When it is time to leave.

There she lay groaning in pain
The last moments are already here
Nothing can hold her back now
Time up and she needs to leave

Time has ticked by too soon
It seems like just yesterday
When she set her foot here
And now it is time for goodbye

Sorrowfully her loved ones cry
renowned medics are at their best
But the lord above calls her
She has no other choices left

Her wealth can’t help her now
No supernatural power can save her
Alas all she gets to take
Is nothing but the good deeds

Such is the reality of life
Like autumn leaves she will fall
To the soil where she belong
And will finally turn to dust

After her the winter shall come
Cold frost will cover the ground
Leaving no traces of her existence
Lost and forgotten she shall be

The unknown four travelling the unknown route

So it was the four of us headed to an unknown destination, which everyone said is located in the south of the country south to ours.  Unknown to eachother and being together for the first time yet we decided to take this journey together, after all we were supposed to be together for five long years, which seemed like ages for us. But not it seems like the years are passing by too soon. Sitting inside a Mahindra taxi like some prisoners being taken to the jail, the questions that hit us was, when would we be back? How long would it be? These questions were left unanswered as nothing was confirmed. The journey to the train station seemed too short and time seemed to be racing. Travelling by transportation means that we have never used before; we were bored to death waiting for the train to arrive and we had a tough time trying to keep away from the beggars. When the train did arrive, we were in a rush to keep our things in order so that we can be comfortable later so much so that we did not even feel the movement of the train. We realized it only when we looked through the window to wave but then all we could see were the posts on the train station.

Two sitting on either berths facing eachother, I am very sure we looked like idiots because we did not speak a word as if we have been enemies for ages. We could not even converse not because we did not want to but because we did not know, what topic to bring up. Even when we tried to talk our conversations came to an abrupt end after a few questions and answers. It was really very uncomfortable to be sitting like that for three long days. The only guy in our group had the toughest time being the only guy. Lifting luggage, putting them on the berth, looking for platforms had to be done by him and worst of all he had no guy friend to accompany him at those tasks. He would silently climb up to the top berth and go to sleep during day time and during the night he would climb down to the lowest berth and sleep there so that we could feel safe. We had to take turns to sleep together on the same berth so that we can keep our luggage safely on the topmost berth. The next day was better, conversations seemed to have grown. Switching trains at Calcutta was the next trouble we had. Having to unload our luggage, look for the platform, wait for the train and again put back the luggage was something we really had trouble with. Feeling like bathing in sweat, we had no choice but to sit on the platform like all other passengers waiting for the train. The incidents with the coolie at Howra train station and Ap Bacteria and Aum Bacteria (we named them after something that they told us) will remain stuck with the memories of our journey. We still do laugh, when we recollect those.
Drinking water from an unknown couple especially, when they have a nagging kid, who tries to drink from the bottle time and again, would be a thing that we would never do in a foreign territory. But we ended up doing that because our silly demand that we want chilled water left us with no water. We were atleast glad enough that the couple let us drink their water otherwise thirst would have made us faint. Tasting that dish for the first time left us wondering what that white colored water was and later after some weeks we learned that it was supposed to be curd and its looked like white colored water because of excessive water and poor us, it tasted very bad. Feared gabbed our hearts when we were nearing the final station. Fearing we may miss our station and we may get transported to another station. Looking back at those days and nights, we feel proud. We did manage to get ourselves to our destination. The best part of the unknown four is that now we are good friends and our conversations never seem to be coming to an end now. Even during exam times we find ourselves talking uncontrollably.

First Day as an Intern

“It is almost 8:30 am, aren’t you going to the court today?” my sister shouted at me.

It was really very cold and I hated to get out of my warm bed but I had to go to the court. I remembered my sister telling me that the Dasho Drangpon is out of station and won’t be back till the Dzongkhag Tshechu is over. I turned to my left and slept off thinking I can go late as the other office bearers won’t mind me coming late. I completely lost track of the minutes I slept as it was cold and I dozed off again.  THUD THUD THUD…I heard a sound so faint in the room. I tried to open my eyes and opened it partially, when I saw my little nephew coming towards me. I sat upright in a rush and grabbed my cell phone to see the time. “Nine? Oh god! I am dead meat now” I screamed at myself. I should have woken up when my sister woke me but still then my instinct told me the Drangpon is not here so I can be late. I again decided to sleep some more. I was almost dozing off again when my brother who was sleeping by my side started pulling my blankets. “Let me sleep some more because I can be late today” I said but he was adamant not to listen to my plea. “Get up and get ready, you can’t be late on the first day itself even if the Drangpon is not here” saying so he kept pulling on my blankets. When I pulled back my blankets he started pushing my mattress. Poor me, I had to get up because when he pulled my blankets, the cold morning air enveloped me. I rushed to the kitchen so that I can sit by the hearth and keep myself away from the morning coldness. No sooner did I reach the kitchen, my sister entered the kitchen and asked me to wash myself up, eat breakfast and dress up.

I followed her words and did so. It was already 9:30 am, when left for the court. The way from my home till the court is all through the forest and I felt lonely and the way looked creepy with tall grasses growing in either sides of the path. Still then I managed to console myself that I will get used to all these as I have one whole month to walk all alone. The chilly wind touched my already freezing cheeks, making it worst. As for my hands, I covered them in the folds of my tego and wonju in an attempt to keep them warm but all in vain. The tego and wonju were cold too. Trying to cheer myself up I played a song on my cell phone and kept walking. The forest was silent and I was of the view that the birds are cold too and they are still sleeping in their cozy nests. The dew drops on the grasses wetted the edges of my kira inspite of me holding it up. I was nearing the court, when I met an elderly from the village nearby. “Madam, where are you headed to?” she asked me. Madam? I thought to myself but told her that I am going to the court. She asked me my village and about my family and I introduced myself as Sonam Zangmo’s younger sister. After parting with the old woman, I started my journey. Once near the court gate I took out my Rachu, slided it over my left shoulder and was entering the gate but the guard near the gate did not want me to go in. The dispatcher just came by when I was telling the guards that I am a student who is supposed to intern here. “Let her go in, she comes here every year, she is an intern” said the dispatcher to the guards as he had seen me in the court the other year. I was glad he came by otherwise I guess I must had to have shown the letter to the guards before I show it to the Drangpon. The court stood as majestically as ever and the registrar was as friendly as ever. He showed me to the Drangpon’s chamber and informed the Drangpon that an intern has come. Nervousness tingling me, I stepped into the Dragpon’s chamber, handed over the letter from the Supreme Court and stood there, if incase he had something to tell me.
“So you are an intern?” he started. The next question was about what help I can render to them? I got a little nervous and abruptly spoke out that I can do anything that I am assigned. Realized it later that I was trying to act a little more confident. What would have I done had he given me some difficult task? I thought to myself and this question made me feel lucky that the Drangpon would be out of station for a week and there was a week holiday, which means I just have the rest days of a month. He felt bad I had just a month to intern and it was a wrong timing as I would not learn anything and can’t even help them. Relieved that I actually escaped whatever work I would have been assigned I stepped out of his chamber. So it was way easier than what I thought. He accepted me as an intern and I had no work to do. Once outside his chamber, I was stuck in the way with the thought of where to head to? I choose to stay in the dispatcher’s room where not many people visited. Getting a little nervous as of what the dispatcher would think of me when I enter his room, I headed towards it and there he was sitting in the round chair looking at the computer screen. I stepped in and he offered me a seat nearby the heater. I was glad he was friendly and did not mind me being there. “So you are interning this year too?” he asked me, to which I answered by nodding my head. I was getting so bored sitting there idle, staring at the wall clock and wishing it was lunch break so that I can have a little time all to myself and decide whether to bunk or not? Finally it was lunch break, people started leaving for lunch and the bench clerks invited me to have lunch with them at the canteen on the ground floor. I wasn’t feeling comfortable so I decided to stay back and miss lunch and it wasn’t a big deal to miss it as I wasn’t hungry. I was left all alone in the chamber. I waited for another fifteen minutes and then picked up my bag and called my sister. She wanted me to come home as she and brother were having a hard time preparing for the next day. I told her I can’t come as the Drangpon was there and it would not be appropriate to be bunking on the first day itself but still then I put my bag over my shoulder and left the court.
It was the first day of my internship and I was leaving before the office hours were over. Still then I was confident that the Drangpon will not notice my absence. I should not have thought so because I was caught the next day but I got lucky enough. The Drangpon was in a good mood and I escaped the scolding. The first day of internship was over and from the next day I was punctual and helped the chief clerk. I am still doing so. After all I may not get lucky enough the next time and I can’t take another risk.

The forsaken gods

As I stepped into the cold area, shivers ran down my spine. Hollow yet expecting pairs of eyes were gazing upon me from within the sunken eye sockets. I could hear moans and groans from everywhere corner of the room. A faint cough reached my ears from the extreme corner and when my eyes sought for the owner of the voice, there she was, weak and frail, her skin sticking to her bones and she looked like a corpse. Barely moving even while she coughed. Someone right near the door called unto me and all I could do was to turn around and give a smile. I tried hard, indeed very hard to keep a cheerful smile on my face even while I felt like breaking into tears. Thin bodies covered in dirty pieces of clothes were leaning on the bed inside the makeshift house. They looked like skeletons laid down in a biology lab. The sight was really disturbing.

What was once considered as an unimaginable action and sin even to think about has now become a harsh reality. More and more people think of and many opt to dump their aged parents so that they can have no burden on themselves. People think it is the best possible way to do so, so the couples can carry on with their careers.  It is justified that the presence of an old parent at home is too much trouble for the children, bringing friends at home is embarrassing, they need to be tended to when they are sick, vacations are out of questions and there is no room for privacy. But all these justifications fall flat when we realize that the old parents called as problems are the very people who took care of the children whenever they fell sick. They gave up their favourites for their children's expenditure. They sacrificed outings, friends and vacations only for the sake of the children. They did not talk about not having privacy whenever they were in need of their parents. And when the parents grow old and the children start having their own family, they pay back their family by dumping them.
With the busy schedules of the children, all material requirements might be well provided but surely the vacuum of love and affection that only a family can provide is still there. The anticipations and expectation that a parent has from their children are never met. An indifferent institution seems a better option than bitter nostalgia and loneliness at home. But, it doesn't replace the warmth of a real home filled with the presence of one’s kith and kin.
On the other side, there is no denying the fact that some cynical elderly parents have spoiled the lives of their adult children. Many marriages have been destroyed due to the constant interference of these people. Still, dumping them is not and cannot be a permanent solution. Slogging away at work or even enjoying life to the hilt isn't really worth it at the cost of losing one's parents. We are what we are today because of them. Of course, not all possess a generous heart, great patience or even remember their duties when it comes to taking care of old parents. That is the harsh reality in the modern world.

The scene at a busy junction

It was already 2:30 pm when I and my friends after having much trouble locating places in the busy streets, reached to a mall just around the corner of the road which lead to a four way junction. The day was sunny and hot, beads of sweat formed on my forehead even as I travelled in an auto (which usually isn't very comfortable when it is five people sitting in one). My friends had some shopping to do while I chose to be left outside as I feel more comfortable being outside those tall buildings rather than feeling lost in those big rooms full of commercial materials. With my earphones in my ears and a Bhutanese music playing on full volume, I decided to look around as it would be sometime, when my friends will be done with their shopping.

As I stood there watching, people rich and poor, old and young, huge and small, were busy doing one thing or the other and some were rushing to their own destinations. Everybody seemed to be engaged in their own work and the street was too noisy as usual with the hooting and tooting of the vehicles trying to find their own way through the crowded traffic on the road (roads usually wide but so many vehicles on it) and in the midst of all those noise, the traffic and the people my eyes landed on a thin frail man dressed in a brown khaki pant and white collared shirt (which had turned almost grey owing to the dust and the sweat he shed due to the burning sun and the rising temperature) with a dark pair of shades resting on his nose, protecting his eyes from the bright sunlight and a mouth mask (that too white in color, which had turned grey) covering half of his face.
The man would not be given a second thought by most of the people who had passed that junction from where they passed safely. As I stood watching him, I saw his lunch box lying on the small chair under the small canopy like structure, where he is meant to rest while his fellow mate took over the responsibility of guiding the traffic so as to avoid collision (as it is the work of the traffic police), the sun had already slanted towards the west and his lunch box was still unopened. He was giving his best to provide his best service to both the pedestrians and the drivers running to and fro. People seemed in a hurry and so they rather blew the horn than patiently waiting for the other vehicles to pass by. I was watching him showing signs to the drivers indicating them to stop and to move along with his hands, when many thoughts popped up into my mind. I wondered how well he was respected at home by his children owing to his petty job? Questions like, how his children would react if they happened to pass that junction? What comment would a ruthless relative pass onto him? What would happen to the whole traffic if he went missing all of a sudden? And would the government help his family if something happened to him there? Kept coming into my mind no matter how I tried to avoid looking at him.
As I was trying to figure out the answers to my questions my friends came out of the mall, as they were done with their shopping we decided to go around. While we got into an auto again and started our journey to yet another place he was still doing his job.  With the happy chattering of my friends over the excitement of branded things they just purchased the scene of the policeman slowly vanished from my mind but the questions always remained stuck in there.

hi there

This is the first ever article I am trying to write in this blog of mine. I may not meet the standards of a blogger and I ain't a wonderful writer  with good writing skills nor am I a keenly interested writer. I write when I feel like and I completely forget the idea of writing sometimes. I write only when I come along something which, I think I want to write about (just my perception,  don't get me wrong), yet I am hoping to do my best to keep my blog updated and post beautiful things in here so that anyone visiting will have  a good time reading the articles. I always thought of maintaining a blog since I joined college but a chance to really get practical just happened to pass by a few weeks ago and the reason why I joined the blog is still a secret of mine and please don't ask me why, just kidding. I thought it must be fun to have one's own blog alongside reading the blog posts of those awesome writers (I came across many of them, so I don't remember their blog addresses, now i sound rude..:P), that was one inspiration, which dragged me into this blogging world.

Maintaining a diary is way too troublesome for me, especially when, I have to carry it with me to places I go and I am a forgetful person, I even forget to carry my toothbrush with me when I move out of my place, so it doesn't suit me to maintain a diary. And yes. not to forget, I am a lazy bones too. So, a blog page will do me good. Everyday update may not be possible yet I may visit it once in awhile (I am not sure about how long that AWHILE will be though...:D). Looking forward to putting up a great pile of stuffs though they may not be so much fun to read. Ehhhh ..I am already running out of words and now I am starting to wonder how I will be able to update my blog...:P. Anyway, happy reading guys...:).

Regards
Pelmo