Of Evaluations & Revaluations

As mentioned earlier, I have just spent two weeks writing backlog exams at Nalsar. One would feel that after having spent five years in law school the college would be more kind and eager to help out its students who were left with backlogs at the end of the last semester. Sorry, not Nalsar. Once an ugly bastard, always an ugly bastard is Nalsar.

Despite imprisioning a bunch of young people within a 55 acre confine for 5 years, they still don't relent in their ways when it comes to doing anything for its students.

I say this because of the following.

In Nalsar if you cannot clear a paper in the first attempt, they allow you to write a repeat exam in the same subject. Alongside the option of writing a repeat there is the option of applying for a revaluation. Now registering for a repeat costs Rs.500 per paper, while applying for a reval costs Rs.1000 per paper. There were 9 of us who were still burdened with repeats after our last semester in college, many of whom - myself included - applied for revaluation in papers where we missed out narrowly. Basically by one mark or less. Whilst applying for reval we had asked the Head of Nalsar Examination Department about the date of release of revaluation results. They'd assured us that the same would be out before the repeats commenced. Obviously, since it doesn't make sense to write a repeat in a paper you've already cleared in the revaluation.

We were further asked to also deposit the amount for repeats along with the reval money, cause well they had set last dates for submission of examination fees. They still hadn't released a date for results though. Now we've all paid for the repeat exams as well revaluation in several papers where we've failed to clear by one mark. Remember they had assured us that the revaulation results would be out before we write our repeats.

Fast Forward to today : I leave Nalsar for the final time after having written all my repeats. Everyone else had already left. We had to write all papers, including the ones we had submitted for revaluation, cause well they haven't declared the results yet. We also have no clue as to when our results will be released. Also none of the fees paid to the examination department are refundable, which means all the money paid towards revaluation and repeats are gone irrespective of whether they actually re-evaluate our papers or not. Either ways, as it turned out we might as well have simply written all our repeats since the reval results coming out now deosn't really do us much good. Any good rather.

It was early morning when I was leaving Nalsar along with an old friend, and I guess somewhere deep within I was praying to be hit by some sort of remorse, or feeling of loss at the same. But I realised that the really sad part was that even now, leaving for the final time - I won't come back here, pass or fail - I felt a sense of relief; one that I feel everytime I leave campus. All I feel after spending 5 years here is relief on leaving.

This makes me sad.

In the next few hours I'm going to be appearing for my International Trade Law - ITL - repeat exam. Repeat? Well I didn't clear it the first time around. So now I have to, cause time's running out. 

I stayed up most of last night studying and I'm no wiser than I was before I started. But I figured who it is, because of whom I'm so miserable. Adam Smith. The man came up with the concept of absolute advantage and proposed a switch to free trade of mercantile economies. If it wasn't for that one fucker, ITL as we know it wouldn't have existed. I don't like studying ITL.

All is not unwell though, there was a bit of good news from back home. Baichung has been signed by East Bengal for the next season after losing star striker Suniel Chetri to Dempo SC. So yaay! 

Not Me

I'm a grown man. I am supposed to be responsible; atleast regarding my existence with respect to others. I am supposed to be understanding; atleast of my duties to those I am dependant on. I am supposed to be studying; atleast to clear my papers and get out of college for good.

I am trying. But this is not me. For better or for worse.

Second Home

This week I found myself back in college to pay my remaining dues. I should've known that the lifting of a curse would require further penance on my part. Either ways, I'm here and the place feels strangely empty and vaccuous now that none of my batchmates are around. Its like you walk down the lanes of the University and the certain voices and demeanours that you instinctively learnt to discern in darkness or from a distance, are not there to be found. No matter how long you walk or when. Having spent five long years here myself, I wouldn't wish for any of them to be here anymore. However, watching the life continue in college unperturbed and being in the middle of it, makes me feel strangely out of place. Which is weird considering the fact that I am familiar with the darkest corners, crooks and crannies of this place.

I guess I'll always remember college with the people I've shared it with. Without them, although life goes on, it isn't the same.

Portrait of the man who killed God

Chapter I : First Rays of the New Rising Sun

In November, 1942; a seventeen year old black girl - Lucille - gave birth to baby Johnny Allen. He was the second physically able child his mother would give birth to. His brother Joseph and sister Pamela were born with physical disabilities and were given up for state care at an early age. His other sister Kathy was born blind and was subsequently given up for adoption.

The boy’s father served in the army and was not around during his early childhood. However, after his release from service he collected his son and changed his name to James Marshall. Thus the boy got his name.

James got a guitar for $5 at age 15, around the time his mum was dying, and started playing. With no formal training he picked up licks and riffs by watching others play or by the ear. At 17 he had his first electric guitar, a gift from his father. This was 1959, and Blues artistes such as Muddy Waters and BB King were all over the radios doing exciting new work with the blues scale on the electric guitar, lending the traditional notes born in the swamps of the Mississipi river or the back-alleys of Chicago, a more refined commercially viable sound. Jimmy Rodgers, who played guitar for an upcoming Muddy Waters, and BB King were the earliest inspirations to young James. He tried playing for local bands, but as it were, his style and manner was ‘too loud’ and he often got himself kicked out at the auditions itself. However, he did play a while in a band called The Velvetones, who did local gigs for free.

It was however in the early 60s - after he joined the army to escape a rap for stealing cars - that James Marshall took to the electric guitar with a sincerity and passion that would lead him to experiment for hours with feedbacks and distortions, his mastery over which eventually created the legend who was just being toilet-trained as of now.

Whilst in the Army, he also became friends with bassist Billy Cox with whom he’d perform random gigs under the name The King Kasuals.

The discharge from the Army came sooner than expected after his commanding officer caught James sleeping with his guitar. So off went The Kings Kasuals, James and buddy Billy, down south to Tennessee where they would scratch out a living by performing gigs with various artists on the infamous Chitlin Circuit. It is here that James learnt to play with his teeth, cause well that’s what most artists did there. It has been said that on the streets of Chitlin everyone had something to show. Something to enchant you with, cause if they didn’t they would starve. It is here that James Marshall learnt the thrill of winning crowds by shocking them with what he could do. Or rather, by what was possible to be done. The highlight of his career here was touring with Little Richard as a back up guitar player. Little Richard was a big influence on a struggling James. He showed him how to be freaky and still woo large audiences. The gigs with Little Richard were the largest ones James had played till date. He would later go on to say that he wanted to do with his guitar, what Richard did with his voice.

Some months later James Marshall was to be found in New York, in Greenwich Village. No one exactly knows what happened. Some say Little Richard fired him, some say he missed the tour bus, and some say he never wanted to get on it in the first place. Either ways James Marshall was spotted in New York in early 1965. It is here that he would be introduced to the works of one of America’s greatest songwriters.

Bob Dylan had just released Highway 61 Revisited. Worst of all, blasphemies of blasphemies, Dylan had gone Electric!

Now this was a big deal back then. Bob Dylan was an American folk hero. He was to herald the Peace Movement to draw the Government out of THE WAR. And now he just stabs everyone in the back, or maybe shows everyone what it was really about, with the opening track of the album - Like a rolling stone - often considered in retrospect to be one of the pivotal works in Rock n’ Roll history.

It was Dylan’s first studio album with a full-fledged electric set and a back-up band. He was “Judas” to some, and “genius” to others. The point being however, that he was the man everyone was talking about, atleast in New York.

James Marshall was completely enamoured by what he heard of Dylan. Also till date James had experimented a lot with his guitar and amplifiers; however, he hadn’t dared to sing. He hadn’t ever considered himself a worthy singer. When he heard Dylan, for the first time he realized that “if this guy can sing, so can I”. Hence James started singing alongside playing the guitar.

Meanwhile across the Atlantic, in good ol’ England, a bunch of British kids from industrial counties such as Manchester, Liverpool and London, had taken to the sound of the Mississipi Delta and had made it their own in ways that would’ve been unimaginable to a traditional blues artist. As a result they were selling records not only in their country, but also in the intellectual East Coast of America. Bands like The Animals, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and probably the most significant of them all…Cream; were part of what came to be known as The First British Invasion of America. Immensely popular both at home and abroad, these bands gained a formidable reputation for their live performances, presenting the blues in a manner unheard before. Much like what James was trying to do in America, in vain. Now in New York he found records of people like Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck who were creating sounds with feedbacks and distortions much like himself.

He felt like his ‘real friends were miles away across the ocean’. And he hadn’t even met them.

Chapter II : Bold as Love

Early in 1965 The Animals would split up leaving bass guitarist – Chas Chandler – looking out for new talent to manage. Mr. Chandler was looking for an artist cover an old blues number called ‘Hey Joe’ when he walked into a bar in New York and saw a black left handed guitarist present a dark and serene cover of the same song. On asking he learnt that the guy called himself Jimi. Jimi Hendrix.

Chandler would go on to become Jimi’s manager. He knew that the New York scene wasn’t ready for Hendrix’s guitar work yet. In fact there was no market anywhere in America for the kind of electric blues that Jimi was dishing out.

He offered to take Jimi to England. Get him a band, and cut him a record. Chandler recalls Jimi’s one and only query; “Could you introduce me to Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck?”

So in early 1966, after being in New York for less than a year, Jimi Hendrix left for London.

Barely a week in London and Chandler decided to take Jimi to a Cream concert. Chandler, having been part of a high billing act, knew most of the who’s-whos of London’s music underground. Clapton was a personal friend of his, and he was to introduce Jimi at the end of the show. But rarely could anyone, anyone human, ever stick to plans made with Jimi Hendrix.

It is worthy of mention that Cream were regarded as ‘The Royalty’ of the British blues scene, with lead guitarist Eric Clapton being unofficially referred to as God amongst their fans. Most critics and journalists recall that at Cream shows, the entire hall would shut up if any of the Cream members did so much as even whisper. That was the kind of aura surrounding the band when Jimi came in.

Sometime into the performance, the audience received their first shock of the evening. A tall thin black man got onto stage and asked to jam with Cream. This is something no one had ever done or would do. If you were in England in 1966 and you liked the blues, you were definitely and utterly in awe and devoted to a band called Cream. You don’t comment on Cream, you don’t touch Cream, and hell! you definitely don’t get on their stage uninvited and ask to jam with them.

Fortunately the members of Cream were not as arrogant as they presented themselves to be, and so they agreed to jam. Jimi Hendrix, after having been in London for 5 days, was on stage to jam with the biggest electric blues band in the history of blues.

Jack Bruce would, in a television interview, later wonder as to why ‘I did not kill Jimi when he came onstage, cause he plugged his guitar into my bass amp’.

And then came the shock of a lifetime. Jimi blurted out the chords to Killing Floor on his guitar with Clapton struggling to follow. Journalists present at the gig recall Clapton’s hands dropping off his guitar and him standing there for a while before dropping his guitar and walking offstage, leaving an unaware Hendrix still playing onstage.

Chaz Chandler would run backstage to find Clapton struggling to light a cigarette with shaky hands. Clapton’s only reaction was “is he really that good?”

People leaving the concert, not knowing Jimi’s name yet, started whispering about a black left handed guitarist from America who had just killed God!

Jimi Hendrix had officially arrived at the scene.

Jimi Hendrix would go on to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience under Chandler’s guidance, with British musicians Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums. Within 6 months of arriving in London, he was the most sought after and billed live act in England. Not only did he draw large crowds for his gigs, but also caught the imagination of most of his peers. A rock critic noted that, ‘if you been to a Hendrix gig in England, chances are you’d run into someone like Townsend, Jeff Beck or maybe one of the lads from Cream on your way out’. The aristocracy of British music was in love with him.

He was hailed as the fastest rising star on the horizon, and at the 1967 Monterrey Pop Festival his coronation as the most talented live act in the world was complete. The Who and Jimi, both known for their wild and out-of-control live performances were to share the stage together for the first time. Both had a healthy respect for the other and neither wanted to follow the other on stage. The stalemate led to a toss between Jimi and Pete Townsend, the latter won. Thus Jimi was to follow The Who. The Who would go on to deliver one of their trademark outrageous performances.

But Jimi Hendrix was not to be outdone by mere luck. That night Hendrix audaciously became the first artist to cover Like a rolling stone, a song considered so hallowed in the music business that no one had dared to touch it yet. He would then go on to burn his guitar onstage shocking the near 20,000 strong audience.

The power of the same performance would lead Roger Daltrey of The Who to comment “only Jimi could’ve followed The Who that night”.

Later that year, at his last performance in London before returning to America, Jimi would go on to cover Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the title track from the Beatles album that was released just 2 days before the scheduled gig. Most of the British audience present hadn’t heard the song yet.

Noel Redding remembers being too stunned to walk out on stage when Jimi had informed him of his choice for the opening track of the gig, just minutes before they were due onstage. Further Paul McCartney and George Harrision were present in the audience amongst other British rock glitterati.

They pulled it off much to McCartney’s delight and to the relief of the rest of The Experience.

That year they released their first album Are You Experienced? in UK, and it reached #2 on the UK charts second only to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles.

Chapter III : Electric Ladyland

Jimi Hendrix was found dead at a hotel in London in September, 1970.

Before his death he had returned home to a frenzy of fans and urban legends about him. America had discovered one of its greatest sons by words and reviews heard from across the Atlantic. His arrival was closely anticipated and watched. In the next 3 years he would go on to record two more albums with The Experience before Noel Redding quit the band. Mitch Mitchell stuck on with Hendrix for a few live projects before Hendrix joined forces with his old friend Billy Cox on bass, and drummer Buddy Miles to form The Band of Gypsys. They released Hendrix’s only complete official live LP.

A few months later Jimi was reunited with The Experience in what was to be his last tour with the band.

After his death, multitudes of artists – blues and otherwise – have come and gone working with the effects and chord structures used by Jimi. It was like Jimi Hendrix had taken the language of the blues and come up with his very own dialect. Peers such as Jeff Beck would later comment on the body of music left behind saying, “By the time he (Jimi) was done, it was like there was nothing left to do…He did all that we were trying to achieve, but what he did we never could have done…you know being white and British, it was impossible for me”.

Jack Bruce while commenting on Eric Clapton and Hendrix, once said “when I first saw Eric I said to myself, now here is a master guitar player…but Jimi…now Jimi was more like a force of nature”.

Personally I believe Jimi Hendrix’s music was a chaotic mix of oneself looking at one’s present through the eyes of another culture and somehow trying to align that to one’s own culture within the existing social structures; thereby giving birth to a most potent, self destructive form of madness that was to eventually consume its own source. With Jimi Hendrix, the blues had come a full circle from the backwaters of Mississipi to the shores of the Thames and riches of Europe, only to be thrust back into the hands of a left handed African-American guitar player.

James Marshall Hendrix, RIP.

bleh!

Bad day for teams I support.

I first saw Bengal dominate the finals of Santosh Trophy against Goa, but yet bewilderingly fail to score in 120 minutes of play. Then lose out in the penalty shootouts, thanks to miserable spot kicks by Lalkamal and Safar Sardar that were saved by Goanese keeper Felix D'souza.

Later in the evening I watched India lose to England in their second super eight game. Needing 19 to win off the last over, a six from Pathan and a boundary from Dhoni couldn't do the trick as India lost by 3 runs despite having 5 wickets in hand.

It has really been a day of weird losses for the teams I support. Very weird and disheartening.

Bengal in the Finals

Bengal is to take on the winner of the game between Goa and Tamil Nadu on 14th June, in the finals of Santosh Trophy. Today Bengal overcame Services 2-0 in a convincing display of strength. Although both the goals have been credited to Gouranga Ghosh, it is worthy of mention that the first goal came of Gouranga's head as a deflection off a powerful goal-bound shot from Lalam Puia. The second goal came from a counter attack which saw an unmarked Gouranga race through a hapless Services defence and tuck the ball into the nets.

The Bengali challenge for the trophy has grown stronger over the last couple of games. It remains to be seen who qualifies to challenge them in the finals.

Goa v. Tamil Nadu will be telecast live at 1730 hrs tommorrow on Zee Sports.

Baichung Bhutia suspended...

for 6 months by his club Mohun Bagan AC for allegedly not taking necessary permission from the club for participating in the dance show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. Mohum Bagan coach, Karim Bencharifa, has however stated otherwise. The coach has said that Baichung had obtained his permission before signing up for the show. Also that Baichung had not missed a single I-league game this season. For those interested, details here.

Inane City Times

Today a number of old timers braved extremely humid and sweaty conditions to venture out to their good ol' tea spot under an even older banyan tree. But alas, the tree is no more. It has been claimed by Aila, like many other trees all over the city. The cemented sitting area around the base of the tree, often referred to as 'The Throne' amongst its devotees, has also cracked under pressure from the roots of the tree as it was being uprooted.

Thus it has officially gone warmer and sweatier at our favourite tea stall. The area also appears strangely vacant - kind of like naked, for lack of a better expression - and rampant with cockroaches emanating from all around the remaining tree stump. Today a friend was attacked by a flying cockroach.

Yesterday Goa thrashed Maharashtra 5-0 to advance into the semi-finals alongside Services who overcame Karnataka 1-0 in a closely contested game.

Goa now face Tamil Nadu in the semis while Services take on Bengal.

I didn’t watch either game. I was busy watching Pakistan-England T20, which was pretty boring except for Umer Gul breaking a stump in half with a beauty of a delivery. I don’t know why, but I always find myself inclined towards Pakistan whenever they play anyone but India. I’ve always admired their pacemen. Its just that nowadays I’ve begun feeling guilty about feeling this way. Weird how what goes on around one affects simple feelings that one may have in something as non-political as sport. Whats there.

BENGAL IN SANTOSH TROPHY SEMI-FINAL!

It was an ecstatic finish to the league for Bengal as they bulldozed their way into the semi-finals of Santosh Trophy. In what was a keenly fought encounter, Bengal drew first blood through a Snehashish Chakrobarty strike. A move that was initiated by the striker himself and midfielder Shubho, who returned possession by way of a delicate pass into the box, resulted in the ball screaming past a hapless Punjab keeper. But defending champions Punjab were not to be kept down for long. They kept attacking, making life hectic for the Bengal defence. The latter defence must be given due credit for playing brillaintly today. They gained possession off most Punjab attacks, and managed to return the ball to their own midfielders. Something that went a tad awry in the second half against Manipur. Punjab however, held their nerve and came back in the game early in the second half with a strike from PC Mahlima who took quick advantage of a rare lapse in the Bengal defence.

Bengal showed tremendous grit and determination in the game to come back in the 84th minute. The hero, non other than Chirag's United's golden boy Pachau Lalam Puia, who scored his 3rd goal of the tournament in emphatic style to clinch the winner for Bengal. The final scoreline read 2-1 in Bengal's favour.

In today's other game, a resurgent Tamil Nadu routed Manipur 3-1, with striker P. Muthu scoring a hat-trick for the winners. They join Bengal in the semi-finals, outsting Manipur on goal difference.

Bengal have now topped the group with 5 points in 3 games, while Tamil Nadu and Manipur share second place with 4 points each, and Punjab bringing in the rear with 3 points.

A great day for Bengal football which found its chances of qualifying to be slim due to some extremely competitive football played by all 4 states in the qualifying rounds.

The other league in the touranment is also being keenly fought with one game remaining for each team. While Maharashtra having lost both their matches are out of contention, the race to semis is still on between Goa, Karnataka and Services.

All matches are broadcast live of Zee Sports.

Santosh Trophy

After drawing their first game with Tamil Nadu, the brave Bengalis literally threw away a golden opportunity of getting closer to a berth in the semi-finals. They played Manipur today. Lalam Puia of Chirag United, put one past the Manipur keeper in the 10th minute itself to take his personal tally of the tournament to 2 goals in 2 games. Since then Bengal dominated the proceedings and had most of the possession. However, they messed up numerous chances to score in the first half with Lalam Puia himself guilty of a couple of missed opportunities. Credit must be given to the Manipur keeper Basant Singh who kept his state in the game under pressure.

The second half, however, was dissapointing. It saw Bengal sitting deep defending their lead, while a belligerent Manipur kept pushing forward. Bengal were duly punished for their negative play with Manipur equalising in the 59th minute. After that the game turned lacklustre with both sides playing extremely mediocre football and being unable to capitalise on the other's mistakes.
Bengal did have a few good chances in the end which failed thanks to some great goalkeeping and poor luck. The game ended 1-1.

In the other game of the league Punjab beat Tamil Nadu 1-0. Punjab reportedly scored of a penalty. Details here.

Now each team has played 2 games with only one to go. Manipur are sitting on top of the table with 4 points, Punjab are second with 3 points, Bengal in third place with 2 points and Tamil Nadu last with 1. To go through to the semi-finals Bengal must win their final league game against Punjab and pray that Tamil Nadu somehow overcome the fighting Manipuris.

Punakha, With love across the border

The weather at Thimpu is extremely unpredictable. You wake up and there’s sunshine, but by the time you’ve packed and checked out, there’s a hailstorm. So Thimpu was caught in a late morning hailstorm while we were bidding it goodbye.

Before getting out of Thimpu we had got our Permits for 7 districts from the Immigration office, and a special permit to be allowed to visit all the Lakhangs and heritage sites. The latter permit is in Dzonka and must be filled out in the same language, thus it is advisable to be accompanied by a local while applying for the same. This permit is to be obtained from The Ministry of Cultural Affairs in Thimpu.

We left by the bus for Punakha at noon; the only other bus is at 7a.m. While leaving Thimpu there are a couple of other things the first time traveler must bear in mind.
1. There are no bus stations till Bumthang, which is 3 districts away from Thimpu. So if you want to go from Punakha to Bumthang you have to rent a taxi unless you’ve got a bus ticket. A taxi would cost one over Rs.1000 per head. You can’t get bus tickets from Punakha so you must buy a ticket from Thimpu, scheduled for the day you wish to leave Punakha. This particular ride would cost you about Rs.368 per head.
2. Alert for nicotine addicts. Cigarettes are banned in Bhutan. However, they are sold all over Bhutan at a rate higher than the m.r.p. And they keep getting expensive as one moves away from Thimpu. We only found Wills Navy Cut in Bhutan, a pack of which costs about Rs.60 at Thimpu. The same cost us Rs.80 at Punakha and is Rs.100 by the time one reaches Bumthang. So my advice would be, start hoarding smokes!

Punakha was warmer than Thimpu. The Dzongkah (Dzong in short) at Punakha was one of the more beautiful and serene ones that we would come across. Situated at the confluence of the Pochu and Mochu rivers – literally translates into ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ respectively – this Dzong was supposed to be one of the strongholds of the leaders of the Wangchuk Dynasty before they came into power in the late 1800s.


The Punakha Dzong

Every district in Bhutan has a Dzong. The Dzongs basically house a temple along with its monastery, and also every district Government administrative department including the local Governor’s office.

We stayed at a place called Guruthang which is about 3 kms from the Dzong. It’s the only place where accommodation is available for tourists in Punakha. We put up at Welcome Hotel, which almost everyone we asked informed us of being the cheapest accommodation in town. We had a room with an adjoining toilet, television and a double bed for Rs.350 a night. Pretty cheap I’d say.
We also regularly ate at this particular joint called Friends Bar & Restaurant. Its run by a Hindu couple – Hari & Savitri – who hail from southern Bhutan. They took quite a liking to us, and we to them, because we’d be there every evening chatting, eating till we were the last customers in the house. They didn’t mind, in fact they let us drink as much as we want for free on our last night in Punakha. So here’s me doing a little marketing for them. If any reader does visit Punakha, please stop by Friends Bar & Restaurant. Trust me when I say that they serve really good food at a very reasonable price. And they stay open pretty late. You can’t miss it. Ask any local and they’ll show you the way.

The bus from Thimpu-Bumthang stops at Lobesa at around 9am. We were to catch that bus. There’s a funny procedure to it. The trick is that you take your ticket out and wave it in the air at every bus that’s headed to Bumthang. The right bus driver will recognize the ticket and stop. The others will take a look at your hand and then simply ignore and drive past you. I’m told this actually works fine by a pretty Bhutanese girl who was waiting for her Uncle. I think I’ll vouch for the fact that it does.

Anyways we didn’t get a chance to find out. Groggy with all kinds of aches, we were pleasantly surprised as a local friend of ours stopped by with her boyfriend and his car and picked us up. They were supposed to meet us the next day at Bumthang. But better early than late I suppose. We ditched our bus tickets and commenced our road trip into the virgin wilderness of eastern Bhutan in an old dilapidated Toyota Surf.

The ensuing trip with all its ensuing excitement would not match up to the peace and tranquility of Punakha. Being in Punakha was like being home for a while. A break in the vacation. And a nice place to live in.

Bhutan

There’s a Bengali saying that goes “koshto korle Keshto paye”, roughly insinuating that if one perseveres, one may find the Lord himself.

My mum’s words from days much younger came back to mind while I sat atop the porch of the Lakhang at Lungchutse - 3.5 kms walk up a hill from the Dochulla Pass in Bhutan - and gazed out at an eternity of forested mountains and blue sky trapped behind barricades of long bamboo spears adorning white prayer flags, each one planted in memory of a dead soul.

May 7^th, 2009; I had left Calcutta for Bhutan. It was a long arduous ride from Dharmatallah Bus Stn. to Phuntsholing, Bhutan - that took us about 16 hours - through districts strewn with security forces and the CRPF. The elections had just commenced in North Bengal. Phuntsholing in retrospect is an ordinary border town, with ordinary people, leading ordinary lives. But nothing about Bhutan felt ordinary to me. The first sight of Bhutanese men in their traditional “Go(s)” and women in their “Kira(s)” lent a spring to my step that would only grow stronger as the journey progressed. Anyway for then, my 2 companions and I had lunch at Blue Dragon Hotel, where we also tasted Druk 11000 beer for the first time. Blue Dragon Hotel is right next to Moonlit hotel which our Bhutanese friends later informed us of being a better joint. But to the ignorant traveler, I guess Blue Dragon sounds more exotic as compared to the Moonlit place, hence no regrets.

Our stay here was restricted to the time it took us to get out permits to Thimpu and Paro; and as soon as we were done we left for Thimpu in a share taxi that cost us Rs.400 per head.

** Its inadvisable to ask for permits for places other than Thimpu and Paro at the immigration office in Phuntsholing. From our limited interaction with the officers there we figured that they only had authority to give permits for the aforementioned places and not other restricted areas. Most of Bhutan is Restricted Area for foreigners - permits for such areas are to be acquired from the Immigration office at Thimpu - you’re really lucky if you’re an Indian though. **

At Thimpu we met our hosts and much needed rest in the warmth of a Hotel room booked by our local friends. The ride from Phuntsholing is killing, especially if you’re sharing the back seat of an overcrowded Versa with 3 other people, on a road that feels like the rough edge of a vegetable grater.

Thimpu is the commercial and urban hub of Bhutan. A small town that could easily pass off for an Indian hill station but for their architecture, insane number of drinking places – there’s one with ever general store and restaurant – peace and quiet even during the busiest hours of the day, and a town center carved out at the heart of the city with ample sitting arrangements and an expansive stage/walking area.

We put up at a hotel opposite the town center.

We stayed in Thimpu for another 5 days. We saw the Takin (pronounced Taa-kin) reserve. The Takin is the national animal of Bhutan. It’s supposed to be a cow with a goat’s head. There I’ve told you exactly what it looks like. Now just cover the cow in dark brownish fur and you have your customized herbivore. Guru Kuenley did exactly the same when he was asked to perform a miracle, in ancient Bhutanese mythology. He asked for a full-grown cow and a goat to perform his miracle. Upon being provided with the animals he promptly proceeded to devour them. After his lunch he decided to put the goat’s skull on the cow’s skeleton and lo! You had the Takin.

Spending five days in Thimpu, we got our fair experience of the Bhutanese cuisine. Their staple diet is rice, daal with Datchi or Pa, alongside a local chilly pickle called Aezae. Now Datchis are essentially cheese curry preparations while Pa signifies dry meat. Sicum (pork) and Shakam (beef) are the most commonly found meat in Bhutan. Chicken is banned and eggs are fuck expensive. The predominant vegetables used are Kewa (Potatoes) and Ema (Big Green Chilly). And you have most of Bhutanese cuisine staring at you. So Sicum Pa is Dry Pork whereas if they offer you Shakam Kewa Datchi, you’ll know its beef-potato-cheese curry. Simple. And my favourite.

They also serve Thukpas and Bathus, which are essentially a form of local rice-noodles and soup served with meat of choice.

Amongst beverages, they serve their version of butter tea called Suja. I still prefer the normal tea though. They also make an extremely potent homemade local liquor called Ara which they usually consume with fried eggs. I’m told Bhutanese children pick up the habit of drinking Ara very early on in life due to a standard parental practice of feeding fried eggs soaked in Ara to their children. God I love this country!

Also, if you’re vegetarian, DON’T GO TO BHUTAN.

We further had our brief brushes with Bhutanese Royalty. While all of us had glimpses of their youngest Queen Mother - they have four - and a certain princess through car windshields, one of my companions - Niniel - had a full audience with The King himself. One lazy evening while the other of my companions and myself were busy tasting the local liquors, Niniel found herself at a Basketball match between the Royal Bhutan Army and the Royal Bhutan Guards. The King plays for the latter team. And he played. And she gaped at him for as long as he played. And allegedly, he also waved at her. The author cannot personally testify to the veracity of the last statement.

However this is her story, and I’ll take her word for it.

While still at Thimpu we went to a couple of interesting places. One was Tatskang or The Tiger’s Nest. And the other was Lungchutse, which we came upon quite by chance.

Tatskang is an hour long trek from Paro. It takes you up a hill from where a perilous staircase stuck across the mountain face gets you to the Tatskang Lakhang. Lakhang means Temple or Monastery. Implies a place of worship.

The temple is dedicated to one of Guru Rinpoche’s incarnations. Guru Rinpoche himself is considered to be an incarnation of The Buddha. He was the first scholar to come to Bhutan and establish some sort of order and culture therein. His incarnations have regularly appeared in Bhutan in the form of Gurus and other spiritual leaders. One of them was supposed to deliver Bhutan at a time of conflict. Thus one of Guru Rinpoche’s consorts came to the mountains as a Tigress and took shelter in the mountain face, waiting for the incarnate to appear. I don’t know the rest of the story, but Tatskang gets its name from that tigress. The monks will lead you to a cleft in the mountain that falls into a narrow space in the mountain body just long enough to contain a tiger. That’s the Tiger’s Nest.

Another day we had come for a simple outing to Dochulla, which is the first of the 4 passes that one encounters while traveling eastwards from Thimpu. There is a famous Chottrein (stupa) there with 112 other little chottreins surrounding it. While fooling around on a neighbouring hill I stumbled across a rough signboard that read “Lungchutse 3.5 kms” pointing towards a narrow road going up the hill and disappearing into the forest. Our taxi driver hadn’t heard of the place and even our local friend accompanying us seemed baffled by it. I decided to go find Lungchutse. I had one willing companion and two disgruntled friends who also tagged along.

The trek to Lunghchutse was one of the most memorable one’s of my life. This was not only the most beautiful and awe-inspiring trek through thick mountain forests, but it also turned out to be the only one where I got stuck with no way ahead without any divine intervention.

Ever seen those spooky films where its heavily misty, and there’s a dust trail going up the slope under an umbrella of darkness lent by large trees bent lazily over the pathway; as if completely unaware of the spectacle they create. Well I walked on one of those pathways. After a while it was like finding yourself lost in Middle Earth. Ah! But you’re not lost. Not with them mountain dogs coming to your rescue. We had our own private entourage of 6 shining black mountain dogs walking with us. They played, observed and stopped when we stopped. Resumed when we resumed. They took us up for most of the way. Then 2 of my friends decided that they had had enough of mountain walking. They would wait while the remaining two of us could continue our odyssey up the hill.

About ten – fifteen minutes into our climb we realized that there still seemed to be no end to it, we’d been walking for over an hour and ought to have covered 3.5 kms by now. We urged ourselves on but were about to give up when my friend thought she spotted a black wire in the distance. We had passed noontime and the day was clearing up a bit. There indeed was a wire that our eyes followed to an electricity pole. An Eletricity Pole!! We were definitely getting somewhere. We kept on the climb and soon other poles began appearing in the direction of the path we’d taken. Another 15 minutes climb and we found a Chip Packet wrapper. We were near somewhere, if not maybe Lungchutse then atleast somewhere inhabited. Till now we were the only humans we’d seen.

We kept going till the forest rapidly cleared out into a meadow just below the hilltop. At the top of the hill was another Lakhang and some rickety houses. But our final frontier lay right before us. A herd of full grown Yaks with really sharp horns. Believe me, you don’t want to mess with one of those. They’re big, heavy and fast. Yes, I saw them run, so I know.

We held hands, tried to avoid eye contact, and walk past them. But as soon as one of them made a run for it – not necessarily towards us – we did too. Downhill.

My friend however spotted a speck on the hill and thought it might be a man. So we started screaming for help. It was a man and soon he came down to find out what the problem was. He was the first Bhutanese we met who spoke neither Hindi nor English. He however figured out that we were scared of the Yaks. So he simply walked amongst them and shooed them away, clearing the path for us. My angel, my hero. When I asked for his name all he said was “La!” which means “Yes” in Dzonka.

We made it to the Lakhang on top. We sat there on the cliffside porch for a good ten minutes before resuming our journey downhill. We were shown our way down by a couple of monks who had undertaken the ‘moun vrat’ – pledge of silence. Thus they gestured us to the path we were to take in order to avoid meeting them Yaks again.

The next day we left for Punnakha, but I feel that itself would take up an entire post. Being in Thimpu was the first leg of the travel. Our road trip to the eastern border was to start hereinafter.