Land of the Thunder Dragon

Reading at least one book from every country in the world and thus broaden my horizon even more, that's my new reading habit from now on.

 

The first stop on this adventure is the Land of the Thunder Dragon!

 

 

 

 

To me, Bhutan was a country that didn't immediately ring a bell.

While looking for more info and reading a book from a Bhutanese author, an exciting new world opened up.

Just come along with me to discover this relatively unknown but utterly fascinating country situated between India and China!

 

 

 

Did you know that …

 

… the flag of Bhutan is one of the only three* flags in the world bearing a dragon?

The Bhutanese name for the Kingdom of Bhutan is 'Druk Yul' and means 'Land of the Thunder Dragon'. The origin lies in the fact that fierce storms often roll in from the Himalayas and the sound of the accompanying thunder is believed to be the voice of dragons.

When you take a closer look at the flag, you can see three colours. The yellow symbolises the power of the king and the orange is associated with Buddhism. The white of the dragon on the flag symbolises purity and the jewels in its claws represent wealth.

*The other coutries are Wales and Malta.

 

…there are only 8 pilots in the whole world who're authorized to land at the international airport of Bhutan?

There are four airports in Bhutan, among which only one for international flights. The latter was established in 1968 and is situated in the Paro Valley, only one hour away from Thimphu (the current capital city of Bhutan).
As it is surrounded by sharp peaks of up to more than 5.000 metres and there can be violent wind currents, it's considered one of the most dangerous airports in the world. If you want to see a plane landing from the pilot cabin, you can take a look here.

 

… it is compulsory for inhabitants to follow the traditional Buthanese national dress code when they appear in public?

In the 17th century the 'gho' and the 'kira' were introduced by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel, the founder of Bhutan as a nation state, as a means to unify a disparate population and feuding regions.

Men have to wear a knee-length wrap-around 'gho', tied at the waist with a belt.

Women have to wear an ankle-length dress know as the 'kira', worn over a blouse.

 

… lots of other interesting facts can be discovered through following movie (10 min)?

 

 … you can discover even more facts on the website of the CIA?

To read the country summary, click here.

If you wish more extensive information, click here to read the entire entry for Bhutan in The World Factbook.

 … if you'd like to get a taste of this fascinating country, you can watch following movie (17 min) made by Buthanese vlogger JamJam Choden?

She also made a very well explained tutorial to learn the official language of Bhutan: Dzongkha. If you're interested in it, you can check it here.

 

 

To discover Bhutan by book I chose Tales in Colour and other stories by Kunzang Choden.

 

What are the new realities that confront Bhutanese women today?

What challenges do they face when their tradition-bound close-knit family life is suddenly replaced by the anonymity of an urban existence?

 

These deceptively simple stories uncover both the complexity and irony of women’s lives in contemporary Bhutan. They show how ordinary lives, choices and experiences are both remarkable and poignant.

In “I am a Small Person”, a despised woman uses her femininity as a means to control a man; the young girl in “I won’t ask Mother” suddenly feels empowered and confident when she makes a decision without consulting her mother.

 

All the stories take place in rural settings, to which creeping urbanization brings gradual change, and tensions surface between the new and the old, or the traditional and the modern. For many rural women, being able to connect to the city and all its perceived glamour and power is a very real aspiration and one that is sensitively dealt with in stories like “Look at her Belly Button”, and “The Photograph”.

 

Kunzang Choden is one of Bhutan’s leading writers. Her novel The Circle of Karma has been translated into many languages and was shortlisted for the Elle Prix des Lectrices award.

 

 

Here's my review of this interesting book:

 

For a very long time Bhutan has been protected from outside influences.

The country was closed off from turism until 1974 and tv and internet were banned until 1999.

 

In this short story bundle Kunzang Choden gives us a glimpse of both Bhutanese traditional culture and changes in society.

To emphasize the contrast between the old and new world, she compares the rural and urban life.

And every time she does this from a female point of view. All her main characters are resilient girls or women.

 

The country and most media both try to show a very rosy picture of Bhutan.

It is said to be one of the happiest countries in the world.

Furthermore it claims that women have the same rights as men. But are they really treated equally?

Kunzang Choden's stories already give us a hint that they often aren't, especially in rural environments.

Officially, there's no overt gender discrimination as women in Bhutan enjoy more social freedom and equality compared with women in the region. But when you dig a little further, there are interesting sources of information on this matter which show a more nuanced picture. One of those sources is The Druk Journal, a Bhutanese journal of thoughts and ideas. If you want to read their article about women in Bhutan, you can head over to this overview and click on the last subject 'Women in Bhutan: the Gender Discussion' (you can also access the text in pdf-form here, but then the references aren't mentioned).

 

With 'Tales in Colour and other stories' the first English writing female author of Bhutan Kunzang Choden gives us an interesting insight into the actual daily life of women in her country. Therefore this book is worth 3,5* to 4*.

Unfortunately, the many linguistic errors made the reading experience quite laborious from time to time. That's why the overall rating is rounded down to 3*. A good editorial review is highly recommended as it would really help to focus the reader's attention to the stories. And those are certainly worth to be spread internationally, so that everyone gets a taste of the real Bhutan!

 

The stories included in this book are:

1. The woman who lost her senses

2. I won't ask mother

3. The advisor

4. These things happen

5. Look at her belly button

6. I am like this

7. Who will water my chili

8. The photographs

9. Mother of a thief

10. I am a small person

11. The mouse in the house

12. A letter and a note

13. Tales in colour

 

Kunzang Choden is a female author who was born in 1952 in Bumthang (Central Bhutan).

Till the age of 10 she spent her childhood in Bhutan, where for 2 or 3 years she went to the private school her father organised for his own children and some of the village children.

Afterwards, she went to India (Darjeeling) for her primary and secondary education. In the prologue of 'Tales in Colour' she tells about her first encounter with the Reverend Mother. As some other reviewers already said, this makes one really want to know more about this author's life. To get a glimpse of it, you can listen to the interesting interview below (in 2 parts of around 20 minutes each) with this independent and inspiring woman.

She has a BA Honours in Psychology from Indraprastha College in Delhi and a BA in Sociology from the University of Nebraska, USA.

First she worked as a teacher and later for the United Nations Development Program in Bhutan. From 1990 onwards, Kunzang has been writing on Bhutanese oral traditions, folklore and women. She lives in Thimphu (capital of Bhutan) with her husband and continues to research and document Bhutan's oral traditions.

 

 

 

To conclude this article, I want to share following movie with you from Thomson Reuters Foundation.

It's about Bhutanese women who embrace change.

Even though it dates back to 2013, it's still relevant almost 10 years later and it shows the feeling that I got by reading Kunzang Choden's book and by exploring Bhutan: