The heritage! Knowing your origins!

My great great grand mother is Angay Cham, she was born into Badrop family of Taktse in the year 1868. Badrop is a group of people living together representing a class. Angay Cham was brought to Dorshong Goenpa as a wife to Bumthang Wangchen (my great great great grand father). Agay Wangchen was staying with his brother Lama Pelki Wangchuk in a small hermitage, now present day above Dorshong Lhakhang. It is said that Lama Pelki Wangchuck was Lam Neten(chief abbot of monastic body) in Trongsa, He is from Dhomkar Dung (family lineage), Bumthang. Lama Pelki Wangchuk came to Dorshong Goenpa for life time retreat after retiring from Lam Neten post in Trongsa Dratshang(monastic body). Angay Cham and Agay Wangchen running an errand for Lama, started a family then.

Angay Cham and Agay Wangchen have five children (Angay Chaza, Angay Ugey zam, Angay Tandin, Angay Pendey [died in 2014/age 96] and Angay Leki[died in 2018/age 94]). Angay Cham died in the year 1965 at the age of 97. And then I am inherited with Angay Ugey Zam, the second daughter, Angay Ugey Zam [great grand mother] have two children (Angay Boem and Angay Doendup Tshering). Angay Boem became a direct grandmother to me from paternal side.

Compiled by Phuntsho Dorji
*youngest brother

Beloved Angay

Sad days, bitter days…..un-consolable.

That night Dad called me at midnight past 10. He said “Angay is no more”. She left this bitterly unfair world of miseries for someplace better. But then she left us behind.  I sighed deeply but emotions ran high and fast. Tears fell down, I was crying like a beaten child; helpless and crestfallen. This life event was something new in my life. I had experienced births, attended births at maternity units, attended the birth of a dear daughter a few months ago, and more so I had seen deaths. But this event was the death of someone so close to my heart and soul. 

She was a lady of elegance and caring heart. Her dedication to care and commitment to her life was unmatchable.  If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have known much about life I know now. The struggles, the losses, and the values of hard work for one’s living are the lesson she taught in numerous ways possible on every day of our stay together. 

I cried celebrating your life. A life that I will always look up to with gratitude. 

Dear Angay,

You have been so much to us and your life’s dedication to our family will be fondly cherished. This life has been a great gift to us because we had you. I remember that you had cared for us every day of your life. Your concerns were deep and vast. It can’t be just measured, it has to be remembered and prayed for. 

As you enter your next life of bliss, our sincere prayers and unfathomable love will always remain for you. 

I am writing to you today lest you don’t forget us. Sometimes I miss you so much. Please forgive me Angay.

Warmest regards. 

With Labdron

With much love.

Soenam Labdron Wangchuk

And my beloved daughter is 2 1/2 months old, she is our pride. She’s achieving her developmental milestones acrobatically. 

Well she gives that beautiful responsive smile, looks at faces and stares without blinking for minutes. She would watch at colors and lights, and her eyes hold those magical freshness in it. Her eyes follow me until I disappear out of her gaze.

I know she is wondering what on Earth are these “big” tall people seemed to be doing. She is observing human behavior of which she would learn to be part of. 

She likes cooing and babbling, and tells me many things which are beyond my comprehension right now...but baby I will understand you as you grow bigger and smarter. She has such a good head-control and am sorry for making you to roll on from prone to supine repeatedly. 

You are very well cherished and loved Dear Daughter, Soenam Labdron. We love you so much.

Our daughter, our Precious!

Time!

Our life is so just and calm. It is a spectrum of events. You are your life’s architect and chemist. You make, shape and prepare the design and the mixture for yourself. 

Ever since we made that vigorous cry after birth we are a living mortal. Our lives are sketched and crafted. And for everyday of our living,  we continue crafting and sketching. Our lives are not so different. We spend time reading, eating, playing, having fun and working. But for our common knowledge we don’t lead identical lives. We live in familiar world with dissimilar interests and purposes. And so as we set our purposes in life we grow more mentally than physically, more wise. A little wise everyday. 

I have my own purpose at least for this life. I am a married man, married to the love of my life. Now we have an adorable daughter born to us. It is such a pleasurable thing to have…more so because we own our very little girl. It is a duty so huge and cumbersome yet it is a rewarding duty, a special duty everyday. I see her grow up so fast, from days to now months she has grown to be more human-like. She has gained weight and has grown physically big. She could sense her environment and is aware of our presence. She could respond to sounds and even to certain cues. At times she could even recognize faces or she looks like she could. It is a part of normal growth. All these growing ups, changes and maturation are wonderful. It is like a young beautiful rose bud, growing and glooming. Its exciting and fulfilling. Such is our life, and such is our purpose in this life.

One day as I look back, and as my daughter looks back and checks her accounts in life she will realize that everything about her were so dearly kept and treasured. 

I want to see everyday of her life until she becomes “ONE”. And even after that until she could call us ‘THE ONEs”. 

Soenam Labdron Wangchuk
Born: 19-10-2017

Essay

Tech. and Governance

In 21^st century the scientific development has been unprecedented. Development especially in the field of information and technology has not only achieved milestones in its quest for perfection but it has drastically eased our lives and befitted our social functioning. Different levels of society have access to wide range of technologies.

Technology is a boon for humanity. As much as it has benefited humankind, it also has been a support system for humankind and its survival over the course of last one century or so. The advancement in technological development has reached the highest level ever since man entered space, drove vehicles and developed artificial intelligence through computing.

Our society has developed and for good reasons, its functioning and operation at different levels have improved. For a country to develop and for its people to enjoy happiness and good livelihood, our social system needs to be strong and efficient. So the basic rule for such changes to happen is to have a good functioning government with effective social service delivery and one that is transparent and with zero or minimal corruption. Any government with effective delivery system, transparent and low corruption is a good functioning government and that government will thrive for better in terms of socio-economic development.

Advanced technology can be used as a tool of good governance to improve and sustain a good system of governance.

For effective social service deliveries (including delivery of government to citizen services like judicial services, security services, etc…) can be achieved through online computing system. In Bhutan the government initiative called G2C online service provides online services for people to access many different government services like security services, judiciary services, passport services, marriage certificates. There are about 34 services, which are provided, online through this system. Technologies used in this way provide timely and easy service to citizens without having to stand in long queue or wait for hours to avail such services if not through such technology assisted online services.

What is a transparent government? How can technology increase government transparency? Transparency in government basically refers to making information about government like government processes, budgets and public officials available and accessible to general public.

As our literacy rate is improving and as social medias are reaching out to more users the demand for transparency in government is growing. But transparency in government can only be achieved by active citizens participation in matters of national importance. Government should invest in technology that would help general public to access government information precisely, easily and timely. For instance if governments use technology like live-video or live-audio streaming of government meetings to citizens, it would not only make information available but it would also enable citizens to take a bigger part in economic and democratic process.

Corruption in any form is detrimental for proper functioning of government. It widens the social gap between rich and poor. It favors the privileged groups in the society. So how can governments use technology to prevent corruption? As technology advances there could be many ways of its use in curbing corruption at different levels. One way and probably the best possible way could be use of technology in “deterring corruption”. The government could set up a whistle blowing system and using a mobile app/phone people could report corrupt officials to the authority concerned. The institutions can be linked online with auditing system especially with regard to billings and financial disclosure. Other methods of reducing corruption used by different institutes or government are automation of tax collection thereby reducing discretionary practices in tax related issues.

In a nutshell, technology if used properly and for right purpose can be the best tool of good governance for smooth and successful functioning in any country.

Daisy!

Daisy.

I found her flirting on the Sea,
With lights and water,
In that cool breeze, she lay at ease,
Her dark eyes closed and slender legs crossed,
I lay on golden sand, right across the beach,
I wish I could swim across.

An evening in lights and clouds,
Lot of songs to dance to...
She danced like a fairy, 
Her fleshy lips...gently parted,
And her ravishing body in those slinky dresses,
The sensuous feelings from all things fair...shh!!

"Magic money tree"

United Kingdom is a developed country, ranked as the sixth richest country in the world as per World Bank GDP ranking. While Bhutan on the other hand is a small, landlocked Himalayan kingdom sandwiched between World Economic giants; China and India, and we are a low-middle income country. But the issue of how well our nurses and doctors, and other healthcare professionals (for that matter) are payed matters to Bhutan as much as it does in UK. 

Low wage isn't good at all, especially for these group of professionals who commit and give in so much; getting faced with enormous workload and work-related stresses. Experiencing burnout to the extend of contacting compassion fatigue thereby hampering patient care. In a nutshell, it's a vicious cycle and the quality of health care deteriorates. That's bad for country's growth and welfare.

Our economy's been growing and that means we are growing money adequately so. And as we find it, the issue isn't whether we can grow money or not, it's where the money goes once it's been grown. From a distance we can see (as an observer like a political watchdog), many countries in the world are in the same boat and facing the same (if not identical) issue. The truth is that the governments just make a choice not to...pay nurses, doctors and teachers properly. And that's outrageous.

Healthcare Professionals at Dochula, 2017