Bhutanese Fans mourns the death of K-Pop Singer

K-Pop and Korean lifestyles, who don't know in Bhutan. Korean lifestyle has a huge influence in our Bhutanese people, especially the youth. Music, dress, food, hairstyle, almost every bit of the youths' life in Bhutan has so much similarity. Which even gives the sense of Koreans' vibrant presence among us. 

If anybody takes a casual walk around Thimphu city, it's very obvious that Koreans alike Bhutanese youth are everywhere. 

Talking of which the recent tragic death of K-Pop singer Jonghyun of Shinee at 27 brought so much sorrow and pains in the hearts of Bhutanese youth. 

They even took it to the street, an open space to mourn the death of an accomplished singer, songwriter, and dancer, Jonghyun. 

In June this year, the first-ever KPop concert at the Changlingmethang National Stadium also gathered a large crowd, the highest gathering so far for a concert in Bhutan. In a concert, where the highlights were performance by world-renowned artist Park Jae-Sang, popularly known as PSY, and other K-Pop artists, Badkiz, Boys Republic, Girlfriend, Hwang Chi-Yuel; and Lovelyz, youth and old, child and mothers had a feast for their eyes. 

Rumour also had it that a few girls even fainted at the sight of their favorite K-Pop stars on stage in person. 

While Bhutanese youth have so much madness and likeness for K-Pop and their lifestyles and have influenced our youth at such a level, a question always arises, "How many more years before Bhutan becomes the next Korea? When they have taken to the open space to mourn the death of a K-Pop star, do we have to understand something from this?"

But I am sure, as Bhutanese first, one will also be greatly influenced by our bloodline, instincts, and consciousness, to be a citizen of Bhutan at the end of the day. 

Bhutan has more jobs than job seekers?

"Bhutan has more job vacancies than the job seekers registered with the Labour Ministry."

-Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay

Now this is something to think and talk about. The very first thing that comes into our mind is 'job.' What kind of thing or work is called 'job?' And the next instant people think like 'are the youths laying back, not registering with MoLHR? 

But an unemployed youth will always take a bigger consideration for the job, whether registered or not, because in one or the other the small population of our country is all connected  and all come to know about the jobs available in the market. Because it isn't really necessary if one is registered with the MoLHR or not. Or is anybody trying to defend the position here? 

Considering the ratio of the jobs available and the job seekers do we really have more jobs? Are we considering the kind of jobs available and the qualification of the job seekers. 

While it's true that Bhutan has jobs available but not many for the qualified people; especially the university graduates. It's through the experiences, through people whom I know and have good relations with that university graduates don't get jobs for their qualification. Seriously we can't expect a university graduate to work on the road as laborers, neither in the constructions sectors because these are skilled jobs. On contrary, if the skilled graduates from TTI (technical training institutes) talk about not having jobs, then it's something to talk about because Bhutan is undergoing vigorous development phase and jobs in these sectors are plenty i guess. But expecting a graduate to earn just three meals a day is not done and we just can't go on bragging we have enough jobs.

 Because the jobs we do compromise other necessary things, it is for this reason that youths always opt for high end jobs and remain jobless. Taking a consideration of the high inflation in the market, difficulty in getting comfortable accommodation, especially in the urban areas and other risk factors, the unemployment figure is always on the rise. Because we have countless youth unemployed, it's still not understood why nobody is doing anything on the most crucial thing; accommodation and the house rent in the urban areas. house owners keeps increasing the house rent every two years; that's what the law says while the salary and the remunerations remains stagnant. Youth don't want to do small jobs because they can't afford to live in such places where house rent and inflation is sky rocketing. 

And therefore we can't just simply study the figure and brag we have more jobs than the jobs seekers. 

If I have diverged from what i intended to write it's because lots of others things that matters are left unnoticed while we keep on defending our own right. 

SO WE ASK AGAIN, 'DO WE HAVE ENOUGH JOBS?'

O, Life

Thoughts never cease to flow
Of how beautiful you are.
Dear Life, with you, everything is heaven,
And every moment is a blessing, a joy.
How blessed I am that you are every breath I take.

You have me, and for that I am grateful.
I possess something beyond all worldly riches,
Something almost divine in its preciousness.
Perhaps I am one of the fortunate few,
For nothing is as beautiful as you, O Life.

Yet how strange that you chose someone like me,
One who could never have afforded your gift.
But you never chose between the rich and the poor;
You simply came, and for that I count myself blessed,
Though I may be small in this vast world.

You were harsh when I was still tender.
I grew like a wild cub, with little to wear,
And often I hated you for what you gave me.
Yet even then, beneath the hardship,
You remained that same beautiful Life.

You tested me in countless ways,
And I failed more times than I can remember.
Yet through every failure,
You taught me who I could become.
For nothing truly beautiful is born
Without first enduring a fall.

Do you still remember those nights
Of shivering cold and gnawing hunger?
When even a loaf of bread
Was a luxury beyond my reach,
And I was too poor to dream of such abundance.
Even then, you whispered your lessons
Through every empty stomach and sleepless night.

You watched me grow,
To wander, to dare, and to become wiser.
Whenever I broke apart,
You quietly showed me another path.
Each dawn carried the promise of better days,
And for a while, my heart knew only smiles.

But now your tests seem endless,
As though there is still something within me
You are determined to draw out.
I am weary of carrying these sorrows.
Why won't you show me the path
You once revealed so clearly?

Can you still see me now?
My cries grow fainter with each passing day,
And these sharp pangs of pain
Tear at the heart within my chest.
Why do I see only sorrow,
With hardly a moment of peace?

Or is this all my own doing?
Am I the architect of my suffering?
Still, I hold to one belief—
That your existence itself is a blessing.
If you have chosen to keep me,
Surely you have not forgotten me.
Surely there is still a better plan.

Why can I not bring contentment
To those who walk beside me?
Why does everything I touch
Seem destined to fade into disappointment?
Each day I grow weaker,
And I wonder how much more I can bear.
You are the Maker of this journey—
Will you not show me the way again?

Or perhaps, whisper to those who despise me
That life was never meant
For hatred, jealousy, or pride.
Teach them that we are all travellers,
Walking the same uncertain road,
And that the greatest farewell
Is one without regret.

No, I will not bring an end to you,
As some have done in despair.
For despite everything,
I still know how beautiful you are.

So I shall gather what little patience remains,
Stand quietly in the silence,
And wait for the day
When you once again reveal your light.

GIRL ON FIRE

WHY? 
Why on the earth she had to be set on fire? What kind of crime and sin deserves such a treatment? What could have provoked the man, the Ex, to set her on fire? 

These are some of the questions that trigger in people's mind when they heard the sad news of the 'Woman who was set on fire' by his ex-husband. The bitter pain is in imagining the excruciating pain from the burn. It's heart-wrecking. Whoever has been on the scene must have felt the cold stab in their heart to see a woman running in flames. T

he most horrible of the scenes mankind would ever watch! 

What kind of monster is he? The man who was nobody for her, for it was already a month since they separated had to be his Death. The strength of the issue might have been so serious that it triggered the man to burn his ex alive. Or was it not the issue and his uncontrolled mind that went haywire? Or did he intend to by any means burn her alive because the coronation park doesn't have kerosene outlet and the man had it already with him. 

The question here is why it happened and how it happened, but its about the incident that happened. It was such a disturbing incident. It could stay in the minds of people for days, weeks or even for years.   

And for the child, it might be what the fate has for her that she had to witness the most tragic incident in such a tender age. Without any crime, without any wrongdoings, she has to bear the pain and loss for the rest of her life. We could only pray that things go well for her. 

The incident would have shocked the world that things like this has become so rampant in a country where PEACE & HAPPINESS are the way of life. It also happened that a tourist was also on the scene and posted on social media about the incident. 

It was such a tragic incident that people of Bhutan get exposed to, and more intriguingly the child of the deceased. The only thing we could do for now is that such incidents never happen in Bhutan in future and that we be careful with people around, because anywhere, anything can possibly happen.

MAY YOUR SOUL RESTS IN PEACE!

Pay Revision - a nightmare call for the rest

Since the institution of Democracy in 2008 in Bhutan, we have had many chances to witness lots of interesting changes. While some were for the good and betterment of our country and countrymen, some were, as we can't expect everything to be so perfect, pretty unsatisfactory. 

Things come and pass, but some seem to have unending ripples in people's lives. And the daily basic happenings are the foremost thing that people consider, like inflation, salary, and generally the common and most important things that affect us. Salary, as bluntly as I can say, is the first thing for most of us and is an undeniable fact. 

The recent pay hike of 40% for all the local government leaders, except Thrompons proposed by the government is something to think about. Now another blunt statement from a commoner like me is, that this is a 'HUGE'  proportion. It's almost half of their monthly share. 

Because I say this on many grounds. I ain't an economist or budget professional, but whatever I write here is a very basic concern that can arise from this. A lot of public outcries have already been flooded on social media about it. People are crying foul over it and a large proportion of people are being disturbed. Many prefer to stay quiet, as our larger society is because they think that it isn't going to be any good. And here I gather my courage to say it all. 

And I am very sure that having said about the public outcry, I am not alone with this opinion. 

During the time of the pay revision for civil servants and corporate employees, thorough discussions were done in the parliament. It dragged through quite some time, not being able to come to a common consensus regarding the precise percentage the pay should be revised. And somehow, when it came through, many cried foul about it. Not all were satisfied with it though it had some additional value. And I guess it is because the pay revision was kept very minimal. 

People respected that many ground realities had to be considered - the debt, borrowings, budget outlay, and much more. 

But don't we see the same ground realities that should be considered here as well? 

The National Budget Report 2017 - 2018 which was released on Monday stated that Bhutan's public debt had hit 160.5 billion Ngultrum by June 30 last year, which is an increase of 39 billion Ngultrum from the 2015 figure. How did we forget this, when so much consideration in the pay revision, as high as 40% was done? 

Besides, this is going to affect the mentality of civil servants and corporate employees. And not beating around the bush, this is going to hurt them to a new high level. I am sure that the same is being thought by all. 

I am also sure that everyone understands how important LG leaders and their responsibilities are. This is very well taken care of, but this should not demean the job responsibilities of other employees in the civil service and other sectors with such a differentiating difference when it comes to salary revision. Expenses in the urban areas are skyrocketing - house owners keep increasing the rents yearly and nothing is being done, vegetables are being sold at the prices wished by the vendors and very little is being taken care of, transportation is becoming more expensive, but incentives have the pace that of a tortoise. 

After all, it's quite the contradiction that our system delivers. 

The Last Snow Fall

The last snow fall, I don’t remember when it was

Might be around last December, when we rejoiced

I see rain and cold still lingers, but no snow fall

The ground is wet, yet it’s just the hard rock and soil

The last snow fall, I don’t remember when it was

For now, the season has come and the sky still clear

I look up every moment, there isn’t sign of one

Peeping out of the window every morning is a disgrace

The last snow fall, I don’t remember when it was

Buds from the trees are sprouting, and seeds germinating

Chirps of the birds have reigned the sky, and the crickets too

But even a crystal of snow didn’t touch my feet

If not today, frail drops shall shower on me tomorrow

And I shall find the joy I lost for a moment time

But how in this warming soil will it see a landing place

No, I am living in the phantom of dreams

If not tomorrow, whence will I get the snowfall?

The thing so dear to me and one I dreamt so long

I long to muddle with the soft end of your touch

And shall my cheeks be painted red in white

And my boots still enclosed inside my wardrobe

The fluffy coat no longer serves any purpose now

Putting on my cozy hat, I stand by the window pane

Thinking you might come with full of surprises.

Beacon of Tomorrow

 .... to our Prince on His 1st Birth Anniversary....

As though the sun has risen from afar

My home glitters with the rays of hope

Our wings, rested on the colorful joy

The beacon of legend has risen over horizon

Such greatness of the Name, has been long called

The ripples still afloat the hearts of all

Whilst the joy peek through the trunk of ecstasy

I, a humble servant, greets Thee with all the love

May I call Thee, the promise of tomorrow?

The hope, we cling close to our tender hearts

Such a name, even the Thames can’t afford to make

Let me sail, and rejoice through the vales of joy

Oh! The great one, who hath for us all come

Thou greet us with smile, such of a priceless

It gives us pleasant ride, through the meadows of love

I garland Thee with all the love and prayers

I see now, the vales have turned themselves up to Thee

And so the Rivers, the brooks, and the streams

Hum the name of a Legend, who has adorned my home

The Nile, as holy as it is, has taken thy name in its song

 

Dear Lord, the one of unfathomable touch of greatness

Thy Midas touch shall be proved the holiest of elixir

Time shall stand still, to watch Thee perform miracles

Your one touch shall have the golden goose born

Thou art one, who shall defy the law of fall

All I see is the carpet of bliss and joy

That shall meadow the land of peace

I submit to thy feet, Oh, the great one!

Fearless, as thou stand, it shield us from terror

Thy great mastery promises victory over any evils

The power in thy possession shall triumphant us all

The dynasty shall ride further, high with pride

The flag of the dragon, as it flutters in the wind

It sings the song of tranquil, passes me a great comfort

The roar of the dragon, to the far and wide heard

I held my head high, salute to the jewel of this land

  

Thy reign will be a home for countless hearts

Thou shall lead us through the path of greatness

Thy deed shall sanctify us though boundless times

Bless me more, for I can serve my duties better

My heart melts to behold Thee rise higher each day

Oh Lord! I must make pledges with delight

Come what may, but I, an honest servant to thy land

Vow to serve Thee, lead me to the perfection

 ....May you LIVE LONG my Prince....