Today is National Day and the stragglers still in the country after last’s weeks GNH conference piled into a bus and drove to the stadium for the morning’s festivities. We were ushered onto the field, carefully avoiding the rice designs covering the red carpet, and seated in reserved aisles set aside for civil servants and visiting guests. Before us were placed plates of candy and beetle nut, the latter a mild intoxicant that is chewed in leaves and responsible for red teeth and crimson spittle all over the sidewalks. The occasion was full of pomp and circumstance, with elegant lamas in red silk and the military in full dress uniforms. A marching band performed as the King’s father arrived. K4, as he’s affectionately called, abdicated his throne last year to his son, the fifth king. This esteemed member of the Wangchuk dynasty also brought democracy to this country by holding elections in Dec of 2007, making it both the youngest and most reluctant democracy in the world.
According to writer Kavi Chongkittavorn, “Before the poll, Bhutan had been governed - for the past 129 years - by an absolute monarch. But a few years ago the former King Jigme Wangchuk Namgyal decided to transform his Himalayan kingdom and began preparing for democracy.
Unlike other new democracies elsewhere, Bhutan's democratic transition was smooth and peaceful, as it was bestowed willingly by the king. The elected members of both houses of parliament,” he continues, “ amount to less than 100 of the kingdom's total population of 680,000. The success or failure of democratization in Bhutan will depend solely on their cooperation and professionalism.”
Democracy has not been easy in Bhutan. The monarchy is so well-loved that the Bhutanese didn’t understand the need for an elected government. But democracy prevailed and Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley was sworn in to office in April, 2008.
Explains the PM Thinley,
“The people were, yes, apprehensive. (About democracy) The people were not keen on bringing the kind of change that, in their eyes and in their mind, could not be very different from what they saw in the world at large and in particular in our neighboring countries in South Asia. In many of the countries, democracy had failed or was in the process of failing, and leading to tremendous upheavals, strife among the people. In some cases, they have seen so much violence that people felt that under the benevolent rule of a king, who was so very popular, who was revered, loved, and adored by the people, they had the best. And they were not about to give up the best that they had for something that, as I said, could perhaps not be different from what they saw elsewhere. So they were anxious. But the king prevailed over them, saying that even though the final choice must be theirs, they must realize that the king becomes the leader only by the accident of birth and not by merit or by virtue, and that to place the future of a country in the hands of such a person is not in the long-term interest of the country.”
Change is happening so fast in Bhutan. Chongkittavorn mentions, “In 2003, the kingdom had no mobile phones; now one-third of the population has a mobile phone while there are only 25,000 fixed lines. With the proliferation of satellite dishes and cable and direct TV, even the remote villages hidden in the mountains now have access to hundreds of channels - and the means to get more of the information they will need to make democracy work.” Of course that access also creates a corrosion in traditional values. Without a great deal of media literacy, TV will of course cause more problems than it may be cure.
But enough about that! Back to the event...
The fifth king arrived at last draped in a gold sash. Regaled by bodyguards over whom he towered, the young monarch was resplendent. With his arrival, the program commenced with prayers. Then the King gave an address in Dzonka, the national language, after which he offered numerous awards to notable citizens. Then the dances began with whirling “heroes” in colorful silks, beautiful “angels” running to protect their kingdom, and school children performing folk dances. I caught a few snippets on a very crude video camera—I'll post later. The program ended with tug-of-war, tae kwon do, and a national dance in which we all participated, three giant circles slowly moving clockwise and as we shifted our hands up and down. It was a ball!
Oh, almost forgot to mention—I spoke with the King. (I actually didn’t forget at all—I met the KING!!!) He was so tall and striking. He came over to the small knot of GNH participants and chatted us up. He was so gracious, articulate, and handsome--distinctions that have earned him a very large following of teen-aged Asian girls. As the youngest monarch in the world, he is also amazingly humble and committed to Bhutan. Here is an excerpt from his coronation address:
"Throughout my reign I will never rule you as a King. I will protect you as a parent, care for you as a brother and serve you as a son. I shall give you everything and keep nothing; I shall live such a life as a good human being that you may find it worthy to serve as an example for your children; I have no personal goals other than to fulfill your hopes and aspirations. I shall always serve you, day and night, in the spirit of kindness, justice and equality."
Friday:
Today will be quiet, but tomorrow I join my friend Patrizia for a day long hike up to a monastery. Should be a good work out—a climb to 13,000!
~ Betsy
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