flying roofs

1) Metho Seldon,36,From Jala in Wangdue with the unique name he now lives in Kuruthang ,standing for hours outside the Ugyen Academy gate to get his tea and food. 2) The unknown legend of Punakha-people knows him as Hermaphrodite, one with both sexual organs.Metho Seldon ,who his parents called as the child of a ghost is happy in Kuruthang,with his only soiled ‘gho’. 3) This is the only photograph Metho Seldon posedfor.He lives truly in the present and happy if he gets his daily food. ( Business Bhutan has published the photo documentation I have done on Metho Seldon-The unknown legend of Punakha.)

If one thinks it is lucky to have a kid who always attacks you with unexpected questions at the most unexpected times , I probably must be the one. Our son is nine years and nine months old now. Though his innocent inquisitiveness was gladly encouraged by his Dad, I the poor Mom have been often the victim of his never-ending questions. This too happened in such an unexpected occasion while travelling from Punakha to Thimphu to visit one of our close friends Aby. My husband reached us to the bus station and went back to school. Our son Jithu and I placed ourselves comfortably in our seats. He started watching each and every corner of the bus while I was looking at a man who was chewing ‘Doma’ and talking to his friend. Suddenly Jithu got up ‘’ Mamma, look there….and there too “-He pointed his finger at the writing in a particular place. a multi-color poster which read - “DO YOU HAVE SPARE TYRES AND CONDOMS? “ What does it mean? What is a condom? What connection does it ha...

I n Bhutanese folklore, there is a weapon referred to as the Divine arrow which'when shot at a target is seen only in the mind'. Legend has it that during the Duar War with England.the father of the first King of Bhutan said prayers to Yeshi Gonpa,the guardian deity of Bhutan,and then shot an arrow from a mountain top,towards a British camp,hitting the British general square in the forehead.Religious history and folklore are full of references to bows and arrows as weapons.So it is little wonder that archery has evolved as Bhutan's national sport. In Bhutan,the countries old tradition of archery matches is more like folk dancing and folk singing than a sporting event.These are occasions of immense gaiety. People came to watch archery in their best dresses. They bring food and home made wine called 'ara'.They sing and dance in circles during intermission,and when the competition is in progress,they shout,taunt and hurl insult the opposing team to throw them off their...

B eing a teacher in Bhutan,especially in Ugyen Academy,you can't remain just as a teacher.as a parent.or you can never remain as an ordinary human being.The' emotional bundles ' stuffed in uniforms are ready to toss you in the air,fry you even without fire and you will be vanished by the smoke...........unless you are an extra ordinary. You can survive only if you are ready to flow with them,letting them to know they have to swim against with you sometimes. Teaching in 12 Arts D is an ever wondering and enriching experience.And let me say it is a good exercise for your nerves,throat,stomach,head and a refreshing experience to your mind too. In my class,there are neither best,nor worst-.all are simply good and different. My class room is governed by a certain 'code of ethics'-a code of 'decodes'! Each glorious morning unfolds many secrets of its own,through the glittering eyes and you can't resist because you are in 12 arts D. Sonam Choden,the corner be...

Mask Dances are very common in Bhutan.The dance of the fearsome divinities,involves a ritual sacrifice whereby the enemies of the doctrine are destroyed.Through this gesture,the dances rid the world of demons and evil spirits,they also eliminate inner enemies such as the ego obstacles and mental darkness that prevent each individual from achieving Enlightenment. mask dances are energetic and graceful,the dances bend and leap high in the air,their robes flowing and swirling and their hands with or with out a sword,moving in various gestures.

( News Paper Documentation is the SUPW Project work for my class,12 arts D.And we were askd to write a report on the same for the school magazine.) On Friday evenings we smelt paper. Not the white sort-with pen scribbles,and the unending residue of afternoon lectures.these sheets of paper had a graying tint to it;the whiteness melted into the machine impressions of late night news editions that travelled as far as from Kolkota,New Delhi and Siliguri. We just smelt paper but the paper smelt a world that we had never been to-St.Petersburg,Seoul,Kinshasa and the country side on the out skirts of Colorado.It smelt of people we had never seen-the shark riders of politics,the limelight queens of the film reel,the shady chill of serial killers,the euphoria of the foot ball stadium,and simple unknown people who became famous just because fame was thrust upon them. On Friday evenings the world of celebrations and loss,of the victors and the vanquished,lay before us,as sheets of paper.In our ha...

Phalluses painted on walls,suspended above doors or hanging from roofs corners in rural Bhutan are a remarkble sight for all.Some phalluses are endowed with a pair of benign and comic eyes.They are often positioned on either side of the main door. This art form which is both beautiful and banal,is unusual in the rest of the world.In educational terms,the images are also about acceptance with out shame or guilt.Phallic images are used in rituals for protection from slander and vilification. The common view is that ,when people or those who bear Us ill will,see a phallus,they are over come by shame and embarrassment and are unable to cause Us harm,This view led people to pin wooden phalluses in highly visible places.

Through out Bhutan,in high mountain passes,roof tops and low lands prayer flages flutter in the wind to send steady stream of mantras to the deities.As the air passes over the printed surfaces of the flag,it is sweetened and purified to benifit all sentient being in the area. A typical prayer flag laming jewals on its back.The horse is known as 'wind horse' and the jewals symbolise,the Budha,the Bhudist teaching and the Budhist community.

Quaint little bridges are a vital part of Bhutan's land scape.In a rugged mountain terrain,they providethe only access across the tumbling rivers and streams that flow throughdeep valleys.beside their utility,they add to the pastoral beauty of the kingdom.This is a suspension bridge,walts with the wind.A Budhist Lhama returns from a lhakhang(temple) to his native village.

Punakha Dzong in Western Bhutan which sites on the confluence of two rivers seems to rise out of the water like a ghostly galleon.The trees trees that line the fringe of the imposing white and brick coloured structure crowned with glided pagoda roofs are covered with the bloom of purple flowers giving it a surreal air.Indeed the history of the winter capital of the little Himalayan Kingdom,Punakha and its Dzong is woven in the legends and folklore of the country. Punakha is 77 kms or 3 hrs.drive across the twisting mountain roads,from the Capital city,Thimphu. To travel to Punakha all foreign nationals need special permit.

Little Jithu was only two years when we were in Nagaland.one fine day my husband bought a new doormat.Little Jithu was so exited by its design and colour. on the very evening,one of Jithu's uncles,named Babu visited us.It was 7.30 pm,when Babu was about to leave. Little jithu held his hand and said,"Uncle, please stay for dinner." Hhmmm,your mother has taught you a lot of formalities...good",Babu said with a smile. "No uncle.little Jithu replied suddenly,"it is not formality,its doormat and bought not by mother but father". We all looked each other and broke into laughter.

Faces fall apart haunted by wounded smiles the craze and desire of bearing unknown imprints were torn when lost inbetween similes and metaphors and the ceramic heart is broken.... neither smile nor cry, the profond willingness of my black ash-blond night may disappear... your dark eyes,half dead glowing with new hopes no existance either you or I.... only our shadows....

When the Cyclone Aila aftermath stuck: The glacial river Punatsangchu flooded in minutes. People where evacuvated. The hostel students of the vocational training institute near the river had their dinner on the national highway. I stay around 200 meteres above the road seen in the picture

This is not a true story: Once upon a time there was a boss who had read animal farm and decided that in the school he runs he would follow the same policy when it came to salary - all teachers are equal, but some are more equal. One day, in a class manuscript magazine an article written by the class teacher contained the following sentences. "We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much for so long with so little. We are now capable of doing anything with nothing." And, the teacher was called by the boss for a friendly talk...

A traditional Bhutanese flying roof which allows the free passage of winds and ghosts. It doesnt trap hot air, neither cold air keeping the house cool in summer and warm in winter

A fresh voice from the backbench. It was Passang Passang - Madam, Yesterday i saw you with a small boy. Me- Yeah, he is my son Passang- It is the first time i am sawing your son

photograph: Main academic block, Ugyen Academy, Punakha, Bhutan. Law mandates that all buildings in the country to follow traditional building styles with paintings of intricate vajrayana buddhist images and... the roof will always be flying From extremist-hit Nagaland and Manipur - bE cOOL - lOVE yOUR dRESS - wHEN iN pRAYER tHINK gOD nOT gUNS from newly democratic Kingdom of Bhutan, the last Bastion of Tantric Himalayan Buddhism - hOW tO iNHALE hAPPYNESS eVEN wHEN pISSED oFF - nOBODY iS a sINNER - tEACHING iS lIKE tHE raIN, iT nURTURES tHE lEAVES aND tHE rOOTS -jESUS sHOULD lEAVE hIS sANDALS wHEN eNTERING tHE bUDDHA'S hOUSE -wORK wHILE yOU pLAY aND pLAY wHILE yOU wORK