I swear the only reason I'm sat in a fast food joint in Chang Lam Square, Thimpu is because Baan Thai which was recommended is shut. So is Khamsa Oriental which I walked a few klicks to and I refuse to pay for an over priced meal at the Taj. In any case everyone says the Taj has horrid food. Its a cold night, it just rained and I'm glad I decided to walk out. Its the first of my two nights in Thimpu and I got to cover a lot of the town on foot. I love being layered well and walking in the cold. Thimpu is a gorgeous city. Developing fast but not bursting at the seams. Quaint but modernizing well. I was catching up with the world on CNN when an advert for Bhutan flashed. Much of what it said about an erstwhile shut but fast opening up country is so true. I'm sure I've barely scratched the surface with my two days in Paro, a three day trek and a day yet in Thimpu but here's what I love. A king who moved with the times and abdicated his thrown to usher in democracy. And its a pretty well planned democracy - there are posters everywhere in Jhongka (the national language) and English encouraging voting and providing info about the elections. The kids in the cities and the villages are well educated. This is across primary and high school. They speak English well, sing in Jhongka and English, dance, connect things and are refreshingly curious. Maybe the last bit is just my outside the class, one-on-one interaction. The women (are gorgeous) and everywhere. They own businesses, run shops, work in the fields, build houses and almost always study up to class 12 and often beyond. They have rights to property by tradition and the divorce rate is high but the women are the ones who make the call to leave their husbands. Remarriage is not uncommon in both cities and villages. And this bit just might be the Indian in me speaking but I think its a very powerful statement if you're a developing nation but socially liberal with a high regard for women's rights. (Homosexuality seems repressed yes). Till now by royal decree they've chosen to preserve their culture smartly. You can build any style of house but doors, windows and roofs should be in Bhutanese tradition. One must wear the national dress when going to the offices or the monastery. And they're a blissfully happy nation. A lot of what I'd say - people talk to you willingly, offer you a drink, are friendly to foreigners is actually true for India too. But they're incredibly happy with status quo and that's not true for India. Its not Bhutan is not on the move. They are but they're not fussed. I still have a day to go so I'm going to dig deeper but I've loved being here. Here's to an upcoming walk in the cold back to the room. I've had a huge dinner and I'm going to love the walk hopefully. PS - I got a rather strong JD with coke cause I thought of Nandeeta and felt good enough to break my non alcohol drive for a hol night. And spoke to an American team who are doing a classical music opera in Bhutan. The Americans were there at lunch too. We bumped into each other again - good to speak this time! Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel
No comments:
Post a Comment