To Teach and Learn

This was a bed time story from my father.  After a million Tara recitals, the baby was born. She was the sweetest thing her mother laid eyes on. But shortly after giving birth, the mother passed away. The father married again, for he was just a man and lacked the knowledge to bring up his daughter. The stepmother was a shrewd woman. She loved her husband but could not make herself accept his daughter because the girl reminded her husband of his late wife. Every time the father and daughter were together, jealousy flooded her heart. The fact that her husband loved his daughter more than her was a difficult truth for her to accept. Things didn’t change for her and she felt worst when her womb remained cold even after five years of marriage. It didn’t take long for jealousy and frustration to turn into hatred. The girl bloomed into a beautiful young woman. She had a sweet voice and sang songs while she took the family sheep for grazing. Every morning she would t...

The Sun peeked from behind a cloud and began slanting through the windows, zeroing in on the boy who was still sleeping. “Breakfast is ready.” It was Kinley’s father. “Get dressed, you are getting late for school”. Kinley was in Class Nine at the local high school. He was an intelligent boy. He got along very well with the school “sophisticates” with their funny hairstyles, which he knew was the popular Korean cut. He studied hard and came first in his class. Soon, influenced by his stylish friends, Kinley too began copying the Korean look so he could fit in better with his friends. It started with the hairstyle but over time he became obsessed with everything Korean. Before he knew he was swept up by the new “Korean wave” that was sweeping all the young people in the country. Photo courtesy Druk Youth Fashion “Kinley, you are changing day by day”, his father told him. ” I am afraid that you will be like the funny-looking boys I see loitering in...

Once upon a moment, there was a meeting among the Nose, the Mouth, the Eyes and the Ears.   It was a long time a go when Face did not exist. They were called together to decide their preferences on what was to be the Face. God felt it was wise to consult them as they themselves knew their roles better than anyone else. The first to arrive at the meeting were the Eyes. Like the Ears they were twins, so they came together. Gradually the others followed. The last to arrive was the Mouth because Mouth was caught in a fight. God always worried about Mouth. Mouth unlike the others was not careful and always ended up in fights. May be Mouth was not to be blamed, God thought to himself. Mouth was created in such a manner that without proper consultation with the others and most importantly with the two headquarters, the Mind and the Heart, Mouth was bound to always make mistakes. And many a times, the others misled and provoked innocent Mouth to land into predicaments he r...

The sky was bright. It promised a hot day. The students gathered in the school courtyard for the morning assembly. The Morning Prayer and the National Anthem were sung. The assembly speakers were in the front and Dorji could see the fringes of their gho and kira shiver. He remembered how he was nervous before his speech. The paper he wrote his speech on was fluttering like a fragile autumn leaf in the wind when he held it in his hands. It was a Monday. So, usually on Mondays the assembly was held by the Principal. However, on that faithful Monday, the Principal was out of station. In his place the vice-principal took the platform next to the speakers. The English speaker spoke on, “Why we (students) shouldn’t bring mobile phones to the school?” When the speakers finished their speeches, VP thanked them and stressed on “Mobile Phones in the school”. He reminded everyone what will happen if they brought their mobile phones to the school. The mobile phone will be seized...