Remembering Primary school days

A Facebook friend from where I come from  shared the latest pictures of the primary school that I attended in late nineties. Just seeing it brought me back all the good (and bad memories) that I had during seven years of my early and initial school life. Though it has changed and evolved with new structures over the time, I still feel it the same, the memories suddenly pops in. It was at this school that has all the beginnings of my life- education and life as a whole.

I was put into boarder life from class II, aged 7 and was beginning of the start of real experiences and characters that often stays with you; you get to pick up a lot of habits most of which are to do with the survival instincts for having to deal everything with your self, decide for yourself starting from as simple as wearing ghos yourself and lacing your shoes to managing money for yourself. I don't remember all the details of boarder life, but memories of good and some real bad and tough ones still stays with you or are triggered and rings the bell when you see or something related to it occurs. It sometimes make me sad to rewind those times; but it also gives me that extra cushion of hope and the strength to get on with the life. I never thought I would one day put these into words but, it actually feels good writing this which is being experienced by people like me, people of my generation specially from remote parts of the country. We all had this similar kinda of experience in schools. I consider the people of my generation the luckiest and one of the last standing ones as we got to experience not only that older and typical rural culture and traditions before the modern amenities came and extinct it all; but also the latest and modern amenities after  road and electricity came and these technological advances in the form of modern gadgets and so on.

My parents were (are) simple farmers sustaining through subsistence farming but they never let me feel it was something of a disadvantage or an obstruction that would block me from getting the modern education; as the first child to be enrolled to modern school from the family, I had their full support and perhaps because if it, out of sheer love they put me to boarder life to be able to learn to stand on yourself. Also the distance between my house and school was bit long ( took more than hour to reach by foot). Everyday I had to walk more than two hours (to and fro) which is hard for the young kids.

Boarder life was a tough, it is tough for every one. The most vivid memory is about always being hungry. The food served at the school was never sufficient, I would always go hungry. I don't know why? Despite the second shares and bonus beaten maize and the puffed soya beans that my mom sent to supplement; I was always yearning for more and would go hungry most of the time. That's not to say that the school didn't provide enough. I thank and am really grateful for the school mess system - school feeding program arranged and provided by the government, the World Food Programme (WFP). Were it not the FREE systems I wonder where I would be right now? I wonder where anyone from those remote village such as ours would be? The school feeding programme included tinned fish from Japan and Norway amongst many other items. It's silly and even embarrassing to remember incidents where by some of the fellow friends would fall into those big empty pots of the school while rushing in to get second share during meal times. 

Boarder life also taught us to live through and survive through thick and thin. Sleeping on the plastic Indian carpet which was a centimeter thick and blanket woven from the wool by my mother and using lamp made from half Bottle Rum filled with kerosene to study ( afterwards lantern came) and revise at night was the real highlight. Also often getting lashed up by the so-called captains if one was late even by a second on their call. Captains of the primary school were really powerful those days. I don't know if the situation is same in today's boarder school? And we had so many captains I remember. Apart from usual school, respective house and class captains, we had prayer captain to conduct and organise evening prayers and coordinate annual school rimdos; then we had firewood captain who would measure the amount of firewood class II and above were required to collect every Saturday. If you are short of the mark set between two poles, you had to go back and get the remaining. Then we had the Games captain who had his own power specially during the morning Physical Training (PT). The captain would stay with the belt on the door(the hostel was a large common room with just one door) and If you were late even by second at the ground for physical exercises, you would get lashes there as well. 

I wasn't mischievous like others and not too bad in studies as well; but still, I remember getting lot of lashes from the captains in that six years of boarder life. That was the longest duration and period that I have of the memories that had somehow shaped my life. The above  narrations are but the facts and not in any way criticism to the system that were in place those times. In fact I am proud to have been able to experience such a thing in my life; some of the valuable lessons of life has been learnt and picked up from the these experiences in that school. 

How was your primary school days like?

COVID-19 Vaccination

 Bhutanese are so lucky to have a king, people's king at the helm, who serves its citizens with all the love , compassion and care. As the world is been hit by COVID-19 pandemic, Bhutanese has been least affected. As a citizen being the recipient of all these, I have no words to thank. How fortunate and lucky are we to have such a boddisatva dharma king. Perhaps the best and only way is to do our own part of responsibilities and duties deligently. We have our own part to play and we must do that with utmost dedication and integrity.

As the whole world now are racing with emergency vaccination jabs, Bhutan also began its drive on 27the March 2021. It will continue till April 2. The uniqueness is that the government has chosen to do all the eligible people at the same time in one week's time. The monastic community did thier part of blessings and chosed the particular day, time and a candidate to be given the first shot. Today is the fourth day and so far, no serious complications have been reported. I did my jab on the third day. Seeing the number of people turning up to get the vaccine, I am overwhelmed that the public has understood it's importance, the government has done excellent work on awareness and importance. So Thank you my king and the government of day. Thank you doctors and the health professionals for your tireless work. Thank you Dessups for your excellent service. 

Regarding the side effects of the jab, it has been reported that some people had minor symptoms like mild fever, nausea, headache and pain and swell at the site. Some have even reported of their faces being swelled. I personally didn't experience all. I took my jab at around 4pm and by 1am midnight, I started to have a mild fever and as I write this, I am still having the symptoms. I hope it goes was soon. So as per my witness and experience, the real effect of the vaccine seem to come seven to eight hours after you took Jab. But not to worry, it's bearable. For the larger good, for the safety of yourself and others please get vaccine yourself.

Lots of gratitude  also to the government of India for providing us the vaccine despite sharp shoot up in the number of positive cases. May the whole world be normalised soon.  

The contributions and Donations

 Bhutan is a Buddhist country and Bhutanese the Mahayana Buddhist practitioners.The laws of cause and effect is engraved in every Bhutanese mind and we firmly believe in it.

We strive and work hard to make a decent and better living out of it. And hence in general, Bhutanese are warm and gentle in heart, peace loving people. Because of our belief in doing good for the well being not just ourselves but all sentient beings, we try to promote and propagate the good deeds-the very teachings of Buddha and perhaps that’s why there is a stride rise in thing called Donations for instances like construction of that or this monastery or statues, recitation of this or that and so on; perhaps the easiest way to accumulate good merit is in the form of such means. Aldo we hardly question the accountability of such means. But sometimes I wonder if this is not too much? Some people blindly believe and ends up becoming victim of scams. The question is if there will ever be an end to such means or if such is leading to unfair means?  Irrespective of the purpose it serves for good or bad, these kind of acts have only lead to rise in making of easy money. People have began to take advantage of such systems and started to loot instead. The scenarios of day light beggars at thimphu town knocking each and every doors of the building by people as young as aged in mid 20s and 30s says a lot about how such means have gradually changed to this and how people have started exploiting such means. And this has a rippling effect on the genuine ones who are in real need of such schemes. 

Frankly, it’s an embarrassment to seek donations from fellow friends and colleagues even if it is genuinely required, for the good of individual or a community. For instance, from where I come from in a remote village, we are in grave need of fund for the construction of a community lhakhang (monastery). Lhakhang is an inevitable and integral part of a people in every community. It’s a place where people pay homage, seek blessings and solace, where people derive peace, keeps their faith and hopes alive. But even after four long years, the community is unable to build a decent lhakhang.  Though physically the lhakhang is built wonderfully like real Zhangdopelri the interior still lacks the required design and intricates. The monastery still need structural designs, paintings and sculptural works inside.The community people can’t do much than the physical works. Therefore we have but no option to seek external assistance and donations. As a native from the village, it has become our moral responsibility to help revive the treasure of the community. Those of us from the village, the civil servants, business men and others have done a round of collection a year ago. But that wasn’t  enough. 

Hence I have initiated to seek donations from people I know who are willing. My friends have agreed to help me. Please help us revive the glory of the community. Please help the fellow people of our village regain their pride. If you are interested to help in any way, let me know and contact me. The donations howsoever small the amount may be shallnot go to waste.