PaSsu Diary

Private Tuition in Bhutan- Where Teachers Can't Teach

2013-05-21T23:53:00.001+06:00

This is one very interesting story about a licensed private tuition company writing complaint letter to Dzongkhag about some of my colleagues stealing their business. I say it's interesting because a businessman thinks that it's his business to tuition our children and not ours. It's even more interesting because there is a policy which states that teachers cannot take private tuition classes after school hours, and that's the legal point the businessman is catching at. Technically he is on the right side.
Before I express my surprises let me clarify that none of my teacher colleagues take any tuition classes this year as far as I know and I have no time, space and intention to do it myself, therefore it's with clean conscience that I choose to be surprised.
The biggest surprise is that our own ministry thought teachers should not do private tutoring for money, and the justification was that some teachers would do half hearted job in the classroom so to gather good number of heads for side business. This mistrust is heartbreaking. Should there be any teacher who would resort to such cheap means, can anything stop them?
Another Surprise, licenses have been issued to businessmen to operate tuition classes, now justify the logic, if any, behind trusting some people, who may or may not be trained, to teach our students better than they were taught in the classroom.
If any student has problem with any subject no teacher will ever say no to
them during free hours and holidays, so where do we need tuition at all? And if some parents have enough money to blow off and wants to send their children to tuition anyway, who would be a better person- child's own teachers or some licensed businessmen?
Coming back to our ministry's decision, which may be guided by many wisdom I didn't know of, but I must say I was impressed by health ministry move at providing off hour clinic opportunity for doctors to earn some extra cash. I also envy the way engineers spent their off hours making drawing for private individuals to earn handsome cash. But we teachers are lavishly showered with rules after rules, instead of some smart ways to improve our livelihood. Name one teacher who has a car without loan, or name one teacher who has children in private school without two loans?
I would most respectfully accept the rule that says teachers are not allowed to drive taxi after school, or teachers are not allowed to do business in school involving students but excuse me on the rule that says teachers can't teach. What else can teachers do then?

Little Boy-The Victim of Fails

2013-05-16T03:30:00.001+06:00

Kezang went to hospital this morning and was calling me and telling in deep anxious voice that my friend's child was hospitalized. I had heard the news of a young boy being attacked by pack of stray dogs in Khotokha about a week ago. The boy had gone beyond the fence to play when the pack of dogs attacked him. He was rescued by a monk who was passing by. And that boy happens to be my friend Damchoe's three year old son, who is now nursed back to health at Bajothang Hospital. It took 84 stitches on his head, back and arms to close his wounds. The boy is doing well now.

The repaired scalp

The Dog Issue:

However, it's time we pay serious attention to stray dogs. Some half hearted dog rehabilitation attempts have separated dogs from human population and now many dog-compounds are shut down. Homeless and hungry the abandoned dogs are now roaming forest and villages attacking cattles. And this year alone we have reports of two incidences where humans were attacked- one was in Haa last months and the other my friend's boy. What measures can be taken to reduce the risk of dogs attacking humans? Who should be taking care of this issue? How long should we wait until we start taking action?

Drug Shortage Issue:

Another problem that surfaced today was the shortage of Anti Rabies Vaccine (ARV), which is a must take vaccine for dog bitten victims. Even a smallest wound from dog bite requires this injection and in this case the little boy was bitten by around seven dogs and literally peeled off from head to back. Unfortunately ARV ran out of stock. Tencholing didn't have it, Thimphu only has enough for their patients and was waiting for the new stock to arrive in two weeks. My friends was asked to find it on his own. Medical Shops are handicapped by new policy.

It was boy's luck that Punakha Hospital had some doses left. He was taken to Punakha for the first dose but there is no guarantee if there will be any left when he goes for the second dose, which is on 17th May. I took the issue to Twitter and I was inspired by the support and concern shown by fellow Bhutanese. Some even offered to send from Delhi and another from Gelephug. Thank you to all the people who answered to my tweets this morning.

In such time we must awake to the reality that something in the system is not going good. Such emergency medications should be readily available in every corner of the country. I am hopeful this concern will be considered seriously by whoever is responsible. And if it's very difficult to pave through tedious Bhutanese procedures then why not allow private pharmacies to sell them?

#SherigCollection in my School

2013-05-15T03:06:00.000+06:00

I am very happy that Sherig Collection brought Boaz Shmueli and Galit Shmueli to my school, which was a sudden decision of Boaz after he saw my tweets about the Book Fair and teacher crowd in our football ground. We pitched a tent outside the book fair stall with two computers and ended up stealing the show from the main event. We invited every passing teacher to our tent and no teacher left without being thoroughly amazed.

See how we stole the show!

Sherig Collection is a selfless initiative by Rigsum where Boaz and Galit work. It's a collection of offline learning resources for children, and if you are a teacher, student or a concerned parent you must get it. It's now available in nine Dzongkhags, with teachers who attended the Book Fair in Bajothang. Details of the sources can be obtained from Sherig Collection Facebook Group. If you are in or close to Wangdue I am your server.

Busy in Bajothang

The Sherig Collection is basically a 24GB answer to all Bhutanese issues such as internet connectivity, internet speed, budget limitations and computer efficiency. It's too good to be true and you must own it to believe it. Come with external hard drive!

When two of them were not so busy I chanced to show them around. They were full of appreciation for the so many creative works done by our students.

At WiFiPark gate with Gasa Principal

Near Curiosity Post

Thanks to my 8 C students who helped in pitching the tent and to Chidanand and other eLearning Club members who sticked around helping the team during the weekend. And Thank you Rigsum and team for Sherig Collection. I hope, and will work toward reaching, the collection to as many schools as possible.

Breaking Traffic Rule

2013-05-12T04:14:00.000+06:00

I am otherwise a law abiding citizen but in Bajothang town I break one traffic rule every day, more under compulsion than intention. I always take the shortcut instead of going around the roundabout because there is a huge pothole waiting behind the roundabout. I break that rule regardless of who is watching because I am waiting for that one chance to tell them to fix the road before applying rules. I want to remind them that this town deserves more than a farm road. I also want to let them know difference between road and drain.
That one chance finally came one rainy afternoon. Three traffic policemen were standing at the junction, as if waiting for me. I shivered a bit and broke the rule anyway. My eyes were on them and theirs on me. I was signaled to stop,
"Documents, please."
"What for?" I asked, as if I didn't know.
"You came from the 'No Entry' side."
"I didn't see 'No entry' sign anywhere."
"You should be coming around the roundabout." He fingered the direction, which of course I know.
"But I always come this way!" I declared honestly. That moment I saw him lose his cool, and called his colleagues. He passed my license to them and remarked, "He says he always come this way." Which means, 'he needs to be fixed up'.
He asked me to park my car somewhere. I did. I came out and went to them and politely said,
"The whole town is in mess, and there is hardly any visible road in the town, I thought traffic rules are not applicable as of now. Moreover that pothole is too deep for my car." I pointed at it. I could see the disgust on their face, and the guy with my license disappeared already.
"I promise to follow the rules when the whole road is blacktopped and all traffic signs are ready. But for now I am sorry but can't risk damaging my car."

red is my car and blue is the pothole

I know these are not the types of justifications that work with police, but neither am I going to give them the type they are ready to listen to. I don't know if traffic police are responsible for reporting bad road to city authority but for some reason I feel when they monitor us they must monitor road as well.
"So, what is the penalty/" I asked impatiently, because the way I presented to them didn't leave any chance for excusing me.
"You will have to pay a fine."
"When?" I asked, seriously I never came in conflict with law before therefore I don't know the procedure. But I was prepared to narrate whole essay on Bajothang town road to their officer before paying the fine.
"Wait, your license is taken to the incharge."
Then I remembered the 6 PM Party President Debate on TV, which was almost beginning. I didn't wait anymore, after all I have to pay the fine.

At home, I received a call from a friend asking me to come back. He saw me with the police while passing by and had come back to help me out. He said he has done the groundwork of requesting, and all I have to do was say some words of apology. But I said I was busy watching the debate and that I will follow the due process since I have some message to convey as well. He hung up angrily. In five minutes he called back to tell me that he has my license. I didn't know if I was to be happy or angry but I thanked him.
I may have to break the rule again until the road is fixed.

National Book unFair in Bajothang Again

2013-05-05T19:46:00.002+06:00

I was the happiest when Bajothang School was chosen the venue of National Book Fair last year. I was full of expectations. It was my first close encounter with the event and I was watching it from all corners from the day the first truck dropped the load of books.
When the event unfolded I was the most disappointed. I even wrote an article expressing my disappointment: "Book Fair Should be More Than Business" after observing that the fair was all about selling millions worth of book to school libraries. If it was only about selling books, why do we need a fair at all, every Dzongkhag has their towns where book stores are suffering from lack of business. Book Fair must be the reason why book stores are closing down, and why new book stores are not coming up. Wangdue has no book store at all. If you suggest someone to open one, they will tell how selling books is so hard but the reality is every year schools are given huge budget to buys books- which sadly goes to some twenty book sellers participating in book fair.
Book Fair should be an event to celebrate the love for book, to celebrate wisdom of book and to promote reading culture among children. It should be organized by people who love books and literature, people who have read widely and could inspire buyers.
Book Fair should be the meeting place for book lovers, where people who have read most come to share about their secrets and their recommendations to students attending the fair. Where students with outstanding reading habits could be awarded prizes. (But currently only librarians and teachers attend the fair)
Book Fair should honour Bhutanese Writers and their works. It should create platform for native writers to read their books to children and promote their own dreams and inspire children into writing. Writers attending the fair will positively boost the sale of their books and boost their passion. Book Fair in Bhutan should be responsible for promoting book in Bhutan at least.
Book Fair can be the best event to launch books by Bhutanese writers, did it happen?
Some near by schools could be asked to prepare some performances based on popular stories, recite poems, narrate stories, or present book reviews by students.
If none of these is going to happen then stop Book Fair all together because it's only killing the business of hundreds of Book Stores that are not taking part in the fair for the sake of some twenty smart businessmen.

Truck loads of books have arrived in my school football ground and stalls are erected for the event, let's see how different this National Book Fair is going to be!

Teachers Day in Bhutan- The Day to Reflect

2013-05-03T01:49:00.000+06:00

It might sound quite theoretical when I say Teachers Day is the day of reflection but I have realized that only on this day I get the right emotion to stop and ask myself if I am a good teacher. And I have worked on trying to carry the resolutions I made on Teachers Day to the rest of the days. Every year I am find myself smiling with lesser guilt, that I don't have to pretend to be a nice teacher on the day when students present me with gift, rather happily be the friendly teacher that my students have always enjoyed being with.
People are right about not having the high performers from schools and colleges in teaching profession, being an average intelligent student and below average performer I used to be worried but now when I look far back and remember the teachers that made impressions in my life I realize that teaching is not all about big brains, because I only remember the kind ones, the funny ones, the caring ones, the impartial ones, the truthful ones and the principled ones.
When we were young we would proudly talk about the teacher who wear different dresses on different days, teacher who could kick the football highest, teacher who could slap us to unconsciousness , teacher who could remember the whole dictionary, teacher who could remember every line in the textbook, teacher who could break 50 willow sticks on your butt... but these are not the teacher who make lasting impression on our lives.

Parents and Teachers on the Stage

I have suffered so much in the hands of brutal teachers and I suffered more because of where I came from and how I looked, but because that couldn't break me down it only made me the sensitive teacher I am today. I know when it hurts most and where it hurt worst, I know how it feels like to be treated this way and that way... I see hundreds of myself seeking love among the lucky many, I know how to make them feel nice about themselves because I also met some great teachers in life who made me feel good about myself.
So these are the types of reflective emotion I go through on such auspicious days and I don't leave this emotion here, it's another new beginning to cast away guilt and earn personal satisfaction on professional journey.

2013 Teachers Day Cake in Bajothang

Today, Bajothang celebrated Teachers Day along with School Sports Day, making to fun for both teachers and Students. They had a cake and it seemed like a birthday party for all the teachers. The stage was set right in the middle of football ground, we have to walk there to receive gifts from students- I ran away before my name was called and I landed up missing the cake as well.

Gift!

Drunk Chorten on the Sober Road

2013-05-01T23:18:00.001+06:00

I was looking for ST Auto Spa, the latest car servicing facility in Thimphu, to give my car a nice treat for the 90,000 km service it provided to my family. I could see the orange building with big signboard but couldn't find the road that leads to the facility. After a short drive I was startled to find a chorten standing on the road, I nearly honked at it. It looked like a drunk chorten on a straight road.

My Tweet! (@Passu_Diary)

For sometime I forgot everything, just came out of the car and stood there wondering what exactly must have happened with the chorten to be there right on the road. I joked about it on twitter but it's anybody's guess that it wasn't the chorten that encroached on to the road. It was standing there for ages not realizing that one day it would be standing on our aggressive road to change.

Election and Social Media in Bhutan

2013-04-26T00:57:00.000+06:00

On 23 April 2013, when Bhutan voted for National Council election for the second time in the history of the newly democratic country, another history was made on an equally new platform. For the first so much information was generated by Bhutanese on Social Media, that when I return from short toilet breaks I could see over hundred updates on Twitter and Facebook- and yes everything related to election.
I wish I have the resources to count and analyze how much data was generated exactly but Bhutan telecom must have enjoyed maximum business. Twitter accounts of Kuensel and BBS were on fire that day- another record breaker! When BBS TV viewer were jumping in excitement with the result of fourth Dzongkhag we on Twitter were done with all 20 Dzongkhags results via two government media tweets.
However, National Council Election for some reason is taken lightly by people, at least on social media, and also among the 67 candidates who took part only about 10 of them were active on Facebook and just 3 on Twitter.
Come National Assembly Election and we will see the real revolution of social media. There are several groups on Facebook that are seriously discussing Bhutanese democracy and not to mention the so many anonymous intellects and analysts on Tweeter who have million questions to ask. Bhutanomics has made itself available to Bhutanese via Facebook (though its actual website is blocked) and Bhutantimes.com has made a comeback.
Feeling the need of the time all five political parties have established themselves on the major platforms of social media and are actively interacting with Bhutanese netizens. And interestingly many cabinet ministers have joined Facebook recently, and most of the new members of political parties have begun their introduction from Facebook. Some former members are already seeded player on Social media with amazing fan followers.
If you happen to see a party's page or a member's profile on your Facebook sidebar, that's because they have advertised with Facebook, which is another new thing in Bhutan.

Following table shows the presence of Political parties on Social media: (Click on the pictures to Follow them on Twitter or Like their Facebook Fan Page)

Now Imagine the amount of data Bhutan will generate, and imagine the dimension of debates and their influences on the minds of voters- even those of who are offline!

Fish on bBay

2013-04-20T00:42:00.003+06:00

I am pleased to see my bBay appearing in Kuensel's List of "Site You Could Use". But more than that, Gyalsten K Dorji must be applauded for bringing bright new change to boring Kuensel pages, in fact Kuensel could build on this idea and make a list of their own like the famous Forbes List.

I created bBay two years ago and it enjoyed publicity from Business Bhutan and Thimphutech.com besides my own blog. Today it's one of the most active groups on Facebook where the following happens (from Kuensel)

"If you are looking to buy or sell something, the most active place to do this today is on Facebook. Named after ebay, the popular online auction and shopping website, a page named B-Bay currently has almost 14,000 members using the page to find buyers for their second hand items, or to find something they want. A wide range of items, like apartments, land, vehicles, electronics, jewellery, shops, and even doma can be found being marketed on the Facebook page. The page also provides for some entertaining exchanges between buyers and sellers. Since the page is hosted on Facebook, posts are free."

Page 13- Kuensel

I must thank my dear friend, idea box and brilliant businessman, Tshering Tenzin who helped grow bBay to the size it has today. Right from the beginning we made it clear to ourselves that bBay will help people from being bullied by brokers, which is why we have banned over hundred brokers till date. We, including my wife and brother, monitor bBay everyday to keep the wall free from spams, jokes, harassment, and brokers. We only earn a few Nu. from the Ads we post on cover and in pinned section, which is at times questioned.

What is the Fish on bBay?
However, recently I visited a big office where I met two smart guys who were upset with me. They confessed to me that they were among the brokers whom I have banned, but what they shared after that upset me. After they were banned they have fooled us by joining with new account and remained ideal to escape out censorship. But what they enjoyed was full access to what our members post and they were the active buyers. They buy from our members and sell offline. To shock me even more they say they have done two to five deals each week. Sometime they see their sold cars coming back on bBay, which happens because there are many more hidden brokers on bBay. They promised to give me a list of all the brokers they know on bBay so that I can make it a clean place I had hoped for. So my dear member on bBay, I must admit to you all that there are some fishes in the group, which is important for you to know, but as long as you are getting what you want for the price you agree they should be a problem.

The Sherig Collection in Bajothang

2013-04-19T00:06:00.003+06:00

I wanted to write about the Sherig Collection right after I get back but now I see it has already come out in Kuensel and I am hopeful you all read about it. The 23 GB collection is the answer to all the Bhutanese school's question about internet connectivity and speed. It has my personal favorite Khan Academy and Wikipedia and your computer could become a mini internet server.
Read the detail report from Kuensel by Gyalsten K Dorji- he interviewed me too.

I started eLearning club in my school this year and we had big dreams but small confidence until we got our hands on Sherig Collection. Now my club is on a mission to promote the resources in and outside the school. We are designing Wiki booths in different location to make the resource accessible by every student. Our club is also going to build national question bank besides creating YouTube channel on Bhutanese syllabus- wish us luck.

Thanks a million to Rigsum and its research team for working beyond business and contributing significantly to Bhutanese Education System. I wish you the best in the second phase of Sherig Collection. Please invite me again.

Afternoon with Farmer Sangay

2013-04-14T23:48:00.000+06:00

Another big thing this weekend is finally meeting Farmer Sangay in person. We have been friends on social media for a long time. The man and his initiatives need no introduction and I am among the many people who couldn't dare to be different like him but I have all the respect and appreciation for the difference he is making. He calls himself a Farmer, but I see him as a social scientist. For the record, he is the founder of Happy Green Cooperative- "the cooperative model of green ideas and solutions to pursue social innovations."

Showing off our daughters!!

Sangay brought along another amazing young man to make my Sunday more meaningful- the founder of Bhutan Kidney Foundation, Tashi Namgay. Sharing table with two of them and measuring their achievements against their age I saw a beautiful preview of future Bhutan. I on my part hoped and prayed that some day some of my students will turnout to be different like them.

Between the Founders

Among the many innovative plans Sangay has, one of my favorites is his Cafe, which is also going to be the Innovation Lab for his Cooperative, where you and I can walk in with our ideas and give them shape and color over coffee. And you know him- He will make it happen!

Our Families

We both brought along our families but it was a mistake, we should have left our wives alone with their Sunday because two of us had thousand things to talk about, much of which weren't of interest to our ladies. But it was additional pleasure to meet his actor wife, who stands strong behind him in his passion.

To interact with the two guys, Like their pages on Facebook:

Meeting ThimphuTech.com Authors

2013-04-14T00:11:00.001+06:00

This morning I traveled early to Thimphu to attend a presentation by the two authors of Thimphutech.com, the most reliable blog on technology and tech-services in Bhutan. I will write about the program in the next post ( you can already read about it on their blog-Click Here).
This post is just to express my joy of meeting two great people and , today and spending enlightening time with them. It has always been my dream to meet the two of them but on two occasions earlier I failed. I decided I won't let go this chance and even the luck gave with me- I received personal invitation to attend the presentation from Boaz, and my principal yesed it right away.

Boaz, I, and Galit

News that Broke my Soul

2013-04-13T00:30:00.004+06:00

The news of 13 year old girl being raped and murdered in Sarpang killed a part of me this morning. This was something we used to hear from distant lands as shocking news. Who would have thought our country will have to see this day. We have strong laws, so many people are in jail for rape, and still what is missing?
I am still angry over the news of girl being raped by her father and brother, which didn't even make so much news among us and by tomorrow even today's news will be forgotten. We don't care much- we don't care as long as it didn't happen to someone our own.
I am a father of a daughter who want a safe place for my daughter to grow up, go to school, play with friends, dream big and live without fear- perhaps every parent would want it- perhaps we should stop treating this news as just news...

Don't even know what to think and do...

No Street Children in Bhutan- Wish the same to the rest of the world!

2013-04-11T00:24:00.004+06:00

A lady from Belgium,Manu Louage wrote to me, asking me to help her get a picture of street children in Bhutan.

"My challenge is to find somebody living in Bhutan to take a picture for me and for all the street children in the world. With the Belgian organisation 'Mobile School' we want to claim April 12th as International Day for Street Children through the United Nations."

I love photography and I am concerned about children living on the street, but not matter how much I recollect I could not remember seeing or hearing about any street child in Bhutan. Or is it just my ignorance? seriously, if I saw any child on street in Bhutan I would have taken them home myself.
Mobile School has launched "NoStreetKidding" Move on Facebook for which they wanted me to get a shot of street children in the pose they have illustrated and post it on their Facebook Page. There are getting it from all 193 countries of the United Nations to "claim April 12th as International Day for Street Children!"
I proudly wrote back saying I would love to do that for the great cause but Bhutan has no street children, though there are over 150 million children living on streets across the world.
She replied shortly, asking me to take a picture of any Bhutanese child in the said posture and support the move. I consulted Kezang and we agreed to use our homegrown model to pose for us- our daughter!
When I posted the picture on their Facebook Page, they welcomed Bhutan as the 103rd Country to join the move.

One Two, 12th April 2103- My Model
On April 12th they will draw the #nostreetkidding sign together with the flags of each and every country on one of the biggest squares in Belgium!
Check out the Map of their progress

Wild Dogs and the Gup in Haa

2013-04-10T01:17:00.000+06:00

March 30, Kuensel reported a story of a 68 year old man attacked by dogs in Haa, which is a matter of serious concern for the country because the story of shutting down of dog compounds is not isolated to Haa alone.
One time there was lot of excitement about building dog compounds, and sheltering and feeding every stray dog. Where is that high spirit gone? Perhaps the budget has run out now? I don't know which organization was behind this but I am already assuming they were after the project money. If there really was genuine concern for dogs or for the society where dogs were a threat then they would have sustained the project throughout.

Man's Best Friend No More

Packs of dogs are seen in the forest between Thimphu and Dochula, where did they come from? They don't seem normal anymore, they have perhaps regained their wild instincts. If dogs in Haa could hunt cattle and attack humans then dogs roaming the forest anywhere could.

But what's interesting about the case in Haa is that the Gup is more worried about the meat than Ap Desang's life or the wild dogs.

“... we’re not sure whether the dogs killed one of the cows, and also doubt that Desang might have gone for the meat and not to save his cow.” (Quote of the Year)

Window on the Third Floor- Bajothang Town Woes

2013-04-03T14:05:00.001+06:00

I blogged about the unsafe attics in Bajothang after a tenant fell from railing-less veranda on 26th Feb 2013. The article was published as opinion in The Bhutanese newspaper in the following week. After over a month Kuensel has run an independent story on it, from where I came to know that authorities have taken action.
The authorities have notified the house owners to ensure safety by blocking access through windows by putting railings. This was expected to be done by the end of March but no house owner has abided by the notification.

Image from Kuensel

Most buildings had left provision for verandas on the third floor, in case the rule changes in future they could make the tenants living in attics comfortable by offering space to dry their laundry. But following the accident they were asked to do just the opposite- put railing on the windows. This means a huge financial blow to the house owners without any benefits. If they were asked to secure their verandas, the financial implication could be tolerated because it expands the scope of better life on third floor.
When people look at Bajothang town they see huge building and rich landlords, but when I look at Bajothang I see huge debts standing on the shoulders of worried landlords. They will be paying huge installments for the next 20 years failing which all their dreams will be seized by the banks. The rent they collect goes straight to the banks and any addition financial pressure could make them sleepless.
The landlords are not opposing the notification issued by the authorities, they perhaps don't have anymore capacity to invest on the building. I was expecting the authority to finally approve verandas on attic, that will boost the rental business of the otherwise prison-like apartments but what actually happened seemed like a punishment. What is a Rule without logic and without consideration for people it serves? The logic is to ensure safety- whether railing is on the window or on the veranda. A bunch of nail is enough to close windows and shut access to outside of attic if at all it's so illegal to create attic verandah. But with verandas on attics life will way comfortable for people living there.
There are more important things to worry about than shutting windows- When will the sewage tanks stop overflowing on the road? When will the farm road in Bajo town get its blacktop done?

Social Media Monitor

2013-03-30T14:28:00.000+06:00

I am officially appointed as the Social Media Monitor for 2013 Election by Election Commission of Bhutan since 10th March 2013. I will be working under office of Media Arbitrator in Chubachu with a team of media experts and a lawyer.
I have willingly agreed to undertake this role because of my love for social media. Now I can official be on twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, and online forums for 24 hours without upsetting my wife.
But I also have fear of being misunderstood by my cyber buddies-you might start thinking I will be policing on you and restrict your freedom on social media but in reality we are as free as ever as long as we follow rules. And ECB Social Media Rules and Regulation of the Kingdom of Bhutan, 2012 has nothing more than ordinary rules we follow in life, what makes it different is it stresses on election. It's just a question of few months for the sake of Free and Fair election.

The rules are there to

"Promote the responsible use of Social Media..."
"Ensure a level playing field for all contestants..."
"Prevent and Control any violation of the Electoral Laws in the use of Social Media in elections."

Click on the Picture to Download the book (Just 15 pages)

Let me quote few lines from the Rule book that will give you an idea of what you can and cannot do on Social Media during the Election Period;

4.1

Every user of the Social Media shall have the responsibility to carry out oversight duty and report to the election authorities any violation of the laws, in particular the Election Code of Conduct by a Political Party, Candidate, Voter, media, electoral officer or worker of a Political Party.

4.4

No individual shall communicate/transmit/post hate messages or any content with intent to defame or reduce the electoral chances of an opposing contestant or Political Party.

And under "Fair and Accurate Reporting" I'd like to highlight one point:

8.6

A Party, Candidate or their supporters shall not include rumour or unsubstantiated statements that have potential to mislead or deceive the reader, listener or viewer.

Role of our office is as stated in 4.6 (however the online version needs to be updated with changes made)

"The office of the Media Arbitrator shall put in place facility to monitor the Social Media forums effectively during the election and be responsible to arbitrate all media related disputes."

And in case of violation of the Electoral Laws by Anonymous users on Social Media:

4.9 (It's not in the online version)
"An ISP shall be required to put in place a system that can lawfully intercept and provide the necessary information on the identity of social media abuser using its services"

And two Solid Don't's you must remember during the election period are:

8.2 An online poll on support or opposition to Political Party or Candidate shall not be permitted during the Election Period.

6.1

The 48 hour period before poll and until the close of Polls, is also referred as Blackout Period or the 48-hour no-campaign period under the Laws, during which:

6.1.1

No one shall publish, broadcast, or transmit any item that is of the nature of election campaign supporting or opposing any Political Party or Candidate.

**The views expressed on this blog are my own (except the Quotes) and not those of the Election Commission of Bhutan or the Office of Media Arbitrator. It's for my fellow social media users for information.

Poetry Marathon in Agra Lite Festival

2013-03-23T20:28:00.000+06:00

If you find me writing too much about my Agra journey, you must forgive and understand that it was my first time attending a Literature Festival. But I was prepared by Tshering C Dorji not to expect too much and to enjoy the places and traveling experience. He told me that Writers are strange species of people who wouldn't listen to your story without finishing theirs- and each has a story that will last a life time, which means no one would be interested in listening to us.


Once upon a poetry stage- 11/3/2013

On the second night we finally got our share on the stage to read our poetry in Poetry Marathon, but unfortunately both of us weren't poets for quite some time. Tshering chose to tell a story from his life and I thought I would speak of Blogging in Bhutan. However, I noticed that we cannot speak peacefully if we run longer than a few minutes therefore I readied an old poem from my poetry blog. Tshering found it interesting and encouraged me to go ahead with the poem. And I did!

Shut Up Grandma

Shut Up Grandma,
Your stories are lies.
Sing us a song instead,
But do you even remember the tune?

I’m old enough, grandma,
I have found my own tune.
Forgive me if it hurts you,
Because I've always forgiven you.

Thank you, grandma,
For the life you chose for me,
But sorry again, I rewrote my destiny,
To walked my own free road.

Whose blood runs in me, Grandma?
It feel so cold in my heart.
There is dirt in that, grandma,
I have bled all of it.

There is a question I feared ask, Grandma,
Because I have always felt your answer.
But it doesn’t matter anymore,
So tell me grandma, did you ever love me?

This was written many years ago when I was a high school boy and I don't know what I meant in these lines. I chose to read it because it sounded very naughty, and also it was short enough to please the writer audience who were waiting to read their poems.

Taj Mahal and The Guide

2013-03-21T00:19:00.001+06:00

After seeing Taj Mahal for myself I was convinced that no one can fully express the beauty of the ancient wonder to you. The so many stories, descriptions and poems I saw on TV, read in books and heard from people are nothing compared to what stands there in Agra. Every piece of stone has a story to tell, no wonder it took 22 years to build.

At Taj with Prakash Subedi of Nepal

I can't do justice and therefore I won't dare attempt to describe Taj Mahal but I must tell you this is something you must see in your life time. Thanks to Ajeet Cour and Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) team for taking me to the greatest art of human civilization.

On the other hand, If you have watched Slumdog Millionaire you would remember the little tourist guide at Taj Mahal, which of course is fictional but our guide to Taj was even more entertaining, he has every detail of Taj Mahal by heart and delivers it like a robot in English language of his own. His name is Raj, and he calls himself "Raj by the Taj". Watch my YouTube of the Guide.

And Raj explaining the optical illusion -

How to Celebrate Happiness Day?

2013-03-19T23:30:00.000+06:00

The World recognized Bhutan's Philosophy of Gross National Happiness and decided to observe 20th March as International Happiness Day. Bhutan is going to celebrate the day for the first time tomorrow. Schools will not celebrate because students are expected to enjoy the day with their families at home, towns across the country will have programs for families are go out together and spend time meaningfully.
My students were excited about the holiday, so I asked them, "how are you going to celebrate the happiness day?"
Following are random answers I could grasp from their chorus:
"I will laugh the whole day!"
"I will go on picnic with my friends."
"I will play football."
"I will go for swimming."
"I will sleep whole day."
"I will chat with my best friend."

I told them, "These are things you do every day, every Sunday, every holiday. These are things you do for fun, for pleasure. You will forget those experiences when you wake up the next morning. Tomorrow is different, tomorrow you should do special things."

Then I suggested some things they could do:
"When we were young like you we spend our free time around our parents and grand parents begging of them to tell us stories. Those days we consider them the source of wisdom. Nowadays, you find them unexciting and outdated, and what they say don't make sense to you because they don't know Facebook and they complain about your hair. Many of you don't even live with your grandparents and some of us have our grandma as babysitter and grandpa as housekeeper. They were the loving parents who invested all their lives on our parents and on us, now they need our love and attention. They may not hear clearly, they may keep repeating some things, they may complain but tomorrow sit near them and talk to them, listen to them, cut their finger nails and ask them if they are taking their medicines on time. If they are not with you call them on your cell and talk to them. Promise to yourselves that you will do it often.
"How is your relation with your parents? Nobody in the world loves you like they love you. They complain a lot about you but they are the only people praying for you everyday. Girlfriends and boyfriends are people who didn't mean to you anything before you met them and perhaps won't matter anymore in a year or less. They will come and go but parents don't happen everyday. They were with you from your birth and will live till the end. But how often do we sit with them and talk? how often do we pay attention to their words? How many holidays have you spent with them? How many movies have you watched with them? How many time did you try to make them laugh? How much time did you spend in thinking about impressing them? Well tomorrow is your chance to reconnect with your parents and prove yourselves worthy of their unconditional love.
"How many of you have your best friend among your siblings? Your brothers and sisters are friends sent by god but many have our own friends outside our family. We are jealous about how our young brother is favorite of our mother or how our elder sister is our father's pet. What we must know is that our sibling are the people we know best and you will always find your most trusted friend in them. If ever we could show all the love we show to our friends we will find the best friends at home.
"Tomorrow is also about reaching out to people with whom you had misunderstanding with, to explain and apologize rather than spending the rest of life with hatred and regret. It's also the day to check through your contacts and call those people who have influenced your lives and say thank you rather than chatting with strangers on Facebook.
"Celebrating happiness is not about laughing, opening a champagne like in movies or doing things that you alone enjoy, it's about doing things that will bring smiles on the faces of people around you and in making them feel better. You will be surprised to realize how happy you become in giving happiness to others.
"Happiness is in these simple things you can do everyday. You don't have to buy big gifts nor write long letters or put on expensive make ups, just be with your family and try to catch up with all those things you have have missed so far. A good child at home will be a good students in school and good person in the world. Begin at home!"

Of course I wasn't so structured while speaking to them, but I told them everything that's here in this piece. And I hope it made sense to at least a few. I wish all my readers a meaningful day tomorrow, may you make difference in someone's life...

The Bhutanese Asha Pasa Theory of Economy

2013-03-19T15:24:00.001+06:00

Phuntsholing Custom officials were shown on BBS camera obediently performing their duty of dumping hundreds of cases of confiscated beer and energy drink, which could be worth hundreds of thousands. Import of those seized drinks were banned and therefore it was a job well done by the customs.
But what is the logic behind destroying the valuable goods when it could be auctioned outside the border to regain the rupee invested on importing it? Is it illegal to auction seized goods? or are we trying to prove our ethics?


Picture from Kuensel

Bhutanese with Ngultrum currency are greeted with higher prices across the border because rupee issue is still bothering our economy, and on the other hand we seem like a rich country with luxury to dump beer which are imported on rupee. It's not the first time we are seeing such incidences- millions worth of tobacco were burned in last years. Why are we being so Asha Pasa?
I am at least happy that Phuntsholing Customs is going to sell the empty beer bottles and cans to scrap dealers to be exported to India- Is it more ethical to earn Nu.2 per empty bottle than to reimburse Rs.50 per beer bottle? In that case I suggest them to sell the metal caps and cartoon boxes as well. This may go on to invent our own economic theory called Asha Pasa Theory!

Literature Festival in Agra

2013-03-11T13:33:00.001+06:00

I am attending the SAARC Festival for Literature organized by Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) in Agra on a personal invitation. I am recommended and guided by Tshering C Dorji, the writer of 'Shadow Around the Lamp' and 'Living the Bhutanese Way'. His many years of experience at this festival across the south Asian nations has earned him great respect among the members and I am enjoying walking after him into the warm group of writers.
This is my first attendance at any literature festival and I didn't give a second thought in accepting it. Besides quenching my literary thirst of meeting writers from different nations I also wanted so much to meet the founder, Ajeet Cour, who has put together all her life in uniting and promoting young poets and writers of south Asian nations against many odds. The charismatic lady welcomed me in her arms and joked to the crowd about how we Bhutanese were scared of train. I will write about this in a later post.
The festival has brought together over 100 writers from the SAARC nations and we were just two from Bhutan. We have lots of writers in Bhutan and I am surprised that many of them had attended the earlier editions of this festival but they never returned though the doors were always open. Tshering C Dorji returned year after year with new members and has become a part of FOSWAL family.
The festival showcases hundreds of publications of SAARC Writers and works of Ajeetji herself and of her artist daughter Arpana Cour's.
Morning are for academic paper presentations and afternoon till late evening we get to listen to poetry from different nations and in various forms.
Four writers were awarded Young Poet Award for their works in poetry. And five new books were launched at the festival. Tshering C Dorji's Timeless Diary will be launched soon.
Today is our turn to recite our poems but I don't know when I last wrote one, I rather proposed to talk about blogging in Bhutan.
Tomorrow we are visiting Taj Mahal and traveling together in a couch back to Delhi from where we will fly back to our own countries.

Ajeet Cour, The Founding Lady of FOSWAL, and undying force behind it!

Young Poet Award Winners

Ajeet Cour taking Tshering C Dorji into her arms

Showcase of Publication by members

Literature Festival Venue- Grand Hotel, Agra

Elephant Problem, Bee Solution

2013-03-06T17:25:00.000+06:00

I was watching a documentary on Aljazeera last evening that gave me a wonderful surprise- can you believe elephants are afraid of bees? Jim Carey is right, size doesn’t matter. Well this is one of nature’s many unusual phenomenons. After seeing how elephants panic and run away when they hear buzzing of bees my heart went out to the coward giant.

But the documentary was not intended at insulting elephants whatsoever, it was rather about how farmers in Kenya have used this weakness in elephant to defend their crop. Elephant is the last animal anyone wants to see in their fields because they are infamous for wiping off the entire harvest in a night. Kenya is home to a large population of elephants, which is good news for nature lovers but a very bad one for farmers whose only source of livelihood is their crop. They have been in continuous state of war for survival ever since the natural habitats of elephants were disturbed by the growing human population and developmental activities.

A troop capable of destroying a whole village

Killing elephants is the only option the farmers had but that was illegal, and other option was to die of hunger. They don’t have the luxury of using electric fence like Bhutan (They don’t have power to light their homes). But out of the blue an idea came that is going to change everything. Now farmers are encouraged to do bee farming along with their usual crops. The bee hives are hung strategically around the field interconnected by a string that runs around the field like a fence. When elephants encroach into the farm they will touch the string, which will shake the bee hives make excite the bees. And you know that happens when elephants hear the bees buzzing- right they run for their lives.

Bee Fence!

In southern Bhutan, our farmers are bothered by elephants too, and the best we have done so far was setting up electric fences around the fields. Due to heavy investment government could provide electric fences to all the farmers. It will take another round of foreign grants from friendly countries to have our southern farms protected against elephants. But there are a few questions we have to ask:

1. Is the investment worth the return?

2. Is the method sustainable?

3. Is it Eco-friendly?

4. Is it safe for other wildlife?

5. Is it safe from humans?

Bee fencing method will not only be the answer to all the questions but also give farmers sweet harvest of honey. It will defend them from elephants and also enhance their harvest with so many bees pollinating their crops. Solar electric fence might sound like a very green idea until you see the cost attached with it. After listening to Gunter Pauli, the founder ofBlue Economy, I admire what Kenyans have learned from nature. When will we do this?

This Video explains Blue Economy!

Rejected Seats in Government Schools

2013-03-01T07:53:00.000+06:00

Last year at this time I was going through a similar feeling and almost the same thought when I wrote "The Best School in Bhutan" where I was trying to differentiate my definition of best school and the definition people and even the authorities have put together. Nothing changed ever since but it brought personal gratification, having figured out the foolishness with which people hunger for reputation and glamour.
Education Ministry defines Class XI intake capacity every year, based on which the qualification mark is set but the recent trend of brilliant students choosing private schools over government school raises one important concern: has the government studied and considered the number of qualified students not take their privileges and therefore leaving seats in government school vacant, which could be otherwise given to students who ran short by a few points? I am of the opinion that we should keep at least over 100 students in standby, who could be considered in government schools after private school admissions are over.
There are students with brilliant marks who are welcomed into private schools and there are students with brilliant parents who can take their kids to private school for so many reasons despite having qualified but on the down side there are students who neither have brilliant marks nor have brilliant parents, for them it's the end of their schooling life. Giving away those seats rejected by the lucky students to those for whom the road has ended would be godly. No less than 100 seats are rejected every year, which could other wise change 100 lives forever.

There should be a system in place to find how many more students can each school take after the admissions are over to make full use of government resources, after all a class of 20 students takes as much resources as that of class with 40 students.
A simple example from my school might shed light on the wider picture: 66 students qualified for class XI, of which the top five students (with 85%- 92.8%) have opted to move to private school on special admissions and one has changed school. A few new students came in from other schools but the whole total could only make up for a section of Science and Commerce stream each. One student who want to take up Arts stream had to be moved to Punakha because we didn't have enough students to begin that stream. We have done the same for the last three years in row after we phased out boarding felicities. My school alone has provision for at least 30 Arts students who can put up on their own as day scholars, and I am sure there could be many schools who same capability.This happened not because of our ministry's miscalculation but by the outflow of qualified students to private schools- which of course is not tracked and considered.
How do we track the outflow? What provisions can be created to make maximum use of government schools and give higher education to as many children as possible?

Loop Hole in Bajothang Infrastructures Kills a Man

2013-02-27T00:30:00.000+06:00

I am writing about every corner of Bajothang because I love this place and I am living the best part of my life here. The loop hole I am going to write about is not that of 3G network which is not working yet- I know it just a rough sail in new place.
It's with heavy heart I am breaking the news that was not covered in any news media yet: Yesterday morning a man fell from the third floor of the building he was living in in Bajothang town, and was declared dead upon reaching hospital.
Let me present to you a brief background of how buildings are in Bajothang: All structures have attic on the third floor, which has a controversial background of its own. Attics are restricted to certain height and are not allowed to have verandas. Now, you may wonder how the man fell at all. The restriction on veranda was well imposed but the house owners have created a platform across the third floor which can be accessed through either a door or a big window. All commercial apartments have similar features and I am sure authorities have seen it but since it didn't look like veranda no action was taken against it. Therefore you could see people drying clothes outside the windows of third floor without any safety railings.

look at the attic!

The accidents such as this were easily predictable, it was only by the grace of god that we saw only one so far. He was drying clothes when he stumbled and without anything to hold on he landed up losing his life. Unlike in the rest of the world here we blame on our fate and luck instead of blaming on the structural safety and holding people responsible. It doesn't take too much brain to analyze that if there was railing the man wouldn't have died by falling off the building, and if at all verandas are not allowed then access to outside of the third floor should be made illegal.
I wish to see some news media come and not just report the news but also make people answer a few questions on the safety of the attic dwellers.