Making the most of my time on earth

There are things I've always wanted to do, to see, to feel and enjoy. I've done some while many remain only dreamt of.
Perhaps getting it listed will help me achieve the un-achieved ones, especially with worldwide rumbles on December being the end of our world.

                Lets see how many more I should be doing before I kick the bucket because:
                   A well spent day brings happy sleep; a life well spent brings happy death.

• Visit Europe
• Go bungee jumping
• Go on a cruise (December, 2011)
• Achieve my ideal weight
• Hug a stranger
• Visit a church (2011)
• Attend a Sunday mass
• Visit a mosque
• Join a gym  (2012)
• Make my dream home
• Adopt a dog
• Bake a cake
• Go on a road trip
• Scale a well known mountain/peak  (Adam's Peak, Sri Lanka)
• Learn how to swim
• Travel to an island  (Saint Martin's Island, Bangladesh)
• Drive a speed boat
• Donate blood
• Go parasailing
• Visit disney land
• Walk bare foot in a desert
• Ride a camel/elephant
• Experience sun rise (Atop Adam's Peak)
• Watch the sun go down the horizon by the sea  (Done this over & over again!)
• Take up dancing lessons
• Learn the art of crochet (My art work is proudly displayed at home)
• Meet my King (2009 - gave him a peck on the cheek too!)
• Attend a live concert 
• Complete a marathon
• Learn to play table tennis  (2012) 
• Be a member of the school team in one discipline (Quiz team, Badminton team)
• Go on a safari
• Camp in the jungle
• Learn how to say hello in 10 languages 
• Learn to play one musical instrument
• Sing karaoke 
• Get an autograph from one celebrity
• Get a celeb to tweet/retweet me on Twitter  (Xteeener, Meiang Chang)
• Visit at least 3 of the 7 wonders of the world.
• Watch an open heart surgery being done
• Help deliver a baby
• See the Stonehenge
• Spend a day in a five star hotel
• Go on a pilgrimage
• Sponsor a girl child's education
• Attend the Oktoberfest 
• Learn a magic trick
• Learn to make candles
• Help raise funds for an NGO
• Read every book by Nicholas Sparks
• Give a CPR 
• Discover what makes you truly happy
• Say "I love you" & "thank you" to mum
• Get over my weakness of overeating
• Learn to say "no" without feeling guilty
• Touch a snake
• Get a poem/story published (My poem "Salute to our Kings" published in 2005)
• Get into Med School
• Become a surgeon
• Give a speech at a university
• Address a gathering of 500+ people
• Address a gathering of 1000+ people
• Address a gathering of 5000+ people
• Meet Oprah Winfrey
• Hug an HIV/AIDS positive individual
• Open a Swiss bank account
• Fly first class
• Find the love of your life
• Have a pet
• Celebrate your 50th anniversary in Maldives 
• Visit Ladakh
• Meet Dalai Lama
• Learn yoga
• Donate clothes to a shelter
• Start a blog
• Create a you tube video
• Write your memoir
• Make the front page of a newspaper  (2009 Jan - BHSEC results)
• Watch the World Cup
• Eat crab cakes
• Slap an eve teaser
• Stand up for your rights
• Get your palms read
• Get hypnotized
• Have your portrait painted
• Get a tattoo
• Travel solo

Life is too short to let it pass you by.
      We only have one shot at this & then it's gone. 

Today

Today I turn 20
Today I leave behind my teen years and venture into the third decade of my life
Today on wards, I can no longer use the excuse,"I'm a teen"
Today I feel mature, confident & independent.

Today I'm grateful for having such a wonderful mum
Today I'm grateful for having a loving partner
Today I'm grateful for the bunch of great friends
Today I'm grateful to God for giving me 19 years of happiness & success

Today I'm grateful that I am in good health
Today I'm grateful for phones & skype which keeps my family close to me
Today I'm grateful for being born in Bhutan
Today I'm grateful for being accepted into this Medical College

Today I'm glad that I was born
Today I'm glad that I had my share of lows cuz it made me a stronger person
Today I'm glad few people betrayed me - it taught me how trust is not cheap
Today I'm glad I have a wonderful dog - she teaches me how to love

Today I'm glad that I am me! (:

You, I, he, she, they - we are all the same.

As I walked through the corn field, I looked up to see a perfect blue sky without a speck of cloud. The gentle breeze I felt on my skin refreshed me and kept me going forward. I was in the center of an acre of corn field and I was determined to make it across the field. Not because a box of treasure awaited me at the other end but because I hadn't been to my village for the past 6 years and had missed all the natural beauty that the environment there provided. My village is towards the southern part of the country with hot & humid weather prevailing most months of the year. I despise heat usually but today, even the scorching sun didn't deter me from heading out into the corn field all by myself. 

With a cowboy hat protecting my head and knee long shorts, I strode across the field, sometimes switching onto little runs. Time & distance flew by in the blink of the eye and I had made my way to the other side of the field by late afternoon. I had just laid down on the lush green meadows to catch my breath when I heard a group of people shouting their lungs out. Initially, I ignored it thinking it might be some kids but when I heard the cries of a girl a little later, I couldn't resist but go check out what was wrong. 

I followed the noise and reached a small house around which scores of people had gathered. Since I'd returned to my village directly from college, everybody called me "The Doctor" and they knew me. On seeing me, they let me go past them to the front. 

My picture perfect day got cast with gloom when I saw what was happening. A group of 4 people were thrashing a young couple with leather whips. The girl's clothes were almost torn, while the boy's legs were bleeding profusely. The girl was screaming in pain while the boy was face down on the mud and writhing in pain. I asked the people around why they were being beaten. I was shocked at what they told me. 

The girl, 20 and the boy, 22 were working in the nearby tea estate and had fallen in love with each other. The girl's parents were very strict and the boy was from a lower caste. When the girl told her mother about their affair, the mother had told her that her father would burn her alive if he comes to know of it. She was told to break up with the boy. 
The two, however had plans of their own. The boy, though from a low caste, belonged to a good family. He did not drink, smoke or gamble and was known for his humble and kind nature in the village. The girl felt safe with him and so, they eloped and got married. They sought refuge in the neighbouring village and when the girl got pregnant, they decided to come back. They had thought that with a grand child on the way, the parents might accept them.

However, their parents thought otherwise. They didn;t show the slightest hint of happiness on seeing the girl with her baby bump. The father pulled out his whip and lashed her. Soon, neighbours gathered and they got together and started beating both of them. I was appalled. 
I quickly ran to the nearest temple and requested the head priest to come with me. Once they saw the priest, they stopped lashing the two. However much the priest tried to explain to them how inhumane and illogical they were being, the father was content on killing them both with his own hands. 

I told the father that I'd like to speak to him and his wife alone but he bluntly refused. So I asked the priest to tell all the people gathered around that I want to speak to all of them. I, being 'The Doctor', they agreed. 

Once everyone was quiet, I told them that I want to narrate a small incident that happened to me a few years back in this same village. 
Few years back, I was walking past an orange orchard with my cousins marveling at the number of oranges that the tiny trees had. Our mouths were salivating, the aroma was enchanting. 
Suddenly, we saw an old lady come towards us from the other side of the road. She was returning from the market, with a huge netted bag full of vegetables and fruits. We were sure that she was coming to scold us for loitering around the orchard! 
On nearing us, she asked, "You little ones want to taste the oranges, is it?" We quickly said no, and that we were just looking at the trees. She chuckled and looked at us for a long time. She told us how she as a kid used to go around orchards with her friends when it was the harvesting season and ask for fruits. Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she talked of her childhood days. Suddenly, she sighed and said, "While most of my friends were given an orange each, I was never given one...", on us asking why she said, "I am from a lower caste, my little ones. They believed that if they gave anything to people of my kind, their harvest will get them nothing" We were dumb struck. 

She put her basket down, went down on her knees and started removing plastics of vegetable from her bag. She pulled out a huge black polythene bag and gave it to us. We asked her what it was and she urged us to open it. 
Our eyes were greeted by huge oranges in the plastic! The old granny said, "I was mistreated as a kid but I do not believe in castes-not because I belong to a low caste but because I know that all humans are the same. Both you and I bleed blood when cut & both you & I return to the same mud on dying, so how are we different? Eating oranges given by me wont disfigure you, dear children, so relish it." And she left. 

I told the people gathered around this story.After I finished, everyone was silent. Nobody uttered a word - I was embarrassed, I thought I just made a fool of myself and nobody understood what I was trying to convey. Suddenly, I heard somebody clap and in no time, the crowd was applauding me. 
In a row, people came forward and talked to the parents of that girl and told them that the boy's caste doesn't matter. What matters is that he is a good human being and that their daughter is happy with him. The parents were very stubborn and didn't give in, initially but when so many people spoke to them, they agreed to accept the couple. The two were rushed to hospital and I heard they recovered from the trauma. 

I was in my village for about 3 weeks following that incident and every time I went out, people recognised me and looked upto me. Some families even called me to their houses and asked me to give my advice on problems they were facing. Some mothers wanted to admit their daughters to school, but the fathers were against it. On educating them on the importance of schooling, many of them agreed to admit them to school. 

I was only 20, but people listened to what I had to say. They had faith in me. And I was glad that I was making a difference. I always believed in equality and justice. I always watched television programs that advocated social justice and often, my mother would tell me that I should be a lawyer or a social activist instead of a Doctor.. 
Today, I am content that I could instill principles of equality and solidarity in the minds of my village people. I'm glad that I was there, that I advocated for what is right although I was the only one against the scores of people gathered there, that I managed to get people support what is right. 

The mindset of people in the world are changing and they're evolving to accept many changes. Yet, there are nooks and corners in various parts where women are still looked down upon, where girl infants are being killed, where girls are denied the opportunity of schooling, where young boys are forced to join the army - every one of the these people have a voice and they deserve to be heard.

If not for us, the educated lot, who will  help them out? Without help, these people will have a very bleak future and die dis-satisfied.
 Let us help them, when we can.




Fiction story I wrote for a friend. 

Bhutan's own 'Royal Wedding'

The world's youngest reigning monarch, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck married Ashi Jetsun Pema Wangchuck on the 13th of October, 2011.
Who doesn't know about it, right? *widesmile*

I know millions of pictures of The Royal Wedding are doing rounds over the Internet, but being a Bhutanese who loves her King & the new Queen to the core, I couldn't help get a bunch of these pictures from various places and put it up here.

13th to the 15th of October was declared a national holiday in Bhutan so that people from all districts, from all walks of life could come together and be a part of the celebrations.
The National TV had a live telecast of the entire celebrations and also had a Live Webstreaming on their website to ensure that Bhutanese outside the country also get to be a part of the celebs.

I bunked clinicals (the first time since clinicals started in May, 2011!) and watched the live telecast with other Bhutanese friends in the University.

The celebrations were done in line with the culture & traditions of the country. The bride looked gorgeous in her yellow tego, red wonju and an intricately woven kira. What caught my eye was her shoes; heels but custom made with Bhutanese embroidery over it.
Our King looked handsome and "kingly" as ever.
The Fourth King's smile (*which makes my heart melt*) added much more joy to the celebrations.

It was an emotional moment when His Majesty crowned his wife and delicately held her face and smiled. That moment will be etched in history forever! So will the moment when the newly weds walked out to the courtyard of the Punakha Dzong hand in hand :)

Then began the celebrations with the thousands of people who had gathered around the Dzong. His Majesty & the Queen walked around amidst the people accepting their heartiest congratulations & good wishes.

The next day, on their way back to Thimphu which is a 71km journey, the King & the Queen walked, yes walked, most of the way talking to the people who had lined up along the road to greet & wish them.
It was past dusk when they reached the capital, and inspite of that, they went around, talked to as many people as possible. It's not without a reason that our King is called "The People's King".

On the third day of celebrations today, people gathered at the National Stadium where His Majesty gave a speech with Her Majesty the Queen by his side.
His Majesty kissed his bride, thrice - their bond was sealed with a kiss, much to the happiness of the people gathered at the stadium :)

Then followed a cultural program to keep the guests entertained while His Majesty the King & the Queen went up to the stadium to interact with the people.

I could not be a part of it, being away from home, but still, my heart swells with pride!
I'm proud to be a Bhutanese, to be under the reign of such a wonderful, down to earth King who loves his subjects and treats them like his own children.



Here's extending my heartfelt congratulations & Tashi Delek to the newly wed.

Where the mind is without FOCUS -Not by R.Tagore

Today is no ordinary Sunday,
Its the Sunday which makes my exams just 5 weeks away,
Its the Sunday before a Monday where I have a two hour discussion session on pneumonia,
Its the Sunday where my mind is restless, restless like its never been before,
Its the first Sunday I decided to stay home and study.

Sundays, I think are never meant for homework and studying,
Sundays are not days when you plan something & implement your plan,
Instead Sundays are days when you do things totally unplanned & enjoy it,
Sundays are meant to be happy, stress free days!

Sigh, if only this Sunday was one of those stress free days,
If only my mind could stop swaying & focus on these books lying in front of me,
If only...

If only I had a way out.
I don't.
So please dear mind of mine, get focussed, don't wander around & help me study.
Sincerely, me.

9/11 - ten years later.

It’s been ten years since that horrible day, September 11, 2001. Of course you remember where you were, and you have probably written about it, but have you thought how things have changed in the last ten years? How have you changed since that day in September ten years ago?

The 9/11 Blog Carnival has no rules, just that your post have something to do with 9/11. You can write about your experiences, your reactions, how it changed the way you live your life, what you were doing that day…anything.

I remember watching the horrors of 9/11 unfurl on television as a 9 year old, ten years back. Initially, it made no sense to me. Planes are supposed to fly in skies, not ram into buildings so what was happening?

It took me some time to understand what had really happened. I realized the significance of our flags being at half mast, I realized the significance of schools closing shut for the day & the significance of TV reporters bursting into tears as they reported the attacks. 

Still, I was too young to understand it all. As I grew up and with every passing anniversary of 9/11, I learnt more and more. The more I learnt, the more terrified I was because it opened my eyes to one of the harsh realities of this world. Every 9/11 anniversary brought with it more stories of the people affected and the lives lost. All I could do was pray for the souls lost.
I cannot help but fear for my and everybody else's lives. I think everybody has this fear somewhere within them but we are all too busy enjoying life that we do not really let this part in us come out. However, on days like this, when all of us think about such tragedies together, we cannot keep that fear hidden behind us  anymore. 
In a few weeks time, I'll probably forget about it, like many of you. But is it worth something to be forgotten? 
The mastermind behind the terror attacks then is died and down in the sea somewhere. His body is rotting and he's gone but there are many like him around; waiting to pounce & kill.
We should be scared, day in and out, but again that's not how one lives. That's not why we're born. 
I don't know why people resort to terrorism, I don't know what they want - and I think I don't want to know because it'll be an unreasonable "need/desire" which will be hard to digest. It's just sad that in spite of being born on this lovely mother Earth with equal potential as anyone around us, people resort to such enmity. I have enemies too, people who I hate and people I don't talk to. I get mad at them, but I've never wished for misfortune to befall them.
It leaves me wondering how can some people go about killing people in scores and scores? 

A few months back, I watched United 93, a movie based on the United Airlines Flight 93, which was one of the 4 planes hijacked on 9/11. It was supposed to crash into the United States Capitol Building in Washington D.C. but ended up crashing in Pennsylvania. I cried my heart out watching that movie. I was imagining myself being one of the passengers but I just couldn't put myself to imagine what the passengers on that flight really felt & went through. The way they made calls to their families and spoke to them for the one last time was heart wrenching.  

We cry on just watching such documentaries; imagine what went through the minds of the people who actually had to go through it all.

Just this morning, I was reading an article on how one man in the south tower of the World Trade Center,  saw his coworkers take the stairway to death but luckily survived!
It's a touching story, you can read it here.
How many such people might be out there, who narrowly escaped. How grateful they might be to God for keeping them safe. If only everyone could be as grateful everyday!

No matter how many years pass by, no matter how much we weep and cry, nothing can be undone.
Being in this part of the world, one can only imagine what may be going through the minds of the people there who lsot their dear ones in that part of the world.
We may not be able to do anything big but let us be united, atleast in thought, against terrorism. By terrorism, I am not referring to the entire Islamist community. It's wasn't them. It was just one despicable man with his troop of a few men. Let us be united against this group of people who deserve nothing but expulsion out of this universe. 

So many lives were lost, hearts were broken, lives were torn apart, oceans of tears were shed - that was 9/11.
It was a day that changed everyone's lives. What I learnt - live everyday like your last; anything can happen anywhere and at any time! 

Let us all observe a minute of silence remembering the lives lost on that terrible day. 
                                                      For God has not given us
                                                                       A spirit of cowardice,
                                                                    But of power and of love
                                                                    And of sobermindedness.

Two years old in Sri Lanka

14th of August, 2011 marked my two years of stay in Sri Lanka.
After the two years here, I can proudly call this place my second home! It's given me so much and I've learnt so much being here.

It was a gloomy Tuesday morning, 12th of August 2009, that I left from home in Thimphu and headed towards Paro with mum. It was so hard having to say goodbye to my dog, roxie. It was so sad seeing her run behind the car as fast as she could, as we drove down the road from our house. The hour long journey to Paro was the most sorrowful (not sure if there's a word like that) travel I've ever made. Getting goodbye and safe journey calls from friends&family, wiping off tears after each call-I remember all of it.

Seeing my friends cry as they bid farewell to their families for an entire year, I dreaded the moment when mum would head back home after a week in Sri Lanka.
True to it, her departure from Sri Lanka was a very teary one. Being the only daughter and the fact that I had never been away from her for more than a month made it all the more hard. Fighting tears back, we said our byes ...

Two years down the line, I'm asking myself, am I still the same person?
I'm still that very emotional, very sacred of the dark & very much in love with dogs kind of person that I was. Yet, in more than a few ways, I have changed- for the better I think.

I'm a lot independent now. I can go to the bank and do my own transactions; I never withdrew money from any bank back in Bhutan. I can go for shopping on my own, can take my own decisions on what I need to buy and what I don't. I can get up on my own in the morning aided by the alarm clock without mum having to come and wake me up with a cup of hot water. I infact go & get my cup of hot water myself after getting up. I can make phone calls to authorities at any level now; earlier even to call a distant relative, I needed mum's help with the introductory conversation. I've improved my social dealings too. I am no longer that introvert person that I was before. I can speak up for myself, I'm not sacred to voice out my opinions-I can fend for myself.

The last time my mum visited me in April, she was proud of the confident person I'd become. She was pleasantly surprised when I made the transportation arrangements pre-hand when we needed to go somewhere :) These may be very small things for some other people, but not for mum & I. Inspite of being a single mother, she brought me up with all that I asked for. She sacrificed her own needs and happiness to meet mine. She ensured that I lived in my fairy tale world.
Before she left  for work in May, she told me that now she need not worry about me as much as she did before, and I think that's a big thing I achieved.

This place has taught me lessons and values that I wouldn't have learnt otherwise. One very important but harsh reality that I've come to terms with is how cruel people can get sometimes. I was nestled in my fairy tale world back home & mum protected me from all evils. I had begun to think that everyone is as understanding, loving and caring as the people I knew back home. Unfortunately, that is not true at all. There are various sorts of people in this world & I've learnt my lessons the hard way. One shouldn't trust someone blindly just because he/she is sweet to you the first few days. I've learnt that there are people who will use you to get around others for the first few days & then ditch you once they've found their way around. More importantly, YOU are a coward if you start crying and wondering why that person was so mean to you.
I was this coward for the first few months here. I used to cry and wonder what was it that I did that a few people were so mean to me. With time, I realised that sometimes, life is about being a vigilant observer. You see people with various traits, you learn your lesson via experience & observation and reach that point to ultimately decide who you should be with.

I don't have a lot of friends but the ones I have are the most wonderful people I've met. They're people who'll always be there for me, both good times & bad. They're people who'll criticise me when need arises but won't hesitate to appreciate me & the things I do when I deserve it. They're people whom I can call in the middle of the night & they'll listen to me. They're people whom I don't need to write "showy" posts on facebook walls to maintain a "showy" friendship.
I think these are the people who've helped me reach where I am today in this place, far away from home.
Also responsible are the people who've used me reach their motives, ditched me, bitched about me & made me cry so many times. Had it not been for you people, I wouldn't be this strong person I am today. So, thank you!

These two years flew by in the blink of an eye. I've made such beautiful memories in these two years. There are tons of pictures which talk volumes & there have also been moments which I can only think of - they're too beautiful to be penned down.
Still a few years to go and I'm looking forward to every day :)

Life is beautiful, always.
It's solely on you whether you want to make yours beautiful.

To celebrate my two years in Sri Lanka, I bought a pair of beautiful heels. This is something new to me, because I don't wear such high heels.
And one of my friends had this to tell me :  ‎"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world." — Marilyn Monroe