国際友情キャンプin 木沢

国際友情キャンプin 木沢
　　　　　徳島大学工学部博士課程
　　　　　　　Tshering Cigay Dorji ツェリンスィーゲドルジ、ブータン人
(翻訳: 渡　　　忍）

　待ちに待った九月五日が来ました。その日は、晴天で蝉が早朝よりミーン、ミーンと鳴いていました。インドからのサンモイさん家族を車に乗せてTIAに着くと、ほとんどの参加者が集合していました。
　中国、インド、米国、ケニヤ、オーストラリア、モンゴル、ブータン人を含めた４８人は予定通り、９時にマイクロバス等で出発し、神山経由で、緑の森の曲がりくねった山道を器用な運転捌きで進んで行きました。この時、母国ブータンの山を思い出しました。
　正午ごろキャンプ場、木沢の「FAGUSファガスの森、山城」に到着しました。ブナの森に囲まれた、前に広いキャンプ場のある木造の一軒家で、食堂、台所、宿泊室があり、到着したときには、テンプラ、ご飯、味噌汁などの日本食が用意されていました。
　少し休憩して、私たちは８班に分かれ、徳島森林管理局の方々のご指導のもと野鳥の巣箱作りをし、森の中に入り小鳥が巣を作れるように木の幹に巣箱を設置しました。
　涼しい山風が吹く夕方が近づくにつれ、バーベキュウの準備に取りかかり,赤く燃える炭火の上で肉がジュウジュウ、ビールが豊富に注がれ、ソフト・ドゥリンクもいろいろと、肉も次から次ぎへと充分に、おもしろ、おかしいジョークが飛び交い、アルコールが控え目な人の口をも開け、こうして、新しい友情が生まれ、また、古くからの友情が強固となっていった。
Ｐ２　１こんなに楽しい、幸せな時に付け加えて、天から更なるギフトを戴いたようでした。夜が深まり山城の野鳥たちは巣に帰りはじめ、遙かなる山陰から満月が顔を出し始め、輝く夜空に、山々のシルエット、樹木のシルエット画像、やさしい月の穏やかな息をのむような光景は、「人間よ、穏やかであれ、気楽にいけよ。」と、天が我々に声をかけているようでした。
２－２　夜が更けるにつれ、カラオケ機はますます、本当にその役をはたし始めて、次ぎから次へと歌を楽しませた。スタートを切ったのは、中国人の近代的な、静かな歌の流れ、。それに次いでメロディアスな歌へと堰を切ったように歌ったのは森野実行委員長と中国同済（トンジー）大学の張娟ジャン・ジュエンさんでした。
２－３　強力なデュエトの歌声が、皆を歌いたくてむずむずするような気にさせ、モンゴルのベイヤル？さんを振るい立たせ、マイクが彼の手に移り、哀愁を帯びた音色で、同情的なモンゴル・メロディを大声でぶっ飛ばし、木沢のとても静寂な森にこだました。彼の歌は孤独な羊飼いの歌声が果てしない草原をこだましているかのようにも感じられた。
２－４　次にインドからのサンモイ？氏が立ち、インドのノベル賞受賞者ラビンドラナト・タゴレ？作曲の歌をうたい始めると、奥さんも引き連れられてステージに立ち、その二重唱は皆の耳にしみ、とても美しかった。
２－５　英語の歌、なつメロ、エルビス、ビートゥルズ、演歌、中国・日本のポップス、等など次から次へと謳い、うたう者あり、躍る者あり、メリーな雰囲気が長々と続き、ビール杯を重ね合い、キャンパーたちは、空には優しい月の長夜を満喫していた。
２－６　夜中に床についた者あり、まだまだファイヤーを囲みおしゃべりを楽しみ、ヤット４時に寝た者あり、ごろ寝だが、ぐっすり寝れ快眠だった。
２－７　翌朝は快晴の日曜日、私は早朝に数人と山道を少し登り山の朝を満喫した。
２－８　ファガスの森にお別れし、帰路に那賀町の大釜の滝、大轟の滝の自然美に心を奪われた。サプライズがあり、米国のマークは冷たい流れに飛び込み、滝水に打たれ、自然のシャワーを楽しんでいた。
２－１０　徳島市への帰りバスにはおにぎりがあり、参加者全員自然に親しみ、また、友情いっぱいの満足顔でＴＩＡに１時帰着しました。ありがとうＴＩＡ！

On the journey of our life

Having born in this world, we are all on our individual journey called life. Our journey has begun. We are all traveling this great journey now. And until this great journey ends, we study, we play, we lie, and we work and make love. Sometimes we also meet new people who sometimes leave big impressions on our mind.

On my way back to Japan last October, I had a transit in Dhaka. After bearing all the hassles of transiting, I at last boarded my Thai Airways flight to Bangkok. I was adjusting myself in my seat when a neatly dressed Bengali guy ushered in a poorly dressed nervous looking guy to the seat next to mine.

Wearing a faded T-Shirt and blue cotton pants, he might have been my age. But he looked older. His cracked hands told the story of a tough struggle. He carried no hand luggage, except for a yellow file. The well-dressed Bengali guy said something to him in a commanding tone which probably meant “This is where you remain seated until we get to the destination.”

He looked at me nervously. I smiled. An understanding smile, not a condescending one. Such empathy is natural for me. Probably I owe it to my own humble upbringing and growing up in a Buddhist environment. He adjusted his seat belts clumsily. Maybe it was his first flight.

After sometime, the neatly dressed guy was again passing through the aisle. My seat mate raised his hand and called to him. He had wanted to ask him something. But the neat man simply pretended not to hear.

The plane began to taxi for take-off. My new friend seemed more comfortable now. We somehow found ourselves trying to strike up a conversation.

In Hindi, it was. My Hindi is very very poor, and his was poorer. Limited to few words, we somehow began.

Me: “Name?”

He: “Mohammad”.

Me: “Me”, pointing to myself, I said, “Cigay.”

He: “Going where?”

Me: “Japan.”

He: “Why?”

Me: “Study”.
Me: “You, going where?”

He: “Malaysia. To work in the construction and factory there.”

Me: “You from Dhaka?”

He: “No. My home, one day by bus from Dhaka.”

Me: “You wife and kids?”

He: “Yes. Wife and one kid at home.”

Me: “I also, wife and kid at home. Same Same!”

Me: “When? Come back Bangladesh?”

He: “One year, two years. Don’t know. Need money.”

And as we conversed with our limited common vocabulary and sign language, we both felt a strange sense of camaraderie. We were both going away to foreign lands, leaving behind our families, in order to pursue our dreams.

As I laid back to take a nap, my friend was looking out of the window, on the white clouds below, that rose like mountains of white cotton. Probably, inside those endlessly rolling billows, he was seeing his wife and kid smiling and waiting for him in front of their thatched hut, some where by the bamboo groves by the side of a rural river.

And as I rolled back against my inclining seat, I also plunged myself into a reverie of my family back home. When I awoke, it was time to land at Bangkok.

Before we disembarked, we shook hands. I wished him safe journey on his connecting flight to Malaysia, and good luck and success in his new job in a new land. He seemed very pleased and happy. He made a gesture of thanking his God. And he wished me the same.

I was waiting for my next flight to Osaka inside the Airport, when I saw him again. This time, he was in long queue of Bengali men – all like him holding a yellow file each, led by the neatly dressed guy. He saw me too. He waved at me smiling. I smiled and waved at him.

Then my eyes slowly drifted from the long line of Bengali men holding yellow files to the myriad of other travelers – white, black, brown, yellow, fat, slim, ugly, beautiful, all in hurry - all wanting to be happy and avoid suffering. Then my mind finally rested on myself. And I thought, “We all. Same, Same!”

ブータン：雷龍の国

日本人が日本国のことを「ジャパン」ではなく「にほん」と呼ぶのと同じように、私たちブータン人はブータンのことを「ブータン」ではなく「雷龍の国」を意味する「ドルック・ユル」と呼んでいます。この呼び名は、ブータンに伝来し繁栄した仏教の一派である「ドルックパ」に由来しています。ブータンは、独自の「国民総幸福量」という開発哲学を国の最終目標とし、物質的豊かさだけではなく心の豊かさに重点を置き、豊かな文化と自然を多く持つ、幸福で平和な仏教王国としてその魅力がここ最近世界に知られてきています。

ヒマラヤの東の麓に位置するブータンは、北にチベット自治区を含む広大な中国と南にインドを国境とし、面積が九州ほどの大きさでありながら、標高は200メートルから7000メートルにおよび、人口は約60万人です。

歴史上、一度も植民地化されたことがないという事実は、ブータン人にとっての誇りであります。1974年に最初の観光客が入国するまで、鎖国政策の中で海外との接触を避け、独自の伝統と文化を維持・発展させてきました。これは、丁度日本が長い鎖国政策の下、世界から孤立し、日本独自の伝統・文化の内省にみちびかれたのと同じことです。

日本のように、親や年上の方、先生を敬うことはブータンの社会でもとても重要視されています。ブータンの国語であるゾンカ語にも尊敬語があります。また、人から贈り物を受け取る時に内心は嬉しくても、習慣的に受け取ることを躊躇するという習慣が日本にあるということも、日本で生活していて気がつきました。他にも多くの共通点があります。そのため、日本人の行動・振る舞いを理解するのに、全く異なる文化を持つ他の外国人が苦労することがあるのに対して、私にとっては、そう難しくはありません。
おそらく、ブータンと日本の文化的共通点は、仏教的価値観に由来するのだろうと思います。けれども、日本という国はその長い歴史の中で文化的・社会的に仏教国の一つではありますが、現代日本のほとんどの若者は、進んで仏教やその他の宗教に対しての信仰心を持つことに興味を抱いていないように思われます。一方、ブータンでは、仏教信仰は人々の生活の中に今も鮮やかに生きています。
ほとんどのブータン人の家庭には仏間があり、毎日、三宝（仏・法・僧）に帰依するための祭壇があります。お供え物としては、水・花・果物・私たちが食する食べ物を捧げます。たいてい、朝と夜就寝前にお祈りをしますが、これといって厳しい決まりはありません。一年に少なくとも数回は、家に僧侶を招き、生きとし生けるものすべてのための幸福と健康を願って儀式や祈祷をしてもらいます。このような儀式はとても厳粛であり、かつ心温まる大切な行事です。
ブータンには、数多くのお寺があります。なかには、８世紀からのものもあります。日本にも多くの寺がありますが、日常的に寺を参拝する日本人は少ないと思います。ブータンには、ゾンと呼ばれる石と木で創られたお城のような建物と寺が、観光向けのアトラクションとしてではなく、神聖な記念碑として実在します。仏陀が最初に説教を説いた特別な日のようなおめでたい吉日には、人々は寺に集まりお供えをし、法要をします。
ブータンで、お年を召した老人は、家族の支えによって生活し、経を唱えたり、仏舎利等の周りを歩き周ったり、療養所で隠遁したりして、その時間を過ごします。彼らはこのように精神的追及を実践することによって、残りの人生の新たな意義と喜びを見つけます。これといって何もすることがなくても、彼らの表情は喜びと充足感に満たされています。
私たちも、たくさんおのお祭りをします。新年や季節の祭りの他に家でもお祝い事をします。特に、ゾンで催されるツェチュと呼ばれる祭りが有名です。各町や村に独自のツェチュ祭があります。その際に、一番上等の民族衣装を着て祭りに参加し、ツェチュ一番の見ものでる仮面舞踊を観に出かけます。仮面舞踊はエンターテイメントの要素よりも、有徳な生死観を表わす特別な宗教的意味が込められています。
徳島での阿波踊りを観た時に、ツェチュ祭のことを思い出しました。４，５歳の子供から、８５歳の方まで踊りに参加し、とても見応えがありました。踊りのリズム、若い女性の優雅さや、男性の機敏さは目を見張るものがありました。
ブータンの主食は米です。ご飯と一緒に、野菜や魚、牛・豚・鳥などの肉を食べます。しかし、日本食と違って、唐辛子を大量に料理に使います。
日本と違って、私たちは、小学校から国語であるゾンカと同様に英語を勉強します。というのも、ゾンカで書かれた現代科学や技術に関する教科書がないからです。日本語では、ありとあらゆる本があるので、とてもいいと思います。
日本の天皇のように、ブータンには国王がいます。最近、ジグミ・センゲ・ワンチュック第４代国王が国の政治システムを民主化することに着手し始めました。２００６年１２月、彼は自ら王位から退き、２６歳の若き皇太子を第５代国王として任じました。これは、２００８年より、立憲君主制に国が移行し、初めて実施される国民選挙に向けての準備であります。 数十年もの間、ブータンの寛大な父として国をリードし、私たちを民主化へと導いた思いやりのある前国王を懐かしむ想いと、感謝の気持ちでいっぱいです。
しかしこのことは、何も留まるものはなく、一切は移り変わるとういことを私たちに思い出させてくれただけのことです。時の変化とともに、私たちも変化し進歩しなくてはなりません。ブータンには、達成すべき目標が多くあります。その一つは、経済的自立です。
経済的に、日本とブータンは正反対です。ブータンは経済的に豊かではありませんが、貧困はみられず、幸せに暮らしています。医療と教育は無料です。ブータンの歳入は、水力発電による電力を隣国に売ることや、日本のような国から援助を受けて成り立っています。
私たちは、必然的に伝統的社会から近代社会へ変化しつつある情勢の中で、伝統的価値観を見失わないように注意しながら、日本のような経済大国から経済的目標を達成するために日々邁進しています。ブータンは日本からたくさんのことを学んでいます。しかし、時々日本は経済的豊かさを追求するあまり、何か大切なものを見失っているのではないかと疑問に思うこともあります。その場合、物質的豊かさと精神的豊かさのバランスを保とうとするブータンの姿勢からも、日本が学ぶことがないでしょうか。

チェリン・スィーゲイ・ドルジ
（Tshering Cigay Dorji）
　M2, 青江研究室、工学部 (2007)。
This article was written for Tokushima University’s magazine ‘Tokutalk’ in 2007. The link to the online version of the article published in the magazine can be found here:
http://www.tokushima-u.ac.jp/pdf/kaigai127.pdf

GNH: Bhutan's Unique Development Philosophy

GNH: Bhutan's Unique Development Philosophy

Here is an English version of the talk on Gross National Happiness (GNH) I gave in Japanese on 17th Feb. 2007 in Tokushima, Japan. Today, GNH has become so overused and misused that some people are fed up of it. Yet, there are some curious to know more about GNH, but are daunted by the countless professional papers on GNH you find on the CBS website. So for the sake of all such people, I am putting here my talk on GNH which highlights its background, basic principles and what it promises to do for Bhutan and the world in a simple and straight-forward way.

Presented By: Cigay on 17 Feb. 2007
Organized By: Tokushima Prefecture International Association (TOPIA), Japan.

1. Greeting

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for coming despite your busy schedules. I am also grateful to TOPIA (Tokushima prefecture International Association) for organizing this talk. I am very happy to spend this afternoon with you and talk about Bhutan and Gross National Happiness (GNH).

2. What is GNH?

Many of you must be wondering what GNH is. GNH is Bhutan's unique development philosophy that seeks to take into account the non-material aspects of development and find a balance between material prosperity and spiritual wellbeing. GNH is deeply rooted in Bhutan's traditional socio-economic thought, though it gained prominence after our fourth King propounded "Gross national Happiness is more important than the Gross National product".

Conventional development philosophy places too much emphasis on economic development. In the process, some more important aspects of our life are left out. GNH does not reject economic development as being unimportant. However, in a GNH economy, economic development is seen only as a means to achieve higher ends, and not as an end in itself.

GNH is not a new concept for Bhutan. It lies deeply rooted in our culture. However, the world has only recently started paying attention to GNH. Obviously, some people are beginning to ask questions about where the present madness about increasing production and consumption and environmental degradation is finally going to finally lead us all to.

3. What is happiness?

GNH seeks to maximize happiness of the people. But what is happiness? According to Richard Layard, Director and founder of Center for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, happiness is feeling good -enjoying life and feeling it is wonderful. And unhappiness is feeling bad and wishing things were different. Further I would like to add that happiness is not the satisfaction of whatever irrational wishes you might blindly attempt to enjoy. Happiness is a state of non-contradictory joy - a joy without penalty or guilt.

Recent researchers like Richard Layard suggest that happiness can be measured and compared across people, and that public policy should be centered on increasing the happiness of people.

4. Why does happiness matter?

Why does happiness matter? It matters because it is something that every one of us wants to have. It is in our inborn nature to want to be happy. Early researchers like Bentham argued that all actions in the end are driven by our desire to feel good.

A development policy centered on happiness rather than the one on economic returns may seem out of place, even as a discussion topic for some people. But that is exactly what Bhutan has been following as a development philosophy until now and it is determined to continue to do so. Let me show you a video clip of our present Home Minister, Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley talking about GNH at the International Conference on GNH, held in Bhutan in 2003.

5. Why was Bhutan in a position to adopt GNH as a policy?

GNH is quite different from the conventional development approach followed by other countries. How did Bhutan come to adopt it?

While Bhutan's isolation and independence provided the environment to enable the development of a distinct concept, the substance was determined by the traditional culture and socio-economic system which are deeply embedded in Buddhist philosophy. In the Buddhist belief, the goal of every aspect of life is not seen in the multiplication of material wants, but in non-attachment, contentment and purification of the mind.

6. Brief historical background of Bhutan.

Now, I would like to give you a brief historical background of Bhutan so that you can understand what I am talking about more clearly.

First of all, let me show you where Bhutan is located on the globe. It is a small country, about the size of Kyushu, located between China and India.

Hidden in the folds of the Himalayas, Bhutan did not have much to do with the rest of the world until very recently. Neither the First World War, nor the Second World War had any direct impact on Bhutan.

It is of enormous pride to all Bhutanese that their country was never colonized. It was this relative isolation that helped Bhutan develop its own unique culture and political institutions, which we are today able adapt it and carry it into the present generation on our own terms.

Bhutan was a loose conglomeration of many semi-independent valleys ruled by different local lords. Local culture and traditions evolved around the principles of Buddhism which arrived in the 8th century. There are still temples dating back to that time.

Bhutan was united for the first time under a central authority by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the beginning of 17th Century. From then on, Bhutan came to be known as 'Drukyul' meaning 'the land of the thunder dragon'. Even today, we call our country 'Druk' or 'Drukyul' in Bhutanese instead of 'Bhutan' just as Japanese call their country 'Nihon' instead of 'Japan'. The dragon, whose color is white, holding jewels in its claws, forms the principal symbol on our national flag and it signifies strength, purity and prosperity.

After Zhabdrung's demise around mid 17th century, Bhutan went through an era marked by civil strife until the end of 19th century. By then, one of the regional lords from central Bhutan, Ugyen Wangchuck, had emerged as the most powerful man in whole of Bhutan, having defeated all his enemies. As the people were too tired of the civil wars, they pledged their loyalty to him and made him the first hereditary king of Bhutan in 1907. That is how monarchy started in Bhutan. Since then, Bhutan has been blessed with an unprecedented era of peace, happiness and development. The present King is the fifth in line of the Wangchuck dynasty.

In Bhutan, we respect and love our King very much. In turn, we have been very lucky to have had very good and caring kings who always put the welfare of the people and the security of the country first. Under the guidance of such kings, we have been lucky to have had a fairly good system of governance.

Until 1959, Bhutan was almost totally isolated from the rest of the world. With the changing geopolitical scenario in the north, Bhutan began to develop its relations with India from 1959, and then began the modern development process of building a network of roads and modern schools in the country.

Yet Bhutan did not totally shed off its isolation, and it continued in some form until 1974 when the first tourists arrived in the country following the coronation of the fourth King of Bhutan.

This historical background clearly highlights why Bhutan was able to develop and nurture its own traditional development approach centering on the happiness of the people. Today, in terms of economic development, Bhutan is completely different country from what it was just 30 years ago. Roads, electricity, schools, television, Internet and even cellular phones have reached the most remote parts of the country. Yet, we have not lost our traditional culture and values which guide us and give us our identity.

7. Four policy areas of GNH in Bhutan

Bhutan has identified four broad policy areas for the enhancement of GNH. They are as follows:

a. Sustaiable and equitable socio economic development

As I pointed out earlier, GNH does not consider economic development as unimportant. In fact, it is very important for people who live in poverty. Researchers have observed that at the subsistence level, increase in income has a direct relation with the increase in happiness. But the same is not true after crossing a certain level of income as the following graph of income and happiness in the US will show.


Source: Richard Layard, Lionel Robbins Memorial Lectures 2003,
http://cep.lse.ac.uk/events/lectures/layard/RL030303.pdf

While GNH considers economic development as important to end material poverty, the economic development activities to be chosen will not be evaluated based on the economic returns alone. The nature of economic activities chosen is as important as their results. Hence, an economic activity will not be undertaken even if there is a promise of huge financial gain, if it is going to cause damage to health, environment and culture of the people.

b. Conservation of environment

A healthy natural environment is very important for our health and happiness. In Bhutan, we are a mountainous country with 72% of our land area under forest cover. And 26% of it is turned into protected areas or wildlife sanctuaries. Our people have always lived close to nature in close harmony. In Buddhism, we have a strong belief in interdependence. We humans are not a superior creature, but only a link in the whole chain of living beings who depend on one other. As such, we have always had an inherent respect for nature. Thus, it is seen that Bhutan had a traditional conservation ethic dating decades before the global furor on environmental movements started.

c. Preservation and promotion of culture

From our culture, we derive our identity and values. If we do not preserve and promote our culture, it will be swept away by other cultures very easily as we are a small nation with a very small population. If that happens, our people will have no access to their own culture. As a result, they would not have their identity, and as an individual, they would not be as happy as they could be.

Today, we are proud to show our cultures to the world. Bhutan's unique architecture and 13 traditional crafts are well-preserved and practiced to this day.

d. Promotion of good governance

To be happy, our people need a guarantee of fairness and equality. Under the wise guidance of our dynamic Kings, Bhutan has focused on putting people at the centre-stage of decision making and improving transparency and accountability in the government institutions.

Our King has guided our government to be attentive to the needs of the people even when the people seem quite satisfied with their lives. For instance, to ensure a secure future for Bhutan, His Majesty the previous King has initiated changes to usher in democracy in 2008 even though people did not demand it.

8. Bhutan and GNH

Although Bhutan is one of the least developed countries, there is no extreme poverty in Bhutan. Bhutan has been ranked the 8th happiest nation in the world and the happiest in Asia in 2006 by Analytic Social Psychologist Adrian White, University of Leicester, UK, in his map of World Happiness.


Source: BBC News,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/28_07_06_happiness_map.pdf

Bhutan is the last surviving Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom. Buddhism forms part of the daily life of the people. Old people are respected and looked after by their children. Bhutan also boasts a rich and vibrant living culture. In order to give you a good idea of life in Bhutan, I would like to now show you a short video of a festival and a folk dance of Bhutan.

Bhutan has high potential for tourism industry. However, it is very cautious about the adverse effects of tourism on environment and culture, seen in other developing countries. Therefore, Bhutan promotes high value, low impact tourism. It charges all tourists a fixed daily rate of around 200 US dollars which includes meals, accommodation and guided tours.

Bhutan's concept of GNH has been strongly reflected in all its five-year plans for economic development. Since the start of the first five year plan 1961, it has come a long way.

Today, many remote areas of Bhutan are linked by roads. They have their own schools and clinics, piped water supply and in some cases, access to mobile phones, television and the Internet too. Health care is free, and education is free in government schools up to the university level. Bhutan is definitely changing very fast, but we are determined not to forget traditional culture and values at the same time.

9. Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to state that GNH is a balanced and holistic approach to development. I do not know if there is a need to measure GNH, but since the world is obsessed with figures, Bhutan is currently undertaking an exercise to develop a GNH index. As Bhutan has shown, GNH is a practical approach, not a utopian quest. It can find application not only in Bhutan, but also in other countries that are willing to give it a try. GNH may not only make the world a happier place to live in, but also save it from the environmental disaster that the conventional models of economic development are leading us to. GNH may truly serve as the development philosophy of the twenty first century for a secure and peaceful world.

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Posted on kuzuzangpo.com on 17 Feb 2007 by Cigay

Radio and I: A Thank You Note to BBS

One hot sunny autumn day about twenty six years ago, I, then a kid of six or seven years, was helping my parents harvest paddy at a place called Yomdi, located at the confluence of Jekang drang and Gamri chhu in upper Trashigang.

The paddy was golden ripe. Their sweet aroma filled the air. Women joked as they cut the rice stems. Men seemed inexhaustible as each tried to display his prowess in front of the ladies beating the grains out of the straw.

But nothing drew my curiosity as much as the black little box hanging from the crooked pole of our farm-hut. It hummed out song after song of beautiful Bhutanese music. They called it “Redriwa” (Radio).

Ajang Neten, who was a vagabond of sort, and had traveled to all places like ‘Gudama’, ‘Phuntsholing’ and ‘Thingphu’, was the proud owner of the “redriwa”.

Harvest here always was like a celebration and a picnic as this place was located away from the village, by the riverside. A mood of festivity hung above and around us, like the scent from an overly perfumed lady in a packed bus. There was something about the simplicity, the satisfaction and the contentment that the farmers felt at this time.

Better news was in store for me that night. My father had decided to buy the “redriwa” from Ajang Neten. I was so excited that we could listen to the ‘redriwa’ everyday at our home now.

It was not until two or three years later that I went to school for the first time. Coming home for my holidays one day, I was for the first time able to spell out the letters “PHILLIPS” written on the radio. “Phillips sho redriwa nangkai ang dangpa gila dang na” (Phillips is no. 1 among radios)” I had heard adults talk before.

Over the next many years, this radio was the only source of information and entertainment when I was in my village for my holidays, until I left for my studies to Australia in 1996.

When I was lonely, BBS broadcasts gave me company. When I was ignorant, the BBS news and announcements gave me information. When I was down, the songs that BBS played uplifted my spirits. And so I grew up listening to the BBS.

This week, when I found out that BBS had started broadcasting through the Internet, I checked it out immediately. This time, BBS seems to have gone online quite seriously. The quality is good.

Today, as I sit here in my apartment in Japan, and listen to the same music at the beginning of BBS Dzongkha and Sharchop news that I used to listen to as a child eating oranges with my mother by the fireside, and as a boy rounding up the cows with my brothers, and as a young man chopping firewood with my father in that far-flung home village of mine, nostalgia overwhelms me.

BBS, you remind me that you and I have come a long way. Thank you.

Those simple things in life which really matter

Yesterday was Sunday, but the day was far from being sunny. Gushes of wind banging on my window panes now and then cautioned me to stay indoors. But I had to get a haircut. Reluctantly, I ventured out on my bicycle for my favorite saloon.

After a chilling ride in the wind for 30 minutes, I arrived at the place where the saloon used to be housed. But today, a sign in Japanese on the window read: “Tenanto boshu chu” (Looking for tenants). The saloon had closed down. Probably, the business in a small town is not as easy as it seems.

However, the McDonalds next door was doing a brisk business. I went in for my favorite burger and coffee. Munching on my burger and sipping my coffee, I remembered that a friend had told me two years ago that he used to get his hair-cut at a saloon run by a disabled man not so far from there. “I go there, you know, to help the guy,” he had told me. I decided to go there.

Recollecting the faint direction that my friend had described to me about the saloon, I continued pedaling away on my bicycle. A lone fat lady was waiting at a bus stop. Fat people are rare in Japan – most people in this country are slim and fit. They owe it to their food which they proudly claim is the healthiest cuisine in the world.

“Kono atari ni sanpatsuya san ga aru to kikimashita ga, doko ni arun desho ka?” ( I have heard there is a saloon around here. Where could it be?)” I ventured to ask the fat lady.

The lady seemed surprised, and even a bit startled, to be confronted by a foreigner – probably her first time. Although some foreigners take it to be racism or even undue pride of the Japanese, the reluctance of some Japanese to communicate with foreigners is nothing but their uncertainty about how to interact with a foreigner. Being an island country, they had been isolated from the rest of the world for a long time, and even today, there are people who have never talked or interacted with a foreigner here.

After making some awkward gesture, she said that she was sorry that she didn’t know about the location of the saloon.

I continued on my ride. After going about 300 meters, the sign of a saloon greeted me. It looked trendy, but there were no sign of customers. Hesitantly, I opened the door to enter. A pretty lady was talking to a man in suit. The lady looked anything, but disabled.

So I asked (of course in Japanese), “Is there any other saloon around here?”
“There is one about 200 meters from here towards the right.” She replied.
“Oh thank you. I am looking for that saloon.” I said and made my way out.

And there it was. The saloon I was looking for. It was very clean, nice and well equipped as any other saloon in Japan is. Two ladies, a child and a young man sat at the waiting lounge. A man was busy giving haircut to a customer. None of the people in the room looked disabled. So I wondered again if I was at the right place.

To figure out, I wanted to strike up some conversation with those who seemed to be waiting. “Could I get a haircut here?” I asked them. Everybody replied to me only in sign language indicating that I should ask the man who was now busy giving a haircut.

I had expected someone with a broken leg, but I then figured out that the man was actually deaf and could not speak.

When he had finished with his customer, he came to me and tried to communicate with me using sign language. But he found out that I was not good at it. So he brought a white board and wrote something in Japanese which was too difficult for me to read. I showed him my student card and foreigner’s registration card to introduce myself and put him at ease.
“Do you know Japanese?” He wrote on the white board.
“Yes, little bit.” I wrote.
“So you are from Bhutan?” he wrote.
“Yes, I am” I wrote back.
“Why did you come to Japan?” he wrote.
“I came to study at university here.” I wrote
“SUBARASHII” (that is wonderful), he wrote.

He then showed me some pictures of models for me to choose the style. I made my choice. He began his work and gave me a very professional service.

I thanked him for the service and paid him.

While passing me the change, he wrote to me on the white board, “Are you married?”
“Yes. How about you?” I wrote back.
“Yes. I have three kids.” He wrote with a very proud and happy smile lighting up his face.
“SUBARASHII” I wrote back.

On a closer look, the little boy with the beautiful lady at the corner of the waiting lounge looked very much like him. The lady was looking at us and smiling. Probably she was his wife, and the cute little boy his youngest son.

I made my last Japanese style “thank you” bow and made my way towards the door. The little boy was smiling at me and waving me good bye. His father and mother were smiling at each other. They seemed very happy, though the little boy’s father had been robbed of the precious ability to hear and speak.

“The most challenged people are often the people who know how to value those simple, yet the most profound things in life,” I thought riding my old bicycle back to my apartment.

It was not a bad idea to go out on windy Sunday after all.

A Poem in Sharchopkha

ཀ་ཝ་མ་ཅད་ཉེ་ལ།།
ཁ་ཙ་ཨོ་གའེ་ཕ་ལེ།།
ག་དང་དལ་བ་ཐ་ཉེ།།
ང་ལེ་ཁེ་ཝ་རི་ལེ།།
ཅ་ལ་སིང་མ་ངོ་ཉེ།།
ཆ་ལུགས་བེ་དེང་ཅོད་ཉེ།།
ཇ་ཐུར་ཇམ་ཉེ་ཆོ་ཉེ།།
ཉ་གའེ་ཐ་གའེ་གོད་ལ།།
ཏ་ཀ་མང་ཕ་མང་གི།།
ཐ་དང་དམ་ཚིག་ཙུང་ཤོ།།
ད་ཀ་སྒྲིང་སྒྲིང་མ་ཉེ།།
ན་ཐན་རིག་པ་ས་གྲིམ་ཅོ།།
པ་རོ་སྟག་ཚང་གནས་སྐོར།།
ཕ་མ་རིག་ཉེ་དེ་ལེ།།
བ་ཛར་བསྐོར་བེ་དེ་ཉེ།།
མ་རྩ་བརླག་སྟོར་མ་ཕི།།
རྩ་བའི་བླ་མའི་གསུངས་ཁན།།
ཚ་ངེར་བཏོན་ཉེ་ཉན་ཅོ།།
འཛམ་གླིང་ནང་ཀ་མི་ལུས།།
ཝ་དང་སེམས་ཅན་མང་གི།།
ཞ་ཝ་ཞི་ཝ་ད་བུ།།
ཟ་ལེ་ཐུར་ཤ་མང་གི།།
འ་འུར་ཁེ་ཀུ་ཤོ་ཉེ།།
ཡ་རབས་ལའེ་ག་བརྩོན་ཤོ།།
ར་ཐུར་ཨུ་ཐུ་དག་ཉེ།།
ལ་ལུང་གའེ་ཉེ་དེ་ཝ།།
ཤ་ཚ་ཅན་ག་ཕ་མ།།
ས་ལོགས་ཐུར་ག་ལུསུ་པ།།
ཧ་ལམ་ལོ་ན་རྒན་པ།།
ཨ་པ་ཨ་མ་དྲན་ལ།།
ཨུ་ཐུ་མི་ཚེ་ཐུང་བུ།།
དོན་དང་ལྡན་པ་ཅོད་ཅོ།།