The
Kochi based travel entrepreneur Tharun Anto talks about his
experiences driving in and around Bhutan
By
Shevlin Sebastian
Pics: Tharun Anto; phalluses on display
The
moment the Kochi-based travel entrepreneur Tharun Anto crossed from
Jaigaon on the Indian border to Phuntsholing, the entry point to
Bhutan, the difference was like night and day. “In Jaigaon, it was
noisy, dusty, dirty and overcrowded,” he says. “But in
Phuntsholing, it was spotlessly clean, sparsely populated, and there
was very little dust.” His local guide, Ugyen Phuntsho hopped into
Tharun's Renault Duster at the border town.
Tharun
had decided to go to Bhutan because it is the only country which
measures its prosperity by Gross National Happiness, whereas all the
other countries measure it by Gross Domestic Product. “I wanted to
find out whether the people were actually happy,” he says.
His
initial impressions were positive. There were numerous trees lining
the two-lane highway. And it is a country that abounds in nature. “In
fact, in Bhutan, there is a constitutional law which states that 70
per cent of the country should always be under forest cover,” says
Tharun. “However, this is not very difficult because it has a
population of only eight lakh people.” (Incidentally, it has the
same geographical area as Kerala, but the state has a population of
3.9 crore).
Soon,
Tharun was off to see one of the most popular tourist sites in
Bhutan: the Tiger’s Nest at Paro (10,000 feet above sea level),
which was built in 1692. This is a sacred site for the Buddhists.
According
to historical records, in the eighth century, Guru Padmasambhava, who
introduced Buddhism to Bhutan, meditated for three years, three
months, three weeks, three days and three hours. There are thirteen
taktsangs or ‘tiger lair’ caves in which he meditated. “To
reach the top is a two-hour trek,” says Tharun. “But it is worth
it because the view from the top is awesome.”
Another
place to visit is the Dochula Pass, which is on the road from Thimpu
to Punakha where 108 memorial chortens or stupas have been built by
Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuk, the eldest Queen Mother. These were made
in honour of the Bhutanese soldiers who died in a battle against
Assamese insurgents in December, 2003. Apart from this, there is also
a Royal Botanical Park.
It
was while travelling around that Tharun noticed that the male phallus
was painted in nearly all government and private buildings. “The
phallus is regarded as a sign of prosperity,” says Tharun. “It is
also a protection against evil. In one monastery where I went the
monks blessed me by touching a large phallus against my head, the way
Christian priests use the Crucifix.” There were many phallus
souvenirs on sale for tourists.
He
also liked the houses, many of which were made of stone, cement and
wood. “I was told that wood absorbs a lot of heat,” he says. “So,
it is good to stay in a wooden house in winter.”
In
fact, Tharun did stay at a wooden home at Punakha, which belonged to
a woman called Aum Dajozam. She had worked in the tourism industry at
Thimpu (85 kms away) for four years and had to leave her job to look
after some land she had inherited at Punakha. Her husband gave her
the idea of allowing tourists to stay at their home.
Tharun
stayed in a room of only 125 sq. ft., on the first floor. “The
rooms are small because the Bhutanese are small people,” says
Tharun. The average height is 5’4” for the men and 5’ for the
women.
“The
room was pleasant,” says Tharun. “There was no need for a fan.
The temperature was 24 degrees centigrade and there was little
humidity.”
He
also took the opportunity to partake of the local food. Ema datsi is
the national dish. It is a cheese curry, which has large green chilli
peppers and potatoes.
Mostly,
the Bhutanese eat a lot of beef and pork, to feel warm. In a place
called Bumthang, in central Bhutan Tharun ate bread using
the local butter, which was far less salty than those found in India,
along with honey. He also had an ara, which is a rice wine and has an
alcohol content of 14 to 18 per cent. “You can get high very fast,”
he says, with a smile.
Finally,
when asked whether the Bhutanese people were happy, Tharun replied in
the affirmative. “They are kind, helpful and serene,” he says.
Asked the reason behind their happiness, Tharun says, “From
childhood, they are trained to think of death at least five times a
day. When you think of death so often, you learn to appreciate
whatever you have.”
(Published
in The New Indian Express, Kochi, Thiruvanathapuram and Kozhikode)
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