད་གེ་སར་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་ཆོག།།

བདག་ཀྱང་འབངས་རྣམས་བསྐྱོང་ཞིང་རྩུག་རྒྱན་ལུ།།

བརྟག་ཏུ་འབྲལ་མེད་སྐལ་བརྒྱ་བཞུགས་གྱུར་ཅིག།།

Some images captured from the day;

LONG LIFE OUR KING.

HAPPY LOSAR FOR TOMORROW.

Haiku Talent Hunt.

from the dormant blogger...,

The moon it gleams

With shining rays from above

To sparkle earth.

The rose it blooms

With bright appealing petals

To attract the bees.

With angelic look

And voices so melodic

They entertain us.

Thus with equity

Lets vote for the real star

And play fair game.

The Painful Truths.

Like the flutters of gentle breeze,

And like the rustling of autumn leaves,

My bewildered thoughts, it escaped my body

To discover the truth of unknown quest.

Up on the hills facing the rising sun,

The flags flap amid ferocious fogs.

The inscriptions on it, when fades with time,

I discovered the fact of impermanence.

Down in the flow of swift rivers,

Swims the fishes with fearless soul,

Yet when in the tyrants net they entangle,

I discovered the truth of untimely death.

In the fields filled with the final reap

When suddenly the storms hits violently

The peasants, they weep in agony

And I discovered the truth of uncertainty.

The chromatic rainbows on the hillsides

And the flowers that embellish the gardens,

When in fragment of seconds they perish,

I realized the short lives of natural beauty.

Thus far, my thoughts it roamed

And like the free flowing river life passes by

Never to return and when I realized my wilderness,

I discovered that final destiny is one step closer.