Shadzob
Karma Wangchuk which his title is self explicit is a well known Dhapa (traditional
wooden plate) maker in Lhuentse. He started his business in 2005 as an
alternative source of income to his family. The rickety structure of bamboo
makeshift, houses his enterprise which comprises of single facet motor run by
an electricity. But within the confinement of that dilapidated structure many
dozens of finest quality of wooden plate takes shapes with the roar the motor
engine. His dhapa making is singly a father-to-son passed
skills.
The
deformation of trees such as Aakshing, Guliser and Serkaling which are found
in Pimi and Jang area under Lhuentse Dzongkhag serves as the raw materials
for his enterprise. Such diseased trees are what he looks for when wandering
hunting for the raw materials. After obtaining the valid license from Department
of Forests and Park Services, raw material collections are done in 11th, 12th
and 1st months of the Bhutanese calendar. The deformation hanging by the
trunk of the trees are removed and converted to roughly the shape for easy
transport home.
Come 5th, 6th and 7th month of the Bhutanese calendar, he gets busy with his engine inside the bamboo hut. The collected materials are soaked in water for atleast 3 months which are then again let to dry for same period of time. Only then are the woods ready for transformation into
and
other similar products.
The price of the products ranges from Nu. 300 to Nu. 800 dictated by the size
and overall quality. The products are sold to broker, one Mr. Ngawangla at
Trashiyangtse. He revealed that he earns Nu. 45,000 or so in a year through
sale of the products minus an annual expenditure of approximate sum of
Nu.15,000. Such earning feeds his not so small family of 14 including 6 sons
and same number of daughters.
However,
not an easy access to the permits for collection of raw materials required
for running his enterprise is a biggest bottleneck. “The permits have to be
availed from the Department in Thimphu only,” says Shadzob Karma Wangchuk
adding that obtaining permits eats away major chunk of his earning. He
expressed his suggestion by saying, “It would be a great boon for people like
us if the issuance of permits for such category is devoled atleast to the
level of Chief Forestry Office.
Whatever
may come, he has committed his life in the trade. He speaks high of his
enterprise in the backdrop of ever dwindling of such traditional dhapa making
in the Country. Parallel to helping feed his family, his trade is also
helping keep the Country’s tradition alive.
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‘To meet, to know, to love and to depart is the law of life’ someone has said it. We rally with strangers and people we have never known before in homes, schools, institutions and other public gatherings because we are born in different places. When we meet the strangers, we make friends with some of them and sometime we fall in love with few of them especially the young guys and ladies. We remains committed and dedicated to friendship or loveship, whatever the relationship you are sharing. But for how long? You got to ask yourself. One fateful day, you find that you are departing from your friend or lover going away to find your own friend, your own lover and your own foes. Ofcourse, it hurts so much but it is a law the life has framed and you ought to obey it. And if you don’t keep in contact through all possible means, it is much easier to forget. While traveling in the bus, you share the seats with someone especially with spinsters and you introduce, talk and become friend and s
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