“Destiny has put me here. I will protect you as a parent, care for you as a brother and serve you as a son. I shall give you everything and keep nothing. This is how I shall serve you as a king.” - His Highness Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck in his first speech said this to his subjects, after the crowning. If you have such a king at the helm of affairs, all Bhutanese can rest in peace and enjoy!
Nestled in the heart of the mighty eastern Himalayas lies a jewel; a speck of green that is part flower bed, and part dynamic landscape.
At first glance it appears to be a simple, small country with a village-based subsistence lifestyle.
Yet beneath the surface, it’s immensely rich and has a diverse community comprising various groups such as yak herders and the Nomadic Laya people, as well as royal and governmental hierarchies, lamas, Rinpoches, and abbots.
It is the only country in the world to have banned smoking and plastic bags effectively.
It took a tiny Himalayan nation to challenge the concept of Gross National Product as a yardstick of advancement. Ever since 2002, promoting happiness is a serious business in Bhutan.
The King decreed that Gross National Happiness is the primary objective of this Himalayan state.
A view from the flight to Bhutan.
Bhutan is indeed a celebrated land of happiness; ‘a piece of heaven on Earth’.
It stands tall between India and China -- Tibet flanks its north-west. Position may render it vulnerable, but values give it the strength.
Even the air and soil of the land seem to be happy; and they penetrate to suffuse us with warmth. It has more mountaintop retreats than multinational corporations, more Dzongs and monasteries than factories, and more number of beautiful trees and hills than people, making it an enclave for rest, solace and recuperation.
Bhutan, the crown of the Himalayan terrain, is serenely scenic, making it virtually a photographer’s paradise.
It presents tourists an unending symphony of light, colours and shapes.
Perched on a gentle slope over the hills, it remains a safe and protected terrain -- at one end (south) by the vivid, dense, impenetrable subtropical forests and at the other end (north) some daunting snowcapped rows of peaks, oaks and cypresses.
From Delhi, we went by Druk Air to Paro. The plane flew over the vast expanse of snow-clad ridges and summits, extending from one horizon to the next.
The Himalayas seemed as infinite as an ocean, frozen at the climax of a storm. Lower slopes of the mountains were engulfed in clouds. The glide was smooth, irrespective of the turbulence below.
But, this airborne encounter leaves one unfulfilled -- the only meaningful way being to tread on foot enduring the weather and ups and downs.
The airport.
It was small plane and a matching airport to welcome us. Aah! What a cute, lovely place to land! The most beautiful airport I had ever seen -- it was perched between the hills on either side and greenery in between. The slow descent into the deep, green valley laced with streams and rivulets was a joyful experience.
Red and white stand-alone houses -- stood meditatively -- scattered around in the background; and a royal monumental airport in the foreground with its shingled roof, carved cornices and colourful motifs of lotus and clouds.
Our flight passed over some of the most revered snowy peaks of the Himalayas, viz. Everest and Kanchenjunga in the morning glow of sunlight.
A closer view of the airport.
On landing we felt at home, since there was no usual airport protocol, no security checks, no strained men with guns, no police; just a royal walk to your car in an ambience that welcomes you.
They believe in internal strength and maintain that show of any external power is a manifestation of hidden fear.
In this clock of time and seasons we are at a point called spring, where winter and summer shake hands. We reached the fabled land when the winter blues were just fading away and the air held the promise of spring.
This picture reflects the flora and fauna in Bhutan.
In the early half of our trip, autumn ruled and the romance of fall was looming in the air. The temperatures dropped to 10 degrees C and sky as well as Earth rolled in changing colours. Earth was denuded of floras.
All the trees were bereft of leaves, and the barren curves of Earth were exposed to the bright sunny sky with bones all laid bare -- leafless.
The curves, aroma, texture and contours were laid tantalizingly bare before our senses, to let us devour her real naked beauty. We treaded ahead with baited breath to greet the glow and glory of the changing weather; and as the days rolled by we relished the gentle kiss of spring, heard the footsteps of an approaching bloom, and by the time we travelled through the country, the dance of spring was at a crescendo with her incumbent enchantments.
It is difficult to capture the immensity of beauty of such a magnificent place, and still harder to describe it with a limited vocabulary I possess.
Art is domestic affair here and all have equal share of it; it is not only a prerogative and property of the rich, famous and elite.
The Bhutanese are an overtly religious lot and this Himalayan Mountain Kingdom is a jewel of Buddhism (state religion). It is very sparsely populated. Roughly 60 percent of the population is Buddhists, 30 percent Hindus, and rest Christians or Jews. This land of unspoiled beauty and tranquility is spread over 47000 sq km and has only 700000 people to share it. This sojourn was more fulfilling than our expectations.
Our 14 day stay was certainly an ‘out of this world experience’ -- each day superseded in rewards than the previous day.
We met some amazingly young men and women in their nineties and some who had crossed 100 years.
The local women dance, dressed in colourful attires called Kiras.
People went to work in their laid-back, even-minded attitudes. Petite women, looking attractive in their colourful attire (Kiras), and men gallant in dark striped Ghos and white wrap-over-shawls. That did make us ponder… what has all our accounted growth given us?
In Druk Yul or the ‘Land of the Thunder Dragon’, life moves at a leisurely pace. It makes us ask ourselves some serious questions about the speed at which we all race.
“Where the hell”, I asked myself repeatedly, “are we rushing to, in this rat race of life?” Even if we win, don’t we ever remain rats?
Some rue the absence of proper medical aid, though that may also be a sign of lower number of lifestyle-related diseases. Bhutan is blessed with a 300-year-old culture, rich traditions, happy people and zero poverty.
It boasts of zero crime rates too -- people leave their homes with their gates and doors open in their absence.
There are no beggars here, and the country at large enjoys an unpolluted, healthy and joyful environment. The cities are clean, shanties are grossly missing and the houses themselves boast of a rich and unique tradition of architecture.
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