Drumnyen (སྒྲ་སྙན) Drill

Drumnyen is a seven-stringed traditional Bhutanese musical instrument. And although it is used less frequently today Drumnyens were very popular when we were young. We would watch with rapt attention filled with envy as our older friends strummed the instrument and sang along. Those days still linger in my memory.

Recently, I was gifted a small Drumnyen by an acquaintance and I started learning to play the instrument. But as I was trying to fine tune the strings, one of the strings gave way to my strong stupidity. And without the shortest string on my Drumnyen, it was unable to produce some critical notes. The search for string took more time than getting the Drumnyen to my house.

I literally scanned the whole Thimphu City to look out for a string replacement. From one shop to another, I hopped with my wife following me patiently without complaining. I am thankful for her admiral patience. After sometime I was running out of my supposedly calculated patience. But I kept on getting directions to a shop that might sell the strings only to be redirected to another and another and another.

Ap Dawpel's Dramnyen: bhutanmusic.blogspot.com

The strings that are used by Drumnyen are the same strings that are used as the fishing-lines. And at every shop I had to ask if they have fishing-line. Everywhere people thought I was bound for some kind of fishing excursion. At a grocery store (that's where I was directed from another shop), a lady shopkeeper thought I was trying to make fun of her and casually responded, without even looking at me, "རོག་ན་ཆོས་འབད་ས་ལུ་་་་ཉ་གཟུང་ནི་གི་བློ་སླབ་དེ།," (roughly something like "where we practice Buddha Dharma, you are talking of fishing). Only when I said I needed the string for my Drumnyen, she looked up at me and politely said she does not deal with the strings. Then I thought I need to change my tactics and instead decided to ask for guitar strings only to realize that I needed fishing-lines and not the actual guitar strings.

It was an embarrassing shopping moment in Thimphu!

And I found the string when I was about to give up - at an unexpected shop! But now I know where to get them without all these hassles and embarrassment!

P.S: I have no serious issues to post today and I am posting this one for the sheer laughter's sake.

Comments

Utpal Academy - Bhutan's first All-girls High School

Academic Block Welcome to Bhutan’s first all-girls school. Isn’t that wonderful news to all our parents? Certainly, as a parent of a one-year old daughter I am excited about the coming of a school exclusively dedicated to the needs of girls. Our girls need special treatment, which we can for sure entrust the responsibility to Utal Academy, Paro. Dinning Hall I really like the name – Utpal – in Buddhist world, Utpal is another name for lotus flower, which is believed to grow from mud and yet blossoms into a beautiful and majestic flower. It stands for purity and many deities are depicted holding flower Utpal, more prominently Jestusn Dolma, the Goddess Tara. Symbolically, it also stands for the transformation of our girls. What an apt name for the school! Hostel Room The Principal’s message posted on the academy’s website promises providing our young women an “opportunity to participate fully in a wide range of extracurricular activities to develop skills and qualities that...

Community of Bhutanese Bloggers Conceived

And finally it happened. I must say that it was by far the most attended Bloggers Meet. In the past we had bloggers agree to attend and cancel at the very last minute. But on June 24, 2015 – almost 100% of bloggers, who confirmed came. I would like to thank everyone for keeping his/her words, especially those who had to come all the way from Wangdue or Paro. Thank you! 35 Bhutanese bloggers met in Thimphu. We were honored to have the presence of senior bloggers like Aue Yeshi Dorji and Dasho Sangay Khandu. The meeting assumed more significance because of their presence. Equally, we were happy to have many young bloggers in whom we see so much enthusiasm and potential. On top of many things that transpired during the Meet, one of the most significant outcomes was the unanimous decision reached to form a formal group of bloggers, a platform aimed at encouraging and inspiring more bloggers around the country. The members decided that we will call it Community of Bhutanese Blogger...

When FIVE is more than FIVE HUNDRED

Bhutanese parents complain that our children are exposed to so much foreign content and that they might soon forget our own root. Some parents also feel that their children respond well and better to stories that have Bhutanese characters and places in them. That's why the need for more and better Bhutanese books in the market. And we have only a handful of people who are committed to making this happen although the financial return is almost none. Bhutan can boast of not many writers. Here writing or publishing aspect of writing is an expensive hobby. In the first place, it is difficult to convince people to publish their writings and many leave it before they are halfway. Publishing is a complicated process. But here it is even more complicated since our publishers are not publishers in the real sense of the term. They would only 'publish' (print) school textbooks and in that they are only being wise - averting risks to their businesses. Recently, the whole...

Nawang P Phuntsho

Search This Blog