LAST PAGE When the Gregorian year began this year, most of the elderly population in the country, including a good number of adults, turned a year older.
Without knowing their Gregorian birthday, their birthday was registered with the civil registry as January 1 of whatever year they were born in.
A fair number of Bhutanese adults on Facebook did have their birthday (perhaps fake) on New Year’s Day, and they received two greetings, a New [... Read More]
Despite the many challenges, it is picking up
COVER STORY Wrapped in soft winter blankets and a panel heater nearby, Trashi Wangmo, 23, is gazing intently at her laptop screen, as Bob Dylan croons in the background.
On the screen are a number of bags and shoes on display. She clicks on an image to magnify it and read details about it. Then she migrates to another.
Trashi Wangmo is shopping online at one of numerous [... Read More]
LET”S MAKE IT SIMPLE Businesses keep track of money that comes in and goes out. In other words they keep a record of the money they earn from the sale of their final produce and the money they pay to buy raw materials.
This is important because it will show the businessman the direction of his business. If the money that goes out in the form of payments is more than the money that [... Read More]
POINT OF SALE Four years after the point of sale (PoS), aimed at reducing use of cash, was introduced, the service is yet to pick up.
PoS, introduced by Bank of Bhutan Limited (BoBL) is a cash-free system, where payments are made by swiping the VISA or the automatic teller machine (ATM) card on the PoS machine, installed in a shop, for one’s purchase. The charges are deducted electronically.
“It is a cultural thing,” a [... Read More]
HEALTH & FITNESS I recently started golfing and I make it a point to go golfing during weekends and holidays. I am curious how this sport is benefiting my overall health in terms of fitness. Is golfing enough or do I need to hit the gym itself? Thank you!
Penor, Thimphu
Hi Penor
Golf in my opinion falls far too short to ensure health and wellbeing. Long hours of standing, walking and swinging a [... Read More]
DRUKPA KUNLEY There is, to the north of Lobesa, an area called Jilli Gang, which we privately think of as the place of jokes. You know by now that Drukpa Kunley was a complex person, ranging from sweet to ferocious. But at the heart of it all, we think of him as primarily an outrageous lama with a towering sense of humor. In Jilli Gang, DK was in peak form.
Of course, a good [... Read More]
LAST PAGE: Once we decide to buy something, there are many ways to pay for it. Do we hand over cash? Write a check? Pay with debit or credit card and have the payment automatically deducted?
With our old fashioned love for cash, we Bhutanese have been largely depending on it to cover all expenses. This habit to a foreigner, especially from the West, is odd. I found out during my study time in [... Read More]
In search of the mightiest among them through tasks dictated by chores of the boondocks
COVER STORY In one of the hotel rooms in Thimphu, a group of hulking men were seated.
Perhaps because of their sheer sizes, the otherwise average-sized double room was reduced to a boxy bedroom or sort.
Nyagoes they are, representing various dzongkhags of the country, here in the capital city to find out, who the strongest of them all is.
The term [... Read More]
 Jurmi Wangdi Age: 27 Weight: 109kg Village: Bartsham, Trashigang He is known for lifting a stone slab that three men couldn’t. Lifting 150 kg is not a big deal for him. While harvesting paddy in his village, he carries the load of three people. |
WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO Most Bhutanese Buddhist rituals contain the set of seven practices known as yoen lak duen pa. The seven practices are prostration (chag), offering (choepa), confession (shakpa), rejoicing (je su yi rang wa), request to live long (zhug par solwa debpa), request to turn the wheel of dharma (choe gi khorlo kor war kuel wa), and to dedicate the merits (ngowa).
Sometimes there is an additional practice called taking [... Read More]
