Bhutan Musings

If there’s one thing that will strike you about Bhutan, it may be its picture-perfect uniformity. Approaching the city after enduring the tortuous drive from India-Bhutan border town Phunsoling to the capital, Thimphu, is almost like stepping into a childhood fairy tale: it’s as if a giant painter had - on a richly-hued landscape of mountains, waterfalls and streams - painted a person, a house, a monastery and a government building – and multiplied the image to produce the country of Bhutan.

Of course, this oversimplifies the variety of peoples and communities present in Bhutan, but government decrees to preserve Bhutan’s distinctive Tibetan Buddhist culture have brought a degree of national uniformity unlike any other part of the world. All Bhutanese nationals, irrespective of class or community, must wear the national dress every day, or face stiff fines of upwards of Rs. 600. The design and structure of all buildings must follow a specific architectural code; the decorative, painted exteriors and pagoda-like design of buildings are based on an architectural style typical of traditional Bhutanese homes.

However, don’t let the uniformity fool you into believing that there is no place for individual expression in Bhutan. A quiet revolution - not in the sense of anti-nationalist sentiment, but in the sense of a greater acceptance of individual thought - has been sweeping Bhutan since the mid-90s, and its pace is accelerating, especially as the nation makes its first steps towards democracy. In an internet café in the India-Bhutan border town of Phunsoling, I spotted a young Bhutanese school student - in stylish shorts and t-shirt – chatting away on MSN while simultaneously viewing foreign football scores. In excellent English, he asked me where I was from and gave me a few tips on traveling through Bhutan. When I ask him why he was dressed in obvious violation of the law, he grinned and said, “In the capital they are strict about the dress code, but I prefer to wear this!” As I got up to leave, he asked me nonchalantly, “Can I have your email address?”

Though in today’s world it may seem that email id’s have become inextricable from personal identities, it is remarkable in Bhutan because prior to 1998, internet and television did not (legally) exist, in a further effort to preserve the nation’s culture. Not surprisingly, it hasn’t taken Bhutanese long to get hooked on to both. “I didn’t even know what cricket was until high school,” a twenty-something Bhutanese playfully lamented. “Now, Bhutanese children as young as four are playing cricket because of cable television!”

It’s surprising to think that the television is so recent an entrant in Bhutanese life, for it is nearly ubiquitous in homes, shops and restaurants. And the Bollywood fan traveling to Bhutan will not be disappointed: Bollywood films and faces are the rage, as is Indian television. In fact, many Bhutanese – even those from remote parts of the country – have learned Hindi solely by following Hindi shows and TV serials. Pema, a hotel receptionist in the scenic town of Paro, tells me candidly that the Hindi she has learnt has been gleaned from Indian cable television’s infamous soap operas that she is glued to. “I don’t understand,” she says in her heavily-accented Hindi. “People say that in India none of these love affairs happen, but in [insert name of soap opera here], everyone is having an affair with everyone else!”

India does have strong ties with Bhutan, of which Bollywood is merely one. Nearly all consumer goods in Bhutan are produced and supplied by India; a walk into any grocery store blatantly announces this fact. At the famous Sabzi Bazaar in Thimpu – a weekend market where vegetables, clothing and trinkets are sold - I selected and purchased what seemed to me to be a traditional “kira”, the national costume for Bhutanese women. A minute later, upon learning that I was from India, the vendor casually mentioned that the skirt, like most textiles in Bhutan, was manufactured in India.

While it may seem difficult to escape India while in Bhutan, the country’s deeply Buddhist culture gives it a flavor uniquely its own. Religion forms the purpose of much Bhutanese artwork, and Buddhist art is present everywhere. Prayer wheels - cylinders with written prayers that are to be turned in a clockwise motion – are seen in monasteries, as well as in garden squares and outside homes. Stunningly beautiful, gigantic prayer wheels have even been constructed at waterfalls, where the force of the water keeps the wheels turning perennially. Multi-colored prayer flags, inscribed with auspicious symbols, prayers and mantras, dominate the green landscape, symbolizing happiness for the flag planter and those in the vicinity of the flags.

Indeed, while it is worth visiting Bhutan simply to experience the uniqueness of its culture and the beauty of its landscape, its cities are well-planned and worth visiting. The capital city of Thimphu is home to the kingdom’s administration and monarchy, and colorful buildings of both bejewel the landscape. Though the largest city in the country, its population – like Bhutan’s – is surprisingly small, roughly 50,000. The popular tourist town of Paro, 60 km from Thimphu, lies in one of Bhutan’s most scenic valleys, and as the centre of ancient trade routes to Tibet, is historically significant. The emerald-green Paro river (Pa Chu) intersects the valley, and above the river stands the 17^th century Paro Dzong (fort), overlooked by a magnificent watchtower built in the same time period, which has now been converted into the National Museum of Bhutan.

Paro’s greatest attraction for me, however, was a fortuitous dinner at Red Rice Kitchen, a restaurant among the rare breed of dining establishments that a foreign tourist often seeks but rarely finds: one that conjures memories of a people, a culture and a place long after the traveler has departed. The restaurant, exquisitely decorated and with the soothing ambience of a comfortable Bhutanese home, spun finger-licking food in its culinary chambers, but the highlight of the evening – my last in Bhutan - was meeting the restaurant’s proprietor, Wangda Tobgyal. In 2005 Tobgyal and two friends became the first people in the world to cycle around Bhutan, a 2000 kilometre feat that took them 24 days. True to their “Bike for Life” motto, the trio traveled to schools across the country raising awareness about HIV/AIDS and drug abuse. Despite his humble demeanor, I discovered that Tobgyal was a keeper of many talents – he is a photographer, trekker, fly-fisher and director of a travel agency called Lakhor – and, like many other Bhutanese I’d met, deeply passionate about his country. Our conversation spilled over into the hours, and when I rose to leave he presented me with a “Khada”, a traditional Bhutanese ceremonial scarf. The restaurant’s setting, the gift, and our conversation seemed to represent the attitude towards Bhutan among the people I’d met: respectful of past traditions, hopeful of the present, and excited for the future.

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An edited version of this story will appear in The Hindu in October.