My Own Thoughts

Ashique, ‘pure and unadulterated love’ does his name denote but questions lurks, how much such love does he enjoy? He was deprived of the tender love of his parents when he landed up in foreign land to serve foreign master. His daily chore includes scrubbing the floors, cleaning the toilet, doing the basins, babysitting and all other odd jobs he failed to remember. In return to his dedicated service, he is fed with whips and heart-wrenching words. He received all black and blues for little mistakes he committed sometime even for no reasons. He is treated no better than creature that is common nuisance at home. When he thought he can go on no more with it, he framed up a plan to run away for once and ever and go back to the safe hands to nurture with his beloved parents. That’s when I met him on his way back. But a confrontation does await him ahead. He carries no cash to expend his journey, without which he can hardly make home. He was born to the destitute family just across the bor...

The phallus is the integral part of Bhutanese paintings. If you happen to visit Bumthang (not necessarily sticking to it) you will see that every corner of the wall of the house bear a clear picture of phallus. Some prefer to paint; others curve the proxy and hang it by the corner of the roof or in the door itself. Sometime it is embarrassing that the first one to welcome you in home is the giant Phallus. But looking deeper into the meaning, one would appreciate why it is there. The Phallus is seen in Bhutanese homes in many forms. Some are painted scary red on the wall while others are hung from the four corners of the roof. In other parts of the country, the phallus is erected in the post at the front of the house. Still few prefer to keep it right at the entrance, hard and pointed. The perspective of phallus I present here is restricted to my own hallucination and nothing of the serious research findings. But as far as I have heard people explain, especially when tourist are aro...