His Infant and High School (1965-1977
May)
The Sibsoo High School at Gola
Bazzar in Sibsoo Dungkhag (Samtse) where Royal Bhutan Army currently occupies
the campus is the Alma Mater of my father. That was the place where my father received
his share of modern education which made him into a gentleman.
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| Sibsoo High School |
During his entire schooling,
he was excellent in dramatics and equally good in athletics. He has won a ton
of sport certificates in his time and received accolade after accolade for his
dramatic skills. He acted brilliantly for a skit
‘Paral Ko Aago’. It
was an enactment of a famous Nepali Blockbuster. He swept the audience with his
immaculate acting skill and his act of smoking a real cigarette on the stage
purely out of
love for acting brought waves
of anger among family members at home.
The Letter that changed his
life (September 1977)
After completing eighth Grade
(final grade offered by the school) he spends next four months toiling field
and looking after cows. It was during these months when he had spent some quality
time with our mother, the then a village girl.
Growing up in a large family she
had to make a choice between household chores and walking to school. She took
up the household responsibilities and allowed her brothers to attend school. She
often visited my paternal grandparents whenever she was free from her unending
chores, some time to chit-chat and often to help them with their share of work.
One fine day, a letter from
‘Man Power’ landed on his hand. During those times, the name ‘Man Power’ was commonly
known for the office that recruited citizens in various government agencies.
The office was stationed in the Capital, Thimphu. It was the letter that molded
a man’s destiny. This letter which was typed on a thin paper using a typewriter
commenced a journey that took my father 34 long years to return home but with
great pride and honor.
His first visit to Thimphu
(1977 October)
In those days, the motor road
that we have today connecting Sipsoo and Samtse didn’t exist. The only route
possible was through Indian towns. He had to cross our border to Indian town
known as Thaljhora where ‘Dattha Transport’ would take him to Nagarkata and
from there he had to board another mini bus to reach Jaigoan (border town near
Phuntsholing, Bhutan).
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| My great grandmother holding me on her lap( pic: 1984) |
My Great Grandmother, 98 years
old now, gave him 30 Rupees (Bhutanese Currencies were not prominent then) to
spend on his journey to Thimphu. Phuntsholing Town was a tiny patch of settlement
then. On the following day he aboard BGTS (Bhutan Govt Transport Service) bus from
Phuntsholing to Thimphu.
On the way up, the present
Bustling Gedu town existed with only few huts and Tshimasham or Chimakoti as
it was popularly known then served as a pit-stop (it still does) for drivers
and passengers to rest and eat. The place also had few scattered huts. There
use to be four check points before one reaches to Thimphu; First came Kharbandi
( now known as Rinchending Check post), the next point was near Chukha Bridge,
then came Chimakoti (near present Chukha BOD) and finally at Chuzom (confluence
where Paro-Thimphu-Ha roads diverge).
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| Thimphu Clock Tower |
While reaching Thimphu, the
bus took him and his fellow passengers to an open space where we have our
prized Clock Tower today. The open area served as a dropping point for
passengers until the Tower was built. A smaller iron bridge use to run beneath
the present Luntenzampa Bridge which helped traffic to cross the mighty Thimphu
River.
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| Along Norzin Lam |
The traffic consists of mostly
Jeeps and a lot of people were seen wearing pants and shirts. Meanwhile, in the
western world it was the hippy’s trend that blazed the time. ‘I looked like a hippy,’ he proudly said. He had long and shabby hair, tight gogo pant and had worn a pair of shiny leather shoes when he first came to Thimphu.
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| My father up with the GO GO style |
He was accompanied by his
uncle to the ‘Man Power Office’. A long and heavy register on the desk of the ‘Man
Power office’ showed him a list of vacancies for him to choose from. There were
two hundred plus vacancies available, re-called my father.
One post captured their
attention. The technical allowances paid for the post was Nu: 100. In addition
to it, Nu: 300 will be paid as salary after the required training completes and
during the training period a stipend of Nu: 200 will be given to the trainee.
So, he placed his signature next to it and there forth his destiny was sealed.
Training and first official
posting (77 Oct – 78 November)
His training in Animal
Husbandry took him to VTI (Veterinary Training Institute) at Wangchutaba. In
the middle of his training, he visited his village to get married with the
village girl who always came to help his parents; our mom. On 18th
May, 1978 they tied their knots and my father returned to complete his training.
After completing his one year training and serving for six more months he went
back to his village to bring our mother along with him to Thimphu.
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| Near Pangrizampa (Thimphu). Back drop: One of the mighty trees there. |
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| The place where Tarayana Building and Chuba chu BOD stands today. |
After completing his training
in November of the same year, his first place of posting was at Veterinary Hospital
then situated opposite to the present City Mall at Chubachu. Then he shifted to
Dechencholing where he had to often give treatments to the Royal cohort of
cattle at the palace. They stayed there from January of 1978 to June of 1980.
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| In Paro..(i am in front of my mother) |
Between 1981 to 1986 November,
when I was three years old, my elder sister was six and my younger sister was
only a few months old, we came back to veterinary Hospital, Chubachu. From then
on we moved out of Thimphu to Paro and got transferred from one District to
another within a span of two or three years for next twenty six years.
Staying at Paro he got enlisted
for three months training at
Queensland University, Australia. It was the first
group of Bhutanese sent aboard to be trained as Livestock Inspectors (now known
as Regulatory and quarantine inspector, BAFRA).
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| My dad playing with the Kangaroos. |
After twenty three years the
government of Bhutan offered him yet another opportunity to travel abroad on an
official tour. This time it was Bangkok, “the land of smiles” for twelve long days
starting 21st Feb, 2010.
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| Some where in Bangkok |
2012- Sipsu calling
On 26th September,
my dad, mom and i packed our stuff for the final time. We moved on to our
village in Sipsoo, the final place of posting for my father before he retires
in October 2013.
That day when his feet touched
the soil of our village my heart poured out all the respect and love that one
heart could ever muster. I only saw a happy man but I couldn’t image the amount
of satisfaction he might have experienced in the heat of the moment. It was a
long travel around the country and arriving at the place where it all began must
have meant a lot for him and I felt it too. My eyes were filled with happy
tears and got moved pondering upon every little sacrifice our parents have made
for our happiness. They indeed lived a self-less life.
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| At Paro........ Back Drop: The majestic Rimpong Dzong. |
The moment my father stepped
down penned a story of a man who served his country with his best ability. With
all honesty, sincerity and utmost dedication he was there at the service of our
King, Country and the People. When my mother recently asked him to resign owing
to his ill health he said, “34 years went by….i am left with one more year to
serve my country as a civil servant… so lets wait!’’
It was indeed an emotional
moment for him. After we settled down with our stuff, my father hurriedly
updated his Facebook status.. … He wrote:
Left his village when
he was a young boy of 19 on tour for 34 years. Still one year to complete his
official tour....he is now back to his village to complete his last 1 year
which will be his final and binding...in his last one year time he has to cover
many important works which will be his tour conclusion...God bless him.....
The day we reached our village
was also a very special day for my mother. Her journey along with my father
also completed a whole circle. My heart equally felt for her too. She must have
been also satisfied and happy for she has been doing the best what a mother could possiblely
do for her family. She has been the rock of our family who decided on many things
for the betterment of her family and has selflessly dedicated each day of her
life in the service of her family. For last 34 years she has been anxiously
waiting at the door for my father to arrive from office, the day commenced a
year that marks the end of her waiting because my father has finally returned
home for now and forever.
