Being Thin

Often it is about being obese and overweight that people generally complain but strangely it is about being thin and underweight that I have been whining ever since I was a student. Most seem to gain weight and their belly protrudes out as one embarks into the world of work (that is a generalization by the way) but unfortunately or fortunately it isn’t same with me; instead, my weight have been consistent since college days.  What should I do? What is wrong with me? Last week I met an old friend of mine who was heading Bangkok. We haven’t met since twelve standards. I was actually shocked to see him totally different with beard on his face and his little belly almost protruding like three months pregnant mother. And it was an embarrassing moment for me to hear him say that I haven’t changed at all, that instead I looked pale, weak and thin. For a man who already knows the fact, comment like this is like a salt on the already sore spot. Anyway that very moment got me into thinking like if I was silently suffering from invisible illness; that if I was alright? Hope I am alright!

Sometimes I just find this life too funny; when most people are finding hard time to lose their weights, following strict diets to maintain shape and all, there is me, trying desperately the otherwise. I even had to lie and add few kilograms to fill in for my visa last year as the BMI showed I was underweight.  Anyway perhaps it is for the good (lol) but I definitely like to gain some weight and become bit more fit and fat. So guys pour me suggestions…:P 

My new Interest

If there is one thing that I regret right now at this very stage, it is about not participating in the games and sport during school times. I have never taken part in whatever games and sports the school conducted, for the reason being that I hardly saw future in that area. As being from mediocre family enjoyment or entertainment was never my bread and every time such opportunities came, I gave second thoughts like what if I get struck and not be able to fulfill my eventual goal? Ultimately it was the academic results that mattered and knowing that, I had always easy excuse when it came to PE classes. By the time I realized the importance of games and sports and other co-curricular activities other than bookish knowledge it was almost too late. It was during the college days in India, when I realized how much it is equally important and fortunately I had college mates who were all interested, most of who were first timers like me who had realized and who were interested to take chance and that’s when I also decided to learn; back then we used to play football the most every evening and surprisingly there was some improvements but sadly the habit got lost after the college days, after entering the world of work and now I see myself nowhere. You see the so-called interest also changes like season and it very much depends upon the environment we dwell.

And last year after going New Zealand for basic training, I started to try new interest: to play tennis, I watched the Wimbledon and US open and soon liked the game and we five of us started to play after class whenever the time permitted. The best thing about in New Zealand is the availability of public resources like outdoor games and sports facilities. There are beautiful parks with free playgrounds for any kind of games after few kilometers distance. The city council is doing excellent job to maintain those parks with beautiful flowers and trees around, clean and green. This is but simple difference between developed and underdeveloped country like ours! Here even if one has interest it is hard to materialize and resources like this are not available except in the schools or institutes or in military camps which are for themselves and sadly outsiders have to pay. But anyway lately I with four other friends have been visiting the lawn tennis court of NIE Paro almost every day. The fee is Nu. 100 for per hour and we have no choice but to adhere to for it is our best time pass these days as the work gets over early (it is still windy season!) a friend of mine plays well and he has been coaching us which is going so far so well.

Well, eventually I think it is never too late to learn in life. And there is nothing like this isn’t for me or that is never meant for me; what matters is the opportunity. There are few of the lists which I missed as small kid and during school life which I am considering to experience as the time goes on; Life is in fact a journey than the destination!

The PR thing

In life it is hard to lead life without help and assistance from others. This society of ours is too large, complex and difficult to lead a lone life. Everything is intertwined and we ought to fit in that maze and have certain circle of people to depend upon each other, we ought to know and have certain personal relationships because we never know what comes next and when we might need their help or lend them help. I am very reserved kind of person and I admit that I am but very poor in this area. i have recently realized that personal relationships play very important role in Bhutanese  society, otherwise the pace is very snail-y and the worst victims are ourselves who have little or no personal relations at all. Even if we know certain people through various Medias, it is of huge help.

For past weeks I have been trying to avail small amount of loan. I went Thimphu to process for the loan and as expected the customer service division was busy like bee. There was huge number of people on the chairs waiting for their turn to avail service. I also joined them and waited in queue for my turn. I felt impatient after waiting for about two long hours perhaps  because I was totravel all the way back to Paro while the clock on the wall was ticking  and crossing 0500pm which is the closing of office hours. Just then I remembered a friend, a senior from my school days who was working in that organization. Ididn’t want to come empty handed back home. I asked one of the employeesabout her who showed me the direction of her office. Luckily she was in her office. She knew why I might have come and instantly took bundle of my papers, requested a friend of her to process. By the time the paper works were all done, it was almost 0600pm, I thanked them all for their help, my friend in particular and came back with smile, I had peaceful sleep (:P)

Bhutan is a too small for such things to happen but sadly the reality is otherwise and such things are very rampant. Now a day even to get one signature has become hard and often the service is thought of as a favor than one’s duty and responsibility. But ultimately at the end of the day, for common people having a good PR really helps and has become a kind of necessity. With this I would like to thank my friend Tshering for helping me.

Remembering Old Times

My  Pry school

Did you ever derive an immense pleasure, happiness and often become emotional just by a glance of photos that are posted in the social media which has some connection to you in some way or the other? The photos speak louder than words! It happens to me quite often. Recently Dasho Pelzang wangchuk, the MP of Jomotsangkha-Martshala Constituency (my constituency) has uploaded some pictures as an update of the ongoing construction of farm roads to my gewog center. Lauri gewog under samdrup jongkhar Dzongkhag is by far the remotest gewog in the country and perhaps the last one to be getting a farm road connection. The place which the photo was taken has special connection to my childhood days, firstly I have lived most of my teen years at there, secondly the river-Jomri (dasanrri river) is one which would never be forgotten by my family because we have a gray story connected with it. I lost my own brother to this very river.

The View from door-like  rock of the small town Jompa

Anyway looking at the pictures, it seems the place and surroundings still look same but with the feeder road coming up, we can expect a drastic change in time to come. The confluence of Jomri, and the Marphayri (Marphay is a small village above that river) as we call was the main swimming pool of us as kids. Every Saturday we would go there and swim only to get scolded and lashings by the teachers back in the school hostel. As a kid who realizes how much teachers care about once in the school as much as we are cared by the parents at home? We often misunderstand this with capital punishment but frankly I am indebted for instilling in me the sense of responsibility with canes at school right from the primary school.

The Confluence of Rivers

The confluence of has yet another very special connection with me. Every winter vacation, I would accompany my dad carrying log of wood for the construction of buildings we can see at presents that are the heart of the small town of Jompa today. It was during those days when new offices for gewog adminstrations and new BHUs were just coming up. And I with my dad and some other folks like me would struggle hunting for some cash for the  school expense the coming year. We would carry the log, cross the river, and then climb back to the mountain top along the marphayri up where the logs were being cut, then do second trip down the valley to the confluence. We would have ice-cold packed lunch on the rock by the side of river and then continue carrying those logs to the site. Life wasn’t easy and particularly for my dad, winter season was the hardest because there was no source of income for my schoolings other than those that involved physical strengths like construction works. If we were short of luck, there wouldn’t be any construction works in winter and that was the worst, because then we had to borrow from those who had and that wasn’t easy as well because being same people from the same community who expects one to have? But anyway, my parents managed somehow and when times for the new academic sessions begin, I would be given enough. Despite the education being free in Bhutan, thanks to the visionary kings, it would still be difficult for people like me to go the school during those days and perhaps that is why, I had never even once thought about quitting school.

But life is changing rapidly now. The living standards have drastically improved in the community. More and more people buy and take white rice from nearby Assam markets, more people knows the value of education and admits their kids at young age to the school nearby and it is good to see that from one village only there are more than one candidate aspiring to take part in local government elections. And with the farm road finally knocking their door steps, we can only expect better. Will it make the life better? Will it come at the cost? Well, let’s see after few years down the line.

Picture Courtesy: Facebook, uploaded by MP

Being SORRY

 Do you ever realize how many times we tell sorry in a day? Who would have count anyway? But if we think, is it not the only words that may seem to keep us remain unruffled but never leaves us thinking like what have I done to get this or say this? What is wrong with me? Or something like did the ‘sorry ’really repaired the already damaged and gone-under water things?  Why say sorry when the damage is already done? It can never make dead man alive, one common sentence we often say. Of course it is a different story if we genuinely feel sorry ourselves and that we are ready to give a shot to redeem and change for ourselves; this is what I feel more important than just verbally convincing someone with the use of word ‘sorry’and hence I often hesitate to say sorry.  Otherwise I feel now days the word ‘sorry’ has become too casual and unrespectable in many ways.

Anyways recently there was an incident where I felt I should have said sorry to someone who deserves for he is older than me; whom I think I might have hurt his sentiment very much. He was full of complains afterwards may be because I was hesitant to say sorry because I felt the damage was already done and the word sorry would be of little help. Well, it wasn’t, perhaps because we all live in the world full of fake sorries and I failed to provide one. It was out of mere ego and I do regret for that genuinely. But like I said I am ready to move on with the new lesson I learned from that incident. Sometimes it is better to live without expectations you know, expectations breed imbalance in your sentiments which ultimately leads to feeling bad somehow and that’s where all problems arise.

But still I think the word sorry is rather an obstruction, and easy excuse for someone who is not genuinely ready to accept the reality. It hardly serves its purpose.  I mean when what has happened is already a past story why console with the word sorry instead of trying to contain the situation with other alternatives. But fortunately we all live in a society where it is OK to receive and give the word so easily, where it is OK to say sorry even after a disastrous failures.  Politicians give false hopes and it is OK to say sorry, social media out cries begging for sorry as if the sorry is so magical to turn the hands of clock. But like I said why say in the first place if you aren’t sorry after all?

Orana Animal Park on BiCycle

 New Zealand is a peaceful country and Christchurch is a beautiful city full of flowers everywhere; that’s why Christchurch is often called the Garden City of the world. Just roam in and around the city and you will be greeted by vast area of parks within few kilometers surrounded by various types of flowers and trees. The roads are also well-maintained with separate pedestrian path and bicycle strip by the side. People here often say that riding bicycle is the most dangerous thing and that the highest accidents are due to people carelessly riding bicycle. However, ever since I reached here, I have been relying on bicycle and it has been pretty much convenient. Thanks to almighty, there has not been major accidents albeit minor ones at the beginning when we were just getting used to it. Otherwise even if we take metro bus (to institute), we have to walk about fifteen minutes from the nearest bus stand and fifteen minutes is hell lot of time.

Anyway last Friday started our second mid-course break for ten days, we  five of us and Ugyen sir decided to take further the service of bicycle to Orana animal park (Zoo) which is about 20 km from place of our residence. Ugyen Namgay sir is the only Bhutanese who has PR here and works at here in Air New Zealand. He previously worked in Drukair Corporation Ltd. He has been here since 2008 and we are in fact very lucky to have met him. He is jolly and full of humor and has been very good to us. He has helped us with everything and we are indeed very much indebted to him. Last Friday he was day off from the work and he took us to the zoo and we decided to ride bicycle. It was a wonderful and memorable trip.

Orana animal park is a beautiful park and there are lots of animals of which most were the first time for me to see in real including the tiger, lion, giraffe, gorilla, zebra, cheetah, rhinoceros and most special one- the Kiwi bird. I was particularly fascinated by the stories of tiger and the Kiwi bird which I would like to highlight. The two tigers at the park are Sumatran (Sumatra Island in Indonesia) tigers which are listed as critically endangered species. There are brothers brought to the zoo at the age of two. It was feeding time for tiger when we reach and was such a good scene to witness how it walks and the way it roars. It was captivating to see how tigers try to defend their territory by urinating, a sign of the demarcating the territory. They live alone unlike lions who dwells in groups.

 Then it was the kiwi bird which has a special connection with New Zealand. Kiwis are the significant national icon; you know New Zealanders are called kiwis by the way. It is a small flightless bird which normally comes out at night (nocturnal) and is the only bird which has nostril at the end of their long bill. They have very strong smell that attracts dogs that kills them. So dogs are the worst threats to their survival. It is said like the kiwis hatch hundreds of eggs but only two to three percent of it survives.

We weren’t that lucky to watch closely the other animals as they all lazily busking sun after heavy meal, but still, it was a memorable and adventurous day. We came back exhausted and weird enough I was thinking if keeping animals in such way- captive as in zoos is any more good or bad I mean if one is to weigh between pros and cons? What do you feel? Seeing most of the animals lying under the warm sun, i thought like they are lucky in one way as they don’t have to hunt although their freedom is limited. Nevertheless I hope that people who visit such places will think beyond the adventure and fun to protecting the species some of which are critically endangered and others threatened.

some of the pictures I took in my mobile phone:

Lion

Sumatran Tiger

Giraffe

Emu

Rabbit

Gorilla

Tibetan Yak

Fun with Volkswagen Engine

Hello folks; Hope everything is going great. I have been good as well but sadly due to unavoidable circumstances, one thing that I love and care about so much- my passion for reading (and writing), my blog has been barren for so long. I don’t know but for some weird reason, for some time I have completely lost my interest in reading keep aside writing. But anyway here I am with another lines of rubbish after a long time

Now we are almost towards the end of the course, we are presently onto one of the most interesting course – Volkswagen engine overhaul. The practical is for nine days within which we ought to rip off whole running (working) engine down, in accordance with (IAW) the procedure (you know IAW is the most lovely word for aircraft engineers?) clean and inspect and then build up the whole bloody thing again to its normal functional state, in between carrying out all the necessary measurements to see if the parts are within limits or if not change with the new one. It is a very interesting class. More than how the car engine works, we get to know about how we ought to proceed in near future when we come across the aircraft maintenance. Instructors always say that it isn’t a race, nor are we given the training to know how that bloody car engine works, but the approach, the steps according to the manuals and procedures. Everything we do, we are to think as if we are working on live aircraft and we ought to take into consideration every bits and pieces of consequences and the effects it can have. So the past week has been very busy one yet full of fun and enriching as well and will be one of the most cherished moments of my life.

In other part, I really wanted to say what I have thought about the recent outcry of pilot de-boarding sick passenger which was very unfortunate. Well, this is not about who was wrong or who was right, that is totally up to the audience for we were all one. But as a matter of fact, what was very saddening more than the sympathy Bhutanese people were pouring out in the social media was the way Bhutanese people jumps to conclusion for any kind of incidents. More disheartening was when people whom we expect a rationale views try to polarize and make the situation even worse. To me personally, the captain who had to make that unfortunate and painful decision was never to be blamed. How can one jeopardize the life of hundreds on account of just one on humanitarian ground? I am quite shock that people without even thinking twice goes on to playing blame games. What is the end result if one have to sympathize one party and then think and say all the worst thing to another? Where is one’s humanity gone at here?

Nobody on the board than pilot knows the mechanics of flight. To the customers it maybe a pleasure, and adventure to be amongst the clouds, but to pilots and others who know about it, it is a different thing, safety comes first, the safety of each and every one of the passengers and crew on board. It is in the air and not on the ground by the way.

I personally feel it is always wise to think beyond humanity when it comes to professionalism because the price at the end of day, we will have to pay can be more than the humanity itself!

Oh folks, don’t be serious, this is but the game of life after all, and there are dark days as there are fine ones. And it has to go on no matter what. Play your part whatever you can while you can.