A few days ago I witnessed a disheartening incident at the Changlam square in Thimphu. There was a group of high school girls who hurriedly gathered along the pavement, craned their necks across the road and began laughing at something seemingly very funny. I got curious and walked a few …

This paper, in this issue, has covered four different types of stories which reveal a lot about the quality of infrastructure, equipment, food and services in Bhutan. In terms of infrastructure we saw overnight swimming pools forming on roads in Thimphu and across Bhutan with the advent of the monsoon …

As I type these lines, I am watching a Bhutanese singing show: Drinchen Amai Sungkoed, the voice of Bhutanese mothers. Unlike the earlier Bhutanese reality shows, the current show engages Bhutanese women and is specifically aimed at developing their voice and personality. In Bhutan, the concept of women empowerment is …

I have had the pleasure of meeting this person of high repute and since then I have been closely following him with great admiration and respect. And one day I run into another person. We happened to casually chitchat when he suddenly mentioned this. I was told that because I …

The land scam in Trongsa which happened between 2002 and 2006 with the active support and guidance of the former Trongsa Dzongda is another stark reminder of the challenges of corruption. The blatant way, in which the former Dzongda helped his wife, a local school principal, to buy land at …

My childhood has been interesting. Everyone who knew me as a boy has unforgettable stories to share. From the outside they must have found it adventurous. But I have been trying to forget everything because there weren’t many beautiful moments I could cherish. I don’t want to be hateful. I want to …

Preliminary Exam is the gateway to the most sought after career in the Civil Service in the country. And that’s why many graduates are trying all that they can do to crack this examination. That way they come a step closer to realizing that dream. Sadly, some graduates, however good …

The Global Tiger Day saw Bhutan announcing it has 103 tigers. This is up from 74 tigers in 1998. The tigers were painstakingly counted using 1129 camera traps throughout the country during the past two years. Tigers have been caught in these cameras from the plains, at 150 meters, to …

Due to the current tourism policy, most of the people in other countries are not aware of Bhutan, they don’t know what Bhutan is and where it is physically located. Those who are aware of Bhutan complain about the USD 250 per day mechanism as they think that it is …

Many corrupt and authoritarian countries around the world have had perfectly educated, competent and even likeable politicians at crucial points in their history. However, more often than not, all that fine exterior fell apart whenever there was a serious challenge to their power or when they themselves or those close …