The Circle of Karma.

Do you believe in Karma? Everything that happens to us is the result of our Karma. Karma according to Buddhist philosophy is not predestination or fate, but it is the infallible law of cause and effect that governs our life and for that matter the universe. World is a physical entity formed by intricately interrelated phenomenon just like the dynamics of ecosystem. Whatever we do by our body, speech, or mind will have a corresponding effect/result. Thus, we dwell in a Circle of Karma.

Renowned writer Kunzang Choden, portraying a roller coaster of events that happens in Tsomo’s life, the protagonist of her first novel, best exemplifies this Circle of Karma.

When Tsomo was a young girl, she asks her mother, ‘Where is the furthest I can travel?’

‘Where?’ her mother responds, ‘I don’t know. Where can a girl travel to?’ but sadly she can’t survive long to see that her daughter will prove her wrong.

Tsomo as a young girl aspired to learn literature and practice religion, but then in the medieval Bhutan, girls were obligated to excel into household chores and field works. Her mother advice her to become a good woman while her father being a faithful gomchen teaches the boys and his sons, to become good gomchen. Tshomo’s childhood life passes observing the rich ritualistic life in the Bhutanese village; the gender difference between a boy and girl, the culture of teasing and night hunting, the humiliation and pain of conceiving illegitimate child, the beauty and joy of consensual courtship and marriages, to mention few. In this way, before she turned 15, she has excelled in the mundane customaries and became a good homemaker, which earned her praise from her beloved mother and neighbours.

A Typical Bhutanese Girl.

Unfortunately, her mother dies during a complicated delivery, which made her shoulder all the responsibilities of her mother in the house to cater the needs of her little siblings and their father. Sadly, her father married again before her mother’s first death anniversary, so this makes her travel to Trongsa to offer prayers for her mother’s soul, thus beginning the journey of Tshomo’s life away from home. Destiny had it that she fall in love with a fellow traveller Wangchen, who happens to be a married man already but they get married and stay together. The consequences of Karma starts in her life when she became pregnant and could not deliver a breathing baby. Besides her bosom borne a swollen illness which never subsided. It was during such times that Wangchen and her younger sister Kezang betrayed her.

 ‘Why don’t you look after your husband better?’ Kesang would yell at Tsomo when talked about the matter. This makes her think about the pains that Wangchens first wife and children would have endured when Wangchen left them and came to her home. What a Circle of Karma.

Sometimes filled with anger and resentment, sometimes with envy and vengeance, and often her mind was obsessed by malicious thoughts but she chose to move away from them, and one night she fled her home, leaving nothing but tears of empathy for her father little brothers, and taking nothing but some valuable items that her mother inherited her.

With her swollen stomach, she moves to Thimphu, works like a coolie on the sites where Phuentsholing-Thimphu highway is constructed, and through the journey up and down, finally she reaches Kalimpong in India, accompanied by a girl of similar fate Dechen Choki. The difference is that Dechen left home because she hated a man, and Tsomo left home because she loved a man and suffered because they are women.

Though Thsomo’s mind was constantly obsessed by hurtful sentiments as she reminisces the events back home, her sense of devotion towards religion pays her all the merits. Her strong faith in religion takes her pilgrimage to BodhGaya, Katmandu and then Tso Pema in Himachal. Her karma had it that she once again was entangled in the mundane of marriage with a laggard guy but with his companion and under the directive of a Tibetan Rinpoche based in Himachal, she could finally get rid of the swollen illness after visiting a hospital. They then shifted to Delhi from where her karma compels to move back to Kalimpong, only to untie her husband’s unfaithful know with her when he leaves for a younger woman.

By now, Tsomo has grown into an old lady but its better late than never. She finally fulfils her childhood wish to practice religion, though she cannot read or write when the Rinpoche ordained her to become a nun. Shaving the hairs off and wearing a maroon dress, she finally chose divinity leaving behind all remorseful mundane. Cherishing the momentary joys she experienced, remembering her karmic encounter with lamas and their blessings, she finally choose Thimphu to spent her remaining life circumambulating the National Memorial Chorten and chanting prayers to discover the eternal joy and happiness. And The Circle of Karma once again brings her to the home of her ex-husband Wangchen and sister Kesang who have now become grandparents, with a smile of unity.

Throughout, I enjoyed all the rich cultural details and many humorous incidents which I could apprehend easily and they often takes me back to the village and reminds me of the incidents that my mother use to narrate to me. For everything is due to our karma, let’s see next what it means When Loss is Gain.

When Mind Matters.

Man is a product of his thoughts.

The great Indian Master Nagarjuna, in his letter to his friend has said that it is the nature of human mind to get tempted to the materials of this world, which actually are all insignificant and mere illusions. Such a wealth if accumulated and not used for the wellbeing of all sentient beings is an accumulation of suffering and at the end, an irreversible sin that will drag our soul in the realms of hell.

At one point, his eminence Phakpa Ludrup had said that our mind should be compared to inscriptions on three elements of nature; the water, the soil and the rock. He stressed that when we are to follow a karmic virtue, we should absorb such essence like the imprints left on the rock and for the sinful deeds, we should ignore and forget it like the drawings on the water.

Such in-depth of preaching from great master made me realise that it is not at all advisable to put water on the rocks and draw images on the water when situation tends to repel from us for such a deed would benefit us in achieving nothing but it is just wastage of time and resource. Flow with the free flow of river.

Living in the society filled with socialized people, we humans should develop an instinct of understanding the needs and problems of our counterparts but then the situation seems to be just the reverse. When we look at the mirror with a smile, we never expect our image to frown at us. Though all sounds don’t echo instantly, it is a regrettable action when the expected echo is never heard. After all, everything in this world is interconnected and is a resultant of continued cause and effect.

As such, life is nothing but a complexity of intricate mazes, whose doors of happiness is difficult to trace. Yet it is advisable to climb uphill to have a clear view of the valley beneath.

“Those which originate from cause,

Without that (cause), they donot exist;

So why would you uphold

That clearly they’re just like reflections!”

-         Master Nagarjuna.

People’s Reaction to Price Hike in Petrol.

The Bhutanese economy is closely aligned with India's through strong trade and monetary links and dependence on India's financial assistance. Therefore, every fluctuation in the Indian economy have its direct implication on the Bhutanese economy. Since 70 percent of our imports are from India, the rise and fall of price for the goods first begins in India, then the news shifts to Bhutan before the facing the proportionate consequences.

The recent price hike in Petrol is one such example and people in the two countries react differently. 

While Inidans were busy protesting against the hike,

Our Bhutanese were trying to save some by refilling the tank before hike.

More disgusting when, effigy of the Head of Govt is burnt...,

But Indian Govt resists petrol price rollback, for now.

Radio Shangri-la.

Which is your favourite radio station in Bhutan? Well, my village being located in a far flung corner, the transmission of many newly stationed radios in the capital is not reached, so as long as I can remember, I was grown up tuning to the national radio station, the BBS. But few years ago, when Kuzoo FM was established, wherever I go, I found people tuning to kuzoo (Dzongkha most of the time) and I came to learn that a network of relationship was also formed known as Kuzoo Family with many people dedicating songs and well wishes to those unseen, mysterious family members.

So this radio station according to Lisa Napoli is “Radio Shangri-La”. Until reading this book, I didn’t knew that Kuzoo FM is project initiated by His Majesty the King, (then Crown Prince) Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. It was established on 1st September, 2006 and was officially launched on 28th September, 2006.

Lisa Napoli, a radio journalist based in America was in the grip of crisis and was unsatisfied with her life which is why she started attending a workshop positive psychology. Strangely, she met with a man named Sebastian for merely twenty minutes during a party and that was enough to divert her towards Bhutan, often described by her as “the Happiest Kingdom on Earth” in January 2007.

Her purpose of visit was not as tourist but as a volunteer at the then juvenile Kuzoo Fm that aired its transmission from an old kitchen. Kuzoo is the country’s first radio station for the youth of Bhutan. Her visit was just a year prior to historic transition where a constitutional monarchy was set up and new king was crowned. As she narrates her stay with the kuzoo family, she digs into the history and culture of Bhutan and presents to the readers a vivid fact about the country; the history, dress code, the Bhutanese cuisine, the games, Bhutan being a poor country coping up with rest of the world very lately, and of course the Bhutan’s developmental philosophy of Gross National Happiness.  Most importantly, she also observed the dawn of democracy in Bhutan.

Taktsang Monastry- Priceless Asset of Bhutan.

As she enjoys the carefree lifestyle in Bhutan and observes among Bhutanese, the intimate connections with peers and relatives, she was reminded of her life in America; where she was to stay all alone her family being miles away from her busy with their own schedule, she being raped at a tender age, her divorce with her husband, and other midlife crisis which has shaken her mental peace.

Her first arrival in Bhutan has  altered her attitude towards her life. She finds that the world is a beautiful and complicated place, and comes to appreciate her life for the adventure it is. She became more attached to kuzoo family and this compels her to visit Bhutan twice later. Intriguingly, she helps one of the radio jockey in Kuzoo to fulfill her dream of visiting America, not knowing the fact that Bhutanese aspires to adventure to America for a job to earn dollars.

For me, the book helped me recapitulate the history of Bhutan and of course taught me the lesson that life has deeper meaning, as we faces The Circle of Karma-coming up next.

Growing into Cricket Fan.

I hardly get a good time to watching favorite sport channels though I love watching football matches, only because I am living in a hostel where there is only a single TV in a common room shared many students of diverse interest. India is a cricket crazy country. Wherever we go, we can spot children and boys playing cricket in open grounds. In the university where I am studying also, I could see many boys playing bat and ball in an excessive sun, when I cant bear walking to my classes. So by virtue of the fact that majority of the students love watching cricket, I too join them and watch the game, therefore I don’t know what is happening in the world of football.

This time it is the Indian Premiere League season five which attract the fellow localites to the TV screen every evening. Cheering for their favourite team and praising their favourite cricketers, they often raise a hot debate filling the room with hot buzz.

Since the inaugural session on 4^th April, I too have been following Kolkata Knight Riders and have been cheering for them whenever they played. Owned by Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood king, my inclination towards the team was more of the owners influence than the players. My team started with three consecutive losses but they proved their best when they won all the consecutive matches until recently they lost to Mumbai Indians and Team Chennai.  As the season is near ending, they were at the edge of falling but their last victory over Mumbai brought them back to track, so I am relieved.

Throughout the season, there is one man in the series a Caribbean giant known by name Christopher Henry Gayle. During the first three seasons, he played from Team Kolkata but due to his unsatisfactory performance, the team did not retain him during the last auction, which is why he landed in Team Bangalore. This season he is the only man, who played the most entertaining cricket by hitting massive sixes. The entire crowd everywhere enjoys his shorts and it seems the whole India has become his fan. Neither the strength of Dada, nor the fame of master blaster can suppress this huge man.

Of all the matches he played, his spectacular performance today against Delhi Daredevils was an amazing one. With 13 massive sixes and couple of boundaries, his unbeatable 128 of just 62 balls have won the admiration of cricket lovers and I am not an exception. Now they are defending their brilliant total of 215.

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.