thedawaring's blog

Many years ago, on chilly winter evenings, mother and I would often set out for a walk after having tea. We would often go for short walks by the dusty road towards a beautiful Buddhist monastery situated on the hill in the vicinity of our home. On our way, we would hear the deep & enlightening sound of conch shell being blown at the monastery. The air in the countryside would be filled with purifying aroma of herbs being burnt for the Gods at the monastery. We would come across farmers returning to their homes with their oxen from the day’s work. The visibly tired but merry farmers would hum melodious tunes as they went by. We would come across smiling shepherds mending their flocks of sheep for the day. The flocks of sheep would bleat at the top of their voices adding variety to the evening melody. The eagerly rushing flocks would cause a storm of dust by the road forcing us to cover our nose with sleeves. We would exchange a kind word or two with the hurrying shepherd...

Alcohol in the GNH Nation Well there is no denying. We Bhutanese love alcohol. Alcohol drinking in Bhutan is widely accepted as a social norm and it is an established thinking that alcohol drinking is rooted into country’s custom and culture. Traditionally, alcohol drinks have played a significant role in Bhutan and this concept still persists today. Locally brewed alcohols like Ara or Bangchang either from fermented rice or wheat is served in every ceremonial, festival, and religious occasion. It is known fact and an evident practice that every family in the rural Bhutanese household would brew Ara for various use and purposes. The use of alcohol is therefore, considered necessary in every walk of life in the rural population of Bhutan. The customary practice of alcohol use is still prevalent in the rural areas where village folks drink alcohol from dawn to dusk underlining the significance of every time period. Alcohols are used in various ways and at different point of tim...

The impossible love story Every one of us has a story to narrate. This is my story.  I am Tensin Cinsel from Bhutan, a small Buddhist Kingdom in the Himalayas. I am a freelance photojournalist by profession.  I love photography more than anything in the world. Only and only the camera can put my mind to rest. I am crazy with this photography thing because when everything in the world dies, only photographs remain as a proof of our existence. I love travelling to different places and capturing its beauty. So, in the early months of 2009, I travelled to Sri Lanka as a part of my assignment. This was my maiden voyage to Sri Lanka. Little had I expect that my life would change forever after this fateful journey. Sri Lanka is a nation famed for serene smiles, happy greetings and helpful nature. My destination was a place called Kalawila, a town near the capital city Colombo. It is a place with very small population in the province of western Sri Lanka. One fine even...

The monk who laughed Many years ago when Lord Buddha was alive, there lived an enlightened monk named Katayana in a village in eastern India. One morning he set out around the village begging for alms as it was a common practice of Buddhist monks of that time. That same morning katayana happened to be at a house of a lady where she was having meal. He saw the lady eating boiled fish. She had a baby in her laps. She was so much caring and loving for the baby and breast feeding her with great love.  A poor skinny dog was trying to eat the bones of the fish that the lady had left behind. As the dog tried to eat the bones of fish, the lady got furious and beat the skinny dog mercilessly till it cried out of pain. The enlightened monk diligently observed all these events for a while and burst into series of laughter. The lady got irritated and decided to ask the monk , ‘why are you laughing so much without any reasons?’ The monk contemplated for a while and said,...

Education in my village Not many years ago, people in my village had very little idea of what it really meant to be literate. Many of my village elders recall how they went about begging for authorities to pardon their children being enrolled for schooling. They would bribe the officials with oxen, pigs, chicken and the like so that they drop their children from needing to go to school and study. Back then children were meant to stay at home and help their parents in daily works. If anyone ever went to school, they would brand him as useless. This was some forty years ago. The notion gradually changed. The village folks began to realize that the only way for a better life is through education. I was fortunate enough to have born at a time when the dreaded notion was already changing. By the time I went to school, there were hundreds of children in my school from my village. Many of them dropped out due to some reason or the other. Some of us continued to manage till high school...

The Himalayan Days... I was born and brought up in a far flung village in the eastern part of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. Growing up in a lovely village on the mountains, my subconscious mind is filled with sweet memories of my childhood days. One of the memories I still vividly remember is watching the sun set over giant mountains of the eastern Himalayas.  I used to thoroughly enjoy the beauty of the dusk when the magnificent sun would sink behind the tall mountains. The sky would appear to me like a piece of painting: the thin whiff of clouds above the mountains would be colored in different shades due to scattering of sun light, a flock of sparrows would fly by above my head. On the mountain above, the monks at the monastery would blow conch shell while they burnt incense sticks to please the gods.  The sweet aroma of the incense sticks would gradually fill the whole valley downhill. I grew up believing that nature is the greatest artist.  Everythin...

a glimpse of Chaling After approximately two hours drive from North-East of Trashigang, you will arrive at a beautiful village called Chaling. It is the very village which was once famously known as Yue Pemachen. Chaling is located on a gentle slope at an altitude of about 2000 meters. The climate is moderately cool in summer and cold in winter with light  snowfall. The village has a primary school, a basic health unit and a natural resource extension office. It has two temples, one in the village and another above the village. The best time to visit is from October to March. During this period, one can witness extremely beautiful natural scenarios. Snow capped Chorphu Mountain, colorful rhododendron pastures,clear blue sky,blossoming peach tress,exotic willow plants and so on. The majority of the people are farmers practicing age old subsistence agriculture. Farmers grow maize,millet, wheat,buck wheat, soya beans, potatoes and many other vegetables. Many families own herds ...