for it is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace and the conditions for sustainable development must be built. ~UNESCO

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Fulfilling an Unfulfilled Project- College Magazine PART V


ROMANCE IN THE GLASS


We live by the will of god.  Literally, people fall in love, for god has seen divine-glimpse in love.  On the contrary, love pictures different color of mood since god looks upon us differently.  Nevertheless, if love is to calm down the human ego, pride, jealousy, fret, and fever, one must never love truly, because contemporary love success behind the great secret of materialism.  

Yoezer, a college student, had to battle for his college necessities since he was so called orphan.  His angel-like mum, he imagined, never stoke his forehead for she has to attend the call of death at very young age, after leaving her feeble and unfortunate infant in the mundane world of suffering.  His faithful father, of course, never thought of marrying for he finds it very painful and dislikes his own child to call, ‘step mum’ in low and stick tone.  Unfortunately, the sharp claws of death strangled his dad after miserly suffering from intestine cancer.  The every move of his life was accompanied with misery and sadness to crash him by their terrible hoofs.

Every dog has its own day.  Yoezer, be it by luck or divine’s providence, met a girl named Yangzom to heal his wound of emotional distress.  Yangzom, on other hand, has a story nothing different from him.  She lost her mum while she was feeding on the breast.  However, she was lucky enough than Yoezer, for she had tasted the milk and played the breast of her mum with her short-blessed hands, which latter has never seen even in his dream.  Nevertheless, their story never go differently because like Yoezer, Yangzom lost her faithful and hard working dad in an accident, while she was schooling in grade 12. 

By providence, they met under the sheer visionary eyes of the god.  Not knowing, the fate may cheat in the future, they promised not to betray each other.  Everything they did was in each other’s name, and nothing they did against the will of the god. 

Apparently, as commonly uttered, ‘never trust 3Ws – wine, woman and weather,’ accordingly Yoezer found his heart bleeding without cuts.  He lost his heart, and everything was in vain after losing it.  Eventually, when he evoked from the deep drowsiness of pain, he regretted for letting his love take away the freedom of his heart.  He found his own heart crashed and left behind like an empty bottle after it has quenched the thirst of thirsty man.   

Yangzom after her graduation from grade 12 received a scholarship in Engineering in Australia.  Fortunately or unfortunately, one day while Yoezer was on line in tagged.com he spotted Yangzom’s fabricated and renewed image in the ‘meet me’ column.  For a moment he was left as if in the dream.  But that dream haunted him and forced him to say at least… hi!  

When we miss somebody very much, and our heart was broken into pieces, a quick and just a word, hi, from that person can put our broken pieces of heart into shape.  Sadly, it never worked in Yoezer case.  Al most two days has passed without any sign of response.  Every time he logged on the web, message from Yangzom never appeared in the inbox.   

Eventually, one time he caught her message, and it made him fly in the sky and his entire face was painted with smiles and glory.  He clicked the bar, viewed message, with overflowing excitement, and waited what words she has expressed for him after a long time. At first he didn’t believe his eyes, but later he read her response to his greeting with self-praising and self-gratifying exposition. 

Hi!  M doin gud
Bt m vry sory 2 say…
We hv nw academic difference.
Ergo, lets b gud fren…plez understand.
Hope u ll nt bother me.

The tears brimmed in his eyes and something terrible worked in his heart.  The person he has trusted and respected as an angel put off the garment of virtue and portrayed her true face of scoundrel  and worn the garment of evil.  Even then, he accepted the fate with no words of rebellion and followed the path of fate. 

He never thought of loving a girl anymore if god willed, but he doubted his weak heart, that he might again love to open the gate of weariness and despair. 

It was breaking of the winter; the thick black cloud blanketed over the snowy meadow of the province, the high way meandered like a black stripe on the stretched white plain cloth, and the blacked necked crane soared high in the sky, and sung the song of purity in the heavenly vale of Gangtey. 

In that silence of pale wintry eve, a boy on his feeble and wrecked heart shivered like a last leaf on the trees, and entered the sordid bar.  He tabled a bottle of beer and his glass filled to its brim and his mouth stained with white bubbles.  He would lavishly smile at everyone who entered the cozy room and if they will, he would share his beer and start pouring down all his allegory of the past. 

With tears in his eyes, drowsiness in his head and heaviness in his heart, Yoezer said, “I have found romance in this glass.  It never betrays me like the girl who crashed my heart and, robbed the happiness of my life.  Indeed, it is very best friend of mine.  But sometimes, she fills this glass,” he laughed, bent his head down and never rose again.

Galay Samdrup
III English








The Beautiful and the Ugly
A tale from Talo, Punakha


Once upon a time there lived a Dove in a thick forest. She was considered the most beautiful bird in that forest. Every animal admired her for her beauty and good personality. She was one creature that was liked by all the others as they never understood her inner quality of giving priority to physical outlook.

Every male bird tried to woo her. Many backed off seeing no possibility of winning her love. However, the Pheasant of the high land, Peacock of India, the wild cock of the meadow, the cock of the village and the Dramgyenthashahop never gave up. They had a strong competition in wooing the Dove’s love. And they were the top five suitors.

The suitor from the high land ate poison, had beautiful feathers and was handsome. The Peacock with his multicoloured feathers; silky and smooth fir was not bad. The wildcock looked gorgeous in his own ways. Meanwhile the Cock from the village could not be denied of his smartness. His personality and the sweet voice were admired. And lastly, the Dramgyen with a luring combination of coloured body; hardworking; and his honey tongue gave the Dove no way to exclude him. This suitor had the most beautiful outlook. 

 The admirers of the Dove worked as hard as the politicians on their campaign to win her. The Dove had a tough time to choose one. But, with her priority on the physical out look, she decided her life with Dramgyen. So, she expressed her love for him one day. No sooner did Dramgyen hear her, he was overwhelmed by feelings of happiness. He was struck dumb; not sure if it was a dream and kept on hugging.

The happy and proud Dramgyen requested her to be married as fast as possible. Therefore, the marriage was decided to be done the next day. Immediately, Dramgyen set off to prepare for their marriage. They promised to keep it secret until the next evening. Meanwhile, the Bat, who was considered the ugliest creature, overheard the conversation.

Then the Bat foiled a plan to visit the Dove that night. As it became dark, the Bat set off to execute his plan. His plan was to enjoy the virginity of the Dove.

He was soon at the Dove’s place and knocked the door, tok...tok... The Dove expected one of the five suitors. So she asked,” are you the Pheasant of the highland?” The Bat disdainfully replied,” do you mean the poisoner of the highland?” The Bat knocked the door again, tok...tok... The Dove asked,” are you the Peacock of India?” The Bat said scornfully,” do you mean the sweeper?” The Bat continued to knock, tok...tok...The Dove again asked,” are you the wildcock from the glade?” “do you mean the red eyed slave” said the Bat contemptuously.

Again he knocked the door, tok...tok... The dove again asked,” are you the sweet voiced cock?” “do you mean the rascal of the village” replied the Bat. His sarcasm to all the other suitors made the Dove to ask,” are you Dramgyen?” The bat replied sarcastically,” do you mean the one who kept a secret which others knew?”

The Dove then opened the door. As it was too dark, she couldn’t recognize her visitor. She saw the eyes and said,” why is a birds eye like that of a cat?”. “It’s because of too much mustard oil consumption”, said the Bat proudly. Then they went to bed and enjoyed love making. The Dove didn’t know him, so, to check the next day; she tied a string on his leg. The Bat didn’t know that. Soon after love making he left. The next day, the Dove went to check following the string, only to see her partner hung upside down in a toilet. She felt too ashamed and committed suicide. The most beautiful bird was ruined by the ugliest.
Namgay Wanghcuk
EPB III, 2009


Reason to live and leave

“hello, can you hear me?...hello..h…”, the line went dead. Charley dropped his cell and moved to and fro clenching and again unclenching his hands. He was filled with a swirling tempest of fear. The cell rang again. With trembling fingers he gripped the cell and said, “hello doctor, s she fine?” “she is back to her sense” , replied at the other end.  He sat on his bed, breathing in relief. When his past memories came rushing to him, he remembered his place. The uUS is an international place where people from all parts of the world come to earn, live and study. Lhazin from Bhutan has been there to get Masters in Mathematics. She was his classmate. They lived together like nay married couple and lived happily until she had to return to her country. He found no reason to live without her so, he flew after her to Bhutan. As his thoughts came one after another, he he dozed off into deep sleep.

In another part of the world, Lhazin was in the hospital. She recalled Charley saying, “hey babs, I am here to take you back. I am putting up in hotel Taj”. Her heart leapt with joy and she gasped, “I am coming honey”. She drove her car. She noted subconsciously that the truck in her rear view had accelerated to overtake her. She tried to overtake the truck when her car slid sideway across the road and met with an accident. She was shaken off from her thoughts by a nurse. The nurse gave her an injection and disappeared.



Next day, she called Charley. With utmost joy, he reached the cell to say big “hello”. But he heard her say “I am not marrying you….foreigner”, her voice was a strangled whisper. “wh…what? But??....”. While he was choking over words, she ended the call. He was struck as he had never been before. He could hardly believe his fate to have hurled such a tragedy to him. He rushed to the hospital and found her in the park, alone. She was wearing black goggles to hide her eyes. She looked perfectly fine. He stood before her, fighting his unwanted tears. She didn’t seem bothered by his presence. He felt a rush of guilt, embarrassment and anger wrapping over him like a blanket. He wanted to question her but the words withered within his lips. He instantly cowered till he could see her like a portrait from eight yards. He saw a man coming and holding her. They smiled as they walked away, hand in hand. Charley forced his lips to split in a smile and muttered, “Jesus, keep them happy”. Then he moved away, promising to never see her again.
At far distance, Lhazin inquired, “How is the day?”.” It’s bright and the children are playing in the park”, replied her brother. “I wish if only that car accident had taken away any part of my body other than my eyesight”, Lhazin whimpered with a wistful tone. Her brother sobbed silently for she would never be able to see again in her life.

Lhamo
MP A, III


Ignorance is Bliss


Hmmmm…. With a big sigh of relief, I went to bed. After a bottle of beer, I was relieved. Now I had to wait for a so-called sound sleep’. I enveloped myself into a thick double Tulip coverlet. The weather was crazy cold outside. Lights off, the room was wholly dark. Except my own breath, everything became monotonous. Silence fell and I was put to fast asleep. Trrr… my mobile rang upto its best possible songs that I had set a ringing tone. I woke up to reach for the phone. The ringing stopped. A missed call! A while later, it rang again. It was a bit longer bow, though a missed call. This interrupted my slumber. I looked at the watch that lay hanging on the white-washed wall of my bed room. The hour hands struck 12:30 am. “ Who the hell could be?” I thought ot myself. The third ring came and went.  “Huh! Again a missed call”, I said to myself with a grin. The fourth came…..Such a scene was tormenting when one is in a ‘big’ trauma. Never mind, I just set the profile to silent and dozed off. Much better, I was put to sound sleep.

The arms of the clock struck 8:00 am, I jumped out of my bed, dashed to the wash room, stood in front of the alter and prayed for the day’s well fare. With a steaming cup of coffee in my hand, I took out my phone from under the pillow and looked for the number. “6 miss calls, I new number”. Mmmm this might be a girl, I thought. I called back then. No response for the first time. The second time I tried, still no response. I thought. I gave my third try. Yes, there was a girl on the other end. Conversations went on “your wife is in the hospital since last night”. This was heart throbbing. No more words fell from my mouth; I didn’t know what I said and did. When I came back to my senses, I was in the hospital beside her bed. There, she didn’t even look at me. I was abandoned. I was a total stranger to her. I tried to console her, seek her forgiveness, but to no avail. “ Time for check-up, everybody out please”, a nurse came shouting in. Ten minutes later, the doctor came, shaking his hand. “Are you her husband? She want you in”, with this he lift us alone. I went in; there she was in incessant pain! “S…..Sa….Sa.. Sangay……..” she vomited blood, her sentences incomplete. With her mumbling words finally she managed to say, “have a happy life hereafter……..i…”  She breathed her last. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I didn’t disclose the incident of the last night. My conscience couldn’t hold it. “Sorry friends, it all happened due to me. I didn’t know that she is such a.” when I opened my eyes, everybody had left. It was me and only me crying over split milk.

The fortnight, we were a good couple. The later night everything became topsy-turvy. We had a quarrel over a silly matter. Just a slap and she was put to silence. She didn’t utter a word then. With fury, I left her at home and headed for a beer. I knew not what happened then. She wasn’t at home. I didn’t bother since she wasn’t a kid anymore. The same old home was not the same to me. Every fragment of air seemed to be new. A heap of cloths here, 2-3 buckets full of pots and pans there, newspapers scattered everywhere! A mass of everything everywhere! I remembered the past very vividly. How well she would arrange the home! But it was too late! I was told that she consumed poison. Sorry, blame it on me! What if I had thought the same thought that thoughtful night?

Sangay Tenzin, 3III EPB


The Unexpected Guest at the Coffee Shop
Sangay Phuntsho, I B. Ed Eng (Pry)
Yangchen was such an excitable woman. Even a single ring on her phone could make her jump with joy. She was a little conceited, too. She had a weird kind of belief that every one should admire her. But she always missed her husband whenever he was out on duty, or at least that was how it appeared to be.
She was just married to Rigden, a Bank officer. In his company, like all the newly wedded couples, she didn’t realise how the time passed. The trouble only began when he was out of her sight and had nothing much to do. Whenever she was alone, she engaged herself with her cell phone. The phone was a wedding gift from her husband and she liked it incredibly.   
The downside with the phone was that it could store secret phone numbers which her husband did not know, and she fully took advantage of it. She chatted and had fun with other men. Of course, she only used this facility in his absence. It started with fake names first, but ‘fake’ soon gave way to ‘facts’ and one thing led to other and that was how she grew close to a dozen pals. She even arranged appointments with them in hotels.
At one time, as usual she pulled out her appealing cell phone from beneath her cushion and dialed a number 176…. “Hello! Who is speaking,” responded a young guy. “Can you guess?” she whispered in her sexy voice. “Your accent seems to be familiar to me, but who are you?” he inquired. “Well, I’m Deki,” she said. “Who is Deki now? Do I know you?” he queried in excitement. “You don’t know me and I don’t know you either but I was just trying with my fortune. Would you mind to introduce yourself to me?” she asked. Her voice was sensational. “Okay than, I am Phuntsho, twenty-three years old bachelor. I do some construction work. So now can you reveal yourself to me?” he asked quickly. “Hmmm… I am Deki and I live with my sister. I am single too and I love making friends,” she returned. 
Almost immediately they fell in love. And there was no turning back. They chatted at least for half an hour every day. One thing was quite interesting with their calls, though. It always happened during the day and neither of them asked why they didn’t call at night. Both had their own reasons which neither wanted to share. But be it day or night, they awfully missed each other.  
One late afternoon, Rigden came home in a depressed mood. When Yangchen asked him for a reason, he showed a piece of paper. She scanned the page. It was an office order of a weeklong tour to the East of Bhutan. “Oh, now don’t be that upset,” she cooed. “Take this opportunity. I will pray for your successful tour.” Rigden remained silent for a while. “You think it is good idea to go away?” he asked. “Of course it is not a good idea and I will miss you. It is not even two months that we have been wedded, but your duty comes first.” Rigden regained his composure. He was glad to have such an understanding wife. He decided to follow his wife’s advice. 
Yangchen had different plans. In a little while, she received a call from Phuntsho. “Why so early today, Phuntsho?” asked Yangchen with excitement in her mind. “I’m free today and I was wondering if I can come across to your house to chat, only if you don’t mind,” he responded. Of course, Yangchen did not mind. She had been waiting for this moment, waiting for such an offer. 
“You are always welcome in my house,” she said falteringly. “Where did you say your house is?” he asked. “In front of the City Bank,” she answered. “Oh, my uncle lives there and somehow he still thinks I am a small boy and gives me a lecture if he sees me moving around with women. How about at the Relax Coffee Shop?” Relax Coffee Shop was secluded place and a good place to date. From her experience, mostly young men and women visited this place. Yangchen smiled. “This man very well knows where to see his woman,” she thought. “Relax Coffee Shop is fine,” she said after a pause and picked up her black leather handbag. “Be there. I’ll call you when I am at the doorstep of the coffee shop,” said she. “You have my word,” he said, smiling and hung up the phone.
Yangchen adorned herself with colourful fabrics and marched off to the Relax Coffee Shop. As she arrived at the entrance of the coffee shop she dialed Phuntsho’s number. But like a bolt from the blue, Rigden came out of the coffee shop, his mobile phone still buzzing. Stupefied and embarrassed beyond words, both of them stared at each other.
Yangchen’s fluky call pal was her own husband who was as well using a secrete number to have amusement with other women.        
             

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