BAV hosts Dashara event in Melbourne

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BAV hosts Dashara event in Melbourne

The Bhutanese Association in Victoria Inc. (BAV) said it hosted Durga Pooja cum Dashara function on October 21 at Banksia Garden Community Center in Melbourne, Australia.

Children paint Goddess Durga (Picture : BAV)

Chaired by the organization President Dhan Prasad Siwakoti, the event started with Durga Pooja performed by community priest Mitra Adhikari followed by Bhajan-Kirtan by community members.

In the second part, around 20 children took part in painting competition where they were asked to portrait Goddess Durga, informed the BAC.

Various artists also performed live dances and songs to entertain audiences during the event.

The organizer said that it also distributed prizes to best performers, and served various traditional cuisines to participants.

Resettlement at a crossroad

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Resettlement at a crossroad

Resettlement at a Glance
Last month, the figure of Bhutanese refugees resettled in the third countries crossed 71,000. The USA resettled over 60,000 followed by Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and United Kingdom with over 37,000 still in the refugee camps facing uncertain future.  For those who decided to make their new homes in the developed countries, it had been a journey of despair, hope, rebuilding and setting a new direction in these countries. The settlement pattern in Australia, Canada and some European countries is primarily with government support allowing skill development and gradual capacity building through language learning, employment and school education support. In the United States of America, where the majority of Bhutanese are resettling, there is encouragement for quicker integration into the job market. Settlement patterns accompany some degree of advantage and disadvantages. There is a mixed feeling and uncertainty among the resettling populace ranging from language learning, adapting to the new environment, understanding culture and many other nuances.

Achievements and Hope for Future
Among the major accomplishments, some are worth to merit mention including finding permanent place of residence they could call home, possibility of citizenship, children’s future and security of life and respect for human dignity.

Permanent residency in these countries gave a base that opened possibilities for exercising rights and ability to live like a human being. With their home and country lost, people had been stripped of human dignity, self-esteem and self-worth. The resettling countries elevated and ensured hope and dreams of becoming citizens, providing the ability to show allegiance to the countries they have adopted. Bhutanese newcomers are regaining their lost rights and humanity compared to their time in Bhutan and life in the refugee camps. The learning curve for these newcomers is stiff and beginning to realize that all human beings were created equal, expressed by some settled in Canada (personal communication, Oct 2012). I would like to believe that it would be similar for those settled in USA, Australia and other countries.

In Canada, Australia and the European counties education facilities and support provided to adult and children’s education during the initial settlement years enliven hope and future to look forward. The older adults who are attending English classes feel that they are learning many things and helping themselves to be independent in daily life like shopping with electronic cards (EBT and Debit), riding buses, going places with confidence and ease. This is the new beginning and they look forward to settling comfortably. Besides what adults are learning in the language classes, the education system has opened their outlook in life and given a much broader vision of life and world.

The most notable achievement is children’s education for all settled Bhutanese. Every parent await for a brighter future for their children and feel that it orients them totally to a new direction and confidence in life. On the personal communication with this columnist (October 2012) some school-going students concurred with this view and they are looking for brighter future in these countries. They are extremely satisfied with the professional manner in which teachers deal with them during their lessons that they understand everything so well and it contrasts with the rote learning system they had been for many years. The students firmly believe that education system in the West prepare them for all-round development with the teaching comprehensive education that includes physical education, co-curricular activities, arts and craft, participation in social events besides the normal curricular subjects. School-going students realize that English up-gradation is their best route to enhancing their opportunities for further studies and employment.

Safety and security of life is another big achievement for the newcomers from where they came in Bhutan and tremendous improvement over the life-situation of refugee camps in Nepal. They recall the camp life with a tone of fear of physical assault, insecure living environment and even fear of death. It used to be a matter of fear and panic when some family members do not return home in late evening which is not a worry in these countries now. That fear and uncertainty had been removed from their life and they are living a peaceful life.

Provision of quality health facilities and child-care support is another substantive achievement that the newcomers can count and feel confident about. They have access to reliable and effective health care system with the support of interpreters for those with low English. In the refugee camps they had access to very basic and minimum health care facilities. Similarly, some community members are so impressed with the kind of nutrition and child care support provided including pre-natal care of expectant mothers, post-delivery care and in some countries continued financial support provided until children become adults.

The expanding Bhutanese Diaspora in the west able to find part-time and full time employment, financial independence and ownership of houses are other signs of success.  This has been achieved quite consistently in the USA, a few in Canada and Australia. Families have managed to pull family resources together and buy permanent homes even with the social assistance provided. This is a highly noteworthy trend promoting sense of human dignity and giving a stronger base in these countries.

Challenges and Obstacles in the Settlement Process
Along with accomplishments there had been and will remain many challenges and issues that the resettling folks are dealing with and have to cope-up with considerable stress. Some challenges are within the scope of family abilities to deal with, but there are situations that they cannot do much about it. Families and communities are working together to resolve many challenges. The community’s belief in group support when in need had been part of the societal system for a long time. They had been practicing it before the start of the resettlement process in the camps promoting what academicians call “social capital”. This is a really noteworthy ideology of communal support Bhutanese newcomers carry to the newly settled countries and it eases the burden on public resources.

The challenges vary from country to country and they also differ with varying times. I will be discussing some of the challenges in this article and would continue to discuss others in later issues in more depth even if I mention them here in brief.

Foremost among the challenges is social tension in the families due to natural generation gap, cultural and language differences, low literacy level and numerous things to learn in the new countries. Obviously it is overwhelming for older adults, and for those with low literacy levels it becomes even harder. As I mentioned in my previous article, the youth and younger generation have much more responsibility to take with understanding and tremendous patience and care. Mostly in the United States, there had been cases of suicide and serious psychological trauma. Youths are also under much stress having to manage many things in the family, maintain jobs and take up skills up-gradation or higher studies. This is further compounded by the language inadequacy, workplace cultural differences, difficulties of people with low or no former literacy skills. This is better managed in Australia, Canada and European countries with the social assistance provided beyond the initial first year of support during which time more time is available for the newcomers to prepare and develop human resource capacities through further education. In the USA this is not possible although some organized and energetic Bhutanese newcomers are making efforts to up-grade their skills on a part-time basis as they are working full time.

The younger generation adults with some educational background are facing numerous barriers to entry to the job market with limited qualification recognition in these countries and lack of local experiences which the employers are always wanting. This is a situation of catch twenty-two for both employers and the newcomers as the employers do not want to risk hiring workers whose educational background are unknown and lack of knowledge of previous work experiences in Nepal or Bhutan. Similarly, it is unlikely for the newcomers to have local experiences when entry into job markets is either totally blocked or restricted. This is a typical frustrating situation for all newcomers in the developed countries and not an issue for Bhutanese newcomers only. In different countries there are new initiatives to help bridge this problem but it will be a continuous process where all parties involved have to devote much more realistic resources and energy. Right now there is policy and program realization in this but sincerity of efforts is often questionable. As newcomers to these countries, Bhutanese need to realize this and cultivate patience as things are evolving slowly.

Another obstacle that I would like to discuss here relates to the health and hygiene in the home environments. This is especially critical as homes in the west are made with enclosed air circulation and if any newcomer do not adapt the cooking and living habits the family health situation can be affected. It is not easy to understand the central heating and cooling system or use the sink and bathroom in a sanitary manner.  There is much effort being made by the Bhutanese newcomers; there is much work to be done and this is one aspect of cultural adaptation that would have no compromise. In addition to this learning, the new culture in the new countries continues to be a challenge. So, more we remain open to integrating into the societies, easier would be the settlement process.

The challenges faced by Bhutanese younger generation with regard to work-study balance, unclear future career path, understanding and embracing the importance of higher education remains a mammoth undertaking.  Interestingly, many of our youths are devoting too much of their time chatting on face-book, i-phones for entertainment and other social media. These are certainly important, but not as necessary at the cost of other important career planning priorities.  Learning to cope up with the evolving new skills required by today’s knowledge-oriented global economy underscores the importance of higher education and the drive and determination for continuous learning. In addition, students emphasize that they are unclear and struggling to decide what career path they will take in life. It is a dilemma equally encountered by the local resident students. One quick reason for this dilemma is wide range of choices and opportunities available and Bhutanese newcomers are not able to navigate the resources in reaching right decisions. I would devote more structured time on my next article to follow as this is an important issue and it is close to my heart. Some clarity on this will definitely be beneficial to our younger generation.

In a nutshell, I like to mention that although there is no clear sign to which way the Bhutanese newcomers are moving, it has been a tremendous success in general, opening many prospects for the future. One thing is certain and clear that people’s outlook to life has broadened enormously, very much unimaginable in the camps and the limited exposure available in Nepal. I would see that our people need to look forward and move on with a positive outlook in life as the sky is only the limit for them in these new countries.

(One of the Contributing Editors of Bhutan News Service, Adhikari has been working as part-time instructor at the University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg for the last 10 years teaching economics and various international development studies courses including Theories and Methods of Program Planning and Evaluation as part of newly developed Master of Development Practice. Currently, he works full-time as Career Coach and Facilitator at Manitoba Start assisting new Canadians settle and integrate into Canadian life as he continues teaching at the post-secondary institutions. Can be reached at [email protected])

ADB to open Bhutan office in early 2013

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ADB to open Bhutan office in early 2013

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will open an office in the South Asian nation of Bhutan in early 2013 to more efficiently manage a growing portfolio focusing on transport, energy and urban development.

“To understand Bhutan’s needs, and the development challenges it faces, ADB needs an on-the-ground presence,” said director general of South Asia Department Juan Miranda.

Bhutan has done well in achieving many Millennium Development Goals, but pockets of poverty still remain among its 720,000 people. As a landlocked nation, Bhutan needs to work closely with other countries to ensure it has efficient transport links, notably to seaports in Bangladesh, India, and elsewhere. Such regional cooperation is critical to ensuring the country’s future.

The Bhutanese government aims to achieve an economic growth rate of at least nine per cent each year to become a middle income country by 2020. Earlier this month, ADB estimated a growth rate of 7.9 per cent for the 2011-2012 fiscal year (ended on June 30), and forecast a growth rate of 8.4 per cent for the current fiscal year.

ADB’s future activities in Bhutan will be aligned with the government’s upcoming 11th Five Year Plan for 2013-2018, and will focus on transport, energy, and urban development.

Bhutan joined ADB in 1982. Since 1983, ADB has approved $ 381.37 million in loans and grants, $ 50.5 million in technical assistance, and $ 11.4 million in project grants from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction.

Some of the major projects Asian Development Bank has supported in recent years include the Green Power Development Project worth more than $ 100 million, to support the Dagachhu hydropower development and enhance renewable energy access for the poor, and the Road Network Projects I and II, totalling more than $ 65 million, to improve the country’s main road network, including the Trongsa-Gelephu Highway and southern East-West Highway.

Courtesy : The Himalayan Times

UK Bhutanese perform Durga Pooja

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UK Bhutanese perform Durga Pooja

The Bhutanese Welfare Association in the UK marked the 2012 Dashai occasion with the performance of Durga Pooja Sunday amidst a special programme in Greater Manchester.

Resettled Bhutanese from Sheffield, Bradford and Greater Manchester came together to celebrate the event, it is learnt.

Community Pandit performs Pooja (Picture courtesy : Bhutanese Association in the UK)

The programme started with mangalacharan and recitation of 13 adhaya Chandi padth by pandit Tara Nidi Niroula which was followed by a welcome speech by the Chairperson Durga Giri and presentation of various cultural songs, dances and caricatures, stated a press circular issued by organization earlier today.

The young Bhutanese artists from different boroughs rocked the programme supplimented by balan, sangini and maruni dance by the elderly participants, added the statement.

Meanwhile, senior citizens Dr. Prakash Subedi, Dr. Suresh Chauwan, Yam Khadka, Som Subba who represented community from Sheffield and Kewal Wagley from Bratford expressed felicitation and dashai best wishes to the community.

The community members attending Durga Pooja

The programme concluded with the distribution of Phulpati to every Bhutanese Hindu households for Vijay dasami tika ceremony.

On behalf of the Association Vice-Chair K.N Pokhrel thanked the volunteers, artists and participants for making the programme a grand success.

“The Bhutanese Welfare Association in the UK would also like to extended its best wishes to the entire Bhutanese in the diaspora for happy Dashai and Tihar 2012.”

Hindus laud GoB for supporting Durga Pooja

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Hindus laud GoB for supporting Durga Pooja

Hindus have commended Bhutan Government for supporting annual nine-day Durga Puja celebrations in capital and largest city Thimpu, currently underway till October 24.

Rajan Zed

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA), thanking the Bhutan Department of Cultural Affairs for reportedly providing support to the organizer Durga Puja Organizing Committee, called it a “step in the right direction”.

According to reports, a team of seven Brahmins lead by Dr. Puspa Lal Niroula is reciting from various Hindu scriptures; including Durga Saptasati, Bhagwat Mahapuran, Vedas, etc.; during this festival.

Last October, ground-breaking ceremony was conducted for the government supported first permanent Hindu temple of Thimpu by Chief Abbot His Holiness the Je Khenpo; and was attended among others by national assembly speaker, opposition leader, cabinet ministers, national council chairperson, parliament members, business community and pundits. Construction work for this temple on 2.53-acre government land, already approved by the Cabinet, will take two years, reports suggested.

Thanking King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Prime Minister Lyonchhen Jigmi Yoezer Thinley and Cultural Affairs Minister Minjur Dorji for patronizing the Hindu community in this Buddhist dominated country, Zed, who is the President of Universal Society of Hinduism, stressed that all religions should work together for a just and peaceful world. Dialogue would bring us mutual enrichment, Zed added.

Rajan Zed pointed out that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that events like Durga-Puja and the upcoming Temple would help in this direction.

Hindu Goddess Durga is honored during Durga-Puja festival as the savior of the world from evil. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.

From refugee to global citizen

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From refugee to global citizen

When the MV Explorer left Halifax for its fall 2012 voyage, Yadhu Dhital, a 20-year-old biological sciences student at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, just might have been the most excited student on the ship.

Yadhu Dhital (third from the left) with his brothers and sisters.

Four years ago, he says, he could have never imagined that he’d be traveling the world–living out a dream he’s had since the age of seven.

Up until 2009, Dhital and his family of seven brothers and sisters lived in a small bamboo house in a Bhutanese refugee camp in Nepal.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, heavy violence and inter-ethnic conflict in Bhutan forced out over 100,000 people. Many, like Dhital and his family, fled to Nepal, but were given no resources initially on which to live.

“My family fled in February of 1992 and moved to Nepal,” Dhital said. “At that time, my parents and brothers lived on the streets. They were homeless; they lived in a plastic tent by the River Mai. I was born in the bank of the River Mai.”

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees began giving assistance to refugees, and moved Dhital’s family to a bamboo house on government land in a camp alongside of tens of thousands of other refugees.

Living conditions were very poor, and diseases like malaria, cholera, tuberculosis and measles were rampant.

Yadhu Dhital (20) is a biological sciences student at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

“We had very little to eat, only vegetables and rice,” said Dhital. “I saw many people around me dying because of the conditions.”

And then one day, while at school within the camp, Dhital saw something that would change his outlook on the world forever.

“When I was seven years old, I saw a globe in my school,” Dhital said. “And that day, I realized the place I was living was not the whole world. I was inside the box until then.”

It wasn’t easy to get here. The UNHCR relocated Dhital and his family to the United States only three years ago, where they first lived in Florida, but found it difficult to get work.Eventually they were moved again to Pittsburgh, where his father, who speaks very little English, is now working, Dhital said.

Yadhu worked hard to get good grades, and got accepted to the University of Pittsburgh on scholarship. From there, he looked into study abroad programs and was introduced to Semester at Sea. He applied, and was accepted, with a full scholarship.

Though it took Dhital months to obtain visas for the countries we are visiting, he was determined. Now on board the MV Explorer, he’s taking classes to further his biological sciences degree, including his favorite course, infectious diseases. He hopes to one day become a doctor, so that he can work for a non-profit or non-governmental organization and help others.

“Because of my background, I saw many people dying without care and medical assistance,” Dhital said. “I want to be a doctor and hope to be part of some non-profit organization in the future, so that I can help.”

When in port, Dhital is immersing himself as much as he can in the cultures of the 14 different countries we are traveling to.

“I’m finally living my dream,” he said. “I’m seeing the world.”

Courtesy: Semesteratsea.org

Norwegian minister visits Bhutan

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Norwegian minister visits Bhutan

Norwegian Minister of International Development, Heikki E. Holmås, visited Bhutan from 14th October to 16th October.

Norwegian Development Minister Heikki Holmås underwent energy agreement with Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley during his Bhutan visit on Monday. Photo: Trond Viken-Norwegian Foreign Department.

According to the press statement released by the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi, Minister Holmås discussed about further cooperation with Prime Minister Jigme Y Thinley, Minister of Agriculture and Forest, Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, Minister of Education, Thakur Singh Poudyel and the members of Gross National Happiness Commission.

The statement notes that the key element of the discussion was continued cooperation and capacity building on energy and hydropower.

“Norway is also a constitutional monarchy founded on many of the same values as Bhutan’s. Norway stands ready to strengthen our commitment to Bhutan within the renewable energy sector through the Energy + partnership”, the statement quotes the Minister as saying.

Bhutan is a member of International Energy and Climate Initiative – Energy+, which was launched by the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, in presence of UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon at a conference entitled “Energy for All: Financing Access for the Poor“ on 10 October 2011 in Oslo, the capital city of Norway.

Norway will help Bhutan achieve its target of providing access to electricity for the entire population ensuring that the country’s substantial hydropower revenues are used to benefit all the people of Bhutan. Norway is ready to provide up to NOK 100 million (USD 20 million) over 5 years towards achieving these goals in Bhutan.

The Minister expressed his admiration for the important leadership Bhutan is showing, both in the region and internationally. In addition he noted that Bhutan’s efforts on climate change, environment and energy, and on Happiness as a new development paradigm, were inspiration to all.

Minister Holmås also took part in the Ministerial High Level Panel “ Investing and Setting the A-Gender in Mountains” during the international conference on “Gender and Sustainable Mountain Development in a changing world”.

Minister Heikki in a local market in Thimphu. Photo: Trond Viken-Norwegian Foreign Department.

This event, which saw an inspirational debate on issues such as gender quotas in public offices, was held in cooperation with “The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)”, to which Norway is one of the main financial contributors with NOK 75 million (approximately 13 million USD) from 2011-2015.

Norway’s goal in cooperation with ICIMOD is to contribute to a stable political development in the region through improved living conditions and stimulating regional cooperation.

Norway aims to contribute to more knowledge about the consequences of climate change and possibilities for adaptation in the Himalayas.

During the inauguration of the ICIMOD conference, Minister Holmås also launched a UN Women report on women’s political participation.

He mentioned that promotion of women’s political participation and leadership was a central element in all collaborations Norway have with Bhutan and in the region.

Bhutan and Norway has a long history of cooperation for more than 20 years on areas like hydropower, health, environment and gender equality. Two new three-year agreements of NOK 36 million (equivalent to 6 100 000 USD), were signed in May 2012.

Amounting the direct annual support to institutional cooperation with Bhutan to 12 million NOK (equivalent to 2 060 000 USD) now, Norway emphases on three-fold focus in strengthening the energy sector and support hydropower plants, preventing landslides and other threats to infrastructure (primarily hydropower plants) and studying the possibility for Bhutan’s first tunnel.

As of July 2012, Norway also homes 513 exiled Bhutanese who opted the third country resettlement as an option to begin a new life.

Heikki E. Holmås, who is a politician of the Socialist Left Party, has been serving as the Norwegian Minister of International Development since March 2012.

Refugees thrive in Blacktown

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Refugees thrive in Blacktown

Three generations of the Acharya family have thrived since they relocated to Blacktown in 2008 as part of a humanitarian settlement program for refugees from Bhutan.

Since then the Bhutanese community in Blacktown has grown from just four families — including the nine Acharyas who share a house — to more than 250 people.

At home: The Acharya family, sisters Hemanta (from left) and Januka, their grandmother Menuka, father Harihar, aunt Devi and grandfather Tikaram, were among the first Bhutanese people to settle in Blacktown in 2008.Picture: Carlos Furtado

The 20 difficult years Devi Acharya spent in a refugee camp in Nepal is becoming a distant memory.

Ms Acharya said she did not know any English when she arrived in the country. She is now a student at Blacktown TAFE and attends other language classes.

“This has helped me a lot and now I can understand and speak a little English,” she said.

“I can do my own shopping and go to the doctor. If we try hard everything is possible.”

Devi’s niece Januka was the first graduate in the newly-settled community and she now works as a registered nurse. Her other niece Hemanta is about to sit the Higher School Certificate. The gifted soccer player was selected to go to South Africa during the 2010 World Cup and is the youngest in her community to get a tax file number.

“We came from a non-English speaking background and it was difficult to understand the Australian culture,” she said.

“I’m nervous about the HSC because I have to study really hard.”

The community recently held their fourth annual day celebrations with colourful traditional costume, songs and dancing.

The elders in the community were gifted with white scarves as a mark of respect.

Hemanta’s grandfather Tikaram was among them.

An advisor for the Association of Bhutanese in Australia, Om Dhungel, said the organisation began to help the community make a smooth transition to Australia.

The organisation greets settlers at the airport, finds them temporary accommodation and then works with training organisations to provide English classes and employment skills to help them make a successful transition.

“Despite the small size of the community early on we recognised the need to maintain our unique identity and also to share and give back to the broader Australian community which welcomed us so very warmly and supported us when we each arrived,” Mr Dhungel said.

“Our active involvement in other communities helped us to deal with loneliness and living away from broader family and friends.”

Courtesy: Blacktown Sun

Beldangi observes Dashain special program

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Beldangi observes Dashain special program

Camp Management Committee (CMC) organized Dashain-Tihar special day, which included cultural program and blood donation program in Beldangi, today.

Guests inaugurate the program by lighting the candles. Photo: Tilak Niraula/BNS

Speaking in the program, Bijay Hamal, Inspector of Armed Police Force (APF) wished the entire Bhutanese refugees for their upcoming festivals.

“APF is very serious and conscious in maintaining peace and harmony in the camp during this festival”, he added. He asked every Bhutanese to help security personnel keep this spirit high.

Stakeholders from different camp-based organizations and refugee aid agencies expressed their wishes and greetings for Dashain and Tihar.

Meanwhile, 51 Bhutanese donated blood in the program where Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) coordinate the program.

Bhutanese children and elderly Bhutanese people showed cultural dances while some performers amused the audiences with Nepali songs.

The chairperson of the program, D.B. Subba, who is also the camp secretary of Beldangi camp requested the people to support the CMC for maintaining peaceful environment during the festivals.

For my fellow women

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For my fellow women
Yeshey Pelzom

Lord Shiva was married to Daksha’s daughter Sati. Sati died and was reborn as Parvati, the daughter of Himalaya and his wife Mena (Menaka). Parvati was married to Shiva. This excerpt is from the Kurma Purana (The Puranas, 12.10). It is chanted in homes and temples as divine words; it is narrated as bedtime stories to young children; it is retold as women gather to cherish the short moment of leisure in the afternoon wintry sun; it is kept alive by the Monday fasting of a young Hindu girl; it is commemorated through annual Hindu observation of Sri Swosthani Vratakatha  or festivals dedicated to Lord Shiva and it is relived on village stage shows and commercial theater screens. And yet, this is a story that is taken for granted by modern society.  The essence seems to be lost either in the complexities of the ritualism involved or in intricacies of ceremonial pomp that pujas are rendered to nowadays.  The Purana continues: In fact, Himalaya and Mena prayed so that they might have the goddess as their daughter. Pleased with their prayers, the goddess arrived before Himalaya and Mena and showed her divine form. She also promised them that she would be born as their daughter. There were a thousand names of the goddess that Himalaya recited in the course of his prayers (The Puranas, 12.10). An inspirational story of determination and devotion, an exemplary true love, the list can go on…

However, I am not here to discuss the moral or the religious implications of the story.  What I am trying to achieve is to coax my readers see what is not obvious in this story and to understand the story not just on the accounts of its divine glamour but also based on the simplicity of its essence (and NO, I am not trying to redefine its conventional meaning).

When was the Puranas written or recorded? 5th Century AD? 500 BC? Accurate time of its origin is not relevant to my understanding of the story. What is significant to me is that this verse of this Purana is a verse written in celebration of women. Celebration of women in the beginning of our existence! It was the times when parents (remember that Himalaya was a king) prayed for a daughter; it was the times when a husband (Lord Shiva) awaited a lifetime for his wife; and most of all, it was the time when a woman exhibited her own free will. Parvati chose to be born as the daughter of Himalaya and Mena (I love the very fact that she had to be prayed to and had to be pleased). While our ancestral mothers enjoyed the glory of their gender, their contemporaries in the neighboring continents did not fare well. This was what the first western woman received from God, “I will multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children;  Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you” (NKJV Holy Bible, Genesis 3.16). Just imagine the lives of these women. Their lives began with a curse.

Now, fast forward hundreds of years and you can already see a dynamic reversal. Women in the east are compelled into the practice of sati and jauhar – their free will is now standardized as social norm.  But in the west, women are now redeemed and can attain the highest form of maternal respect. A woman can mother the Son of God. “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus”(NKJV Holy Bible, Luke 1.30-31). In the world that is so strictly patriarchal, churches dedicated to Mother Mary grow in abundance. How did the western women suddenly bring themselves in the good books of the male dominated world? But what caused the downfall of eastern women? These questions haunt me to the core.

The search for these questions led me to my studies in Medieval English and I specialized in gender and culture so that I could study the lives of women (I studied lives of saints, queens, homemakers, and prostitutes). And you might have already guessed that I found no answer. These women that I read were no different than our own Sita, Druapadi, Queen Maha Maya, Ashi Nangsa, etc. The only truth that I found was that the eastern world regressed as the power of its women waned, and the western world just marched forward triumphantly with the empowerment of its women. And here I was with my questions, back to square one.

A few days ago, a seemingly discouraging incident ironically gave me some clues to my search. Some very enthusiastic Bhutanese youth organized a special event to congratulate the recent high school graduates and I was invited to attend the function (my special thanks to the organizers). I went to the event with my excitement running high to meet the young graduates. Guests and graduates trickled in with a typical Bhutanese ease and I kept waiting. My eyes longed to see the female graduates (no offense to the young men, please).  No girls showed up. None. In this 21st century America, do not tell me that no girls graduated in the past year. Do not tell me that their fathers did not allow them to attend the function. Do not tell me that they did not find time to come. Do not tell that they had no means to come. I am witness to the Teej celebration at Clarkston where hundreds of women managed time to dance to the sensuous music of Sindhu Malla. These women, young and old, not only found the means to attend the celebration, but came to the celebration leaving their husbands and children behind. What does this tell? It is women ourselves holding back. Let us stop blaming society. Let us stop whining about cultural restraints. It is we women that spin our own cocoons. Women have not lost their free will, but they have got so tangled up in trying to please others (both men and women). I just hope that they celebrate Teej not because it is what women do, but as a celebration of their womanhood. I hope they dance to the music of self-respect and sing to the glory of their existence. I hope they remember themselves in the prayers they hold for their husbands, realizing that they belong with their husbands and not to their husbands. But I can only hope. How can I forget that the enemy of a tree is not the axe, but another tree – without the wooden handle, an axe is not an axe!

As a little girl growing up, I used to be told that a girl has to be born seven (or nine, I cannot remember correctly) times as a girl in order to be born as a boy. What I remember correctly though, is that I was told of this birth and rebirth by a woman, not by a man. Similarly, guess who suppresses a new bride? Guess who teaches her that she now belongs to her husband? That she will have to iron his clothes and polish his shoes? That she will have to cook and then wait for him to eat first? I do not think it is her newly married husband dear.

Although I am beginning to gain some insights, I write this with a gnawing dread. I know that very few of my readers will be females. For you women, I would like to remind you that Parvati had thousand names. I will list here some of my favorites – Yashasvini. Nandini. Niyantri. Ameya. Triyakshhari. Adrishya. Maya. Ayoni.  We should be aware that these thousand names are not mere calling names, these are the thousand virtues of Parvati, the thousand virtues a woman stands for. Let us come and take pride in our womanhood. Let us take confidence and relive to fulfill who we are as an individual self. The benchmark of our happiness is not just the happiness of our husbands, our in-laws, and our children, but also our self-satisfaction as a woman.   To the men readers, I urge you to do what King Himalaya did. Pray that Sati be born again. Remind the women you meet that the world waits for them. Please go to your mothers, wives, sisters and female relatives and remind them of their thousand names…remind each of them that she is Pranada, the giver of life…Pujya, the Worthy of Worship…and Paramjotih, the Supreme Light!!!

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