Nawang P Phuntsho

They came in scores to do their last transactions   As reported in the media today, thousands of Indians swarmed the local banks the other day. In order to address the IC crunch had ordered all the banks to close the accounts held by non-residential Indians. Thousands of Indian businessmen applied to close their accounts in the banks and withdrew the amount in Indian Rupee. There was a huge rush everywhere as the Central Bank announced in their directives that accounts (savings, CD, FDR, RD, etc.), which are closed on before 9 th March may be settled in Indian Rupee. Therefore, there was so much hustle and bustle in the banks, especially in the border towns.    Indians came in scores and took their money worth millions (almost emptying the banks). Seriously, this is a crisis in the making. With the closure of accounts and settlement of account balances held by Indian nationals is a short-term solution. How would it ease the rupee crunch? I am not a financial expert, b

This has been my one dream project. My friend and classmate Sonam Wangdue was kind enough to help me with the cover design. And then I lost all hopes. I stopped writing fictions and turned to blogging. Now I realized that does not bear much fruit either. I am one lazy blogger.  However, thanks to Ugyen Gyeltshen and Kinzang Tshering, finally I am gaining some confidence. Thank you both.  So, if everything goes well, Then I Saw Her Face might see the light of the day after all. Hope you will keep a close tab of this.  And I am extremely delighted to inform you that Ugyen Gyeltshen (Tukuli as he is popularly known as on Writers Association of Bhutan blog) is soon publishing his first novel The Letter from the Mountain (tentative title). Congratulations to him. That will be one more refreshing addition to the limited Bhutanese book market.  I am really excited. It is a touching story and a really good one at that. Please don't forget to get your copies soon.

The Gateway to the Peak of Learning I have been following Kesang Choden, an emerging women activist, on her quest to dig out the fathers of the children born out of wedlock especially in the east. It is a serious issue, one that merits the national attention. If we don’t start now, it will be too late. People who have “planted the wild seeds” (to borrow the phrase from the activists) must be taught a lesson. And for the same reason, I have volunteered to be the first Sherubtsean to test my DNA for the coming up of a DNA Bank and I am ever willing to support the activists for this noble social cause.   For the last so many years, these mothers have suffered in silence. Now it is time to finally reveal the identities of those hiding “fathers”. This can be the Judgment Day. Unidentified fathers have come thus far without a tinge of guilt whatsoever.   And especially having gone through this experience of never having a man to call a “father” I can easily connect with those

Photo: http://www.dailymail.co.uk Unlike in the past this year His Majesty’s 32 nd Birth Anniversary (February 21 – 23, 2012) and Losar of Water Male Dragon Year (February 22-23, 2012) coincided. It was nice that two happy occasions happened to fall on the same day. Realizing that the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Royal Government of Bhutan declared “24 th February, 2012 as a public holiday.” And unfortunately the day fell on Friday. For civil servants, Saturday is a day off. But not for many corporate and private employees- even teachers (although civil servants fall in this group!) Many, including me, felt that public holiday on February 24, 2012 was declared solely for civil servants in mind and with no consideration what so ever for the “others”. Everywhere, teaching is considered a very noble profession, but the statement is debatable when we talk of it in Bhutan. Here, it is a profession, which many opt out of choice-less choice. No offense to our teacher