Today is a big day for Bhutan … and the world. Today, people all over the world will come together to observe the first International Day of Happiness. My family and I join the people of Bhutan in celebrating the first ever global happiness day. I thank the prime minister and the government for their [...]
The following is a rough translation of my address yesterday, in the closing session of the parliament. Today is an auspicious day: it is the closing ceremony of the 10th session of the first parliament. Today is also an historic day: it is the closing session of the first elected parliament after Bhutan became a [...]
My last post was about Dr Aubrey Leatham, a leading pioneer in cardiology and the development of pacemakers. Dr Leatham, along with others, like Dr Albert Craig, had been invited to Bhutan by Her Majesty the Royal Grandmother, Ashi Kesang Choeden Wangchuck, to care for His Majesty the Third King. Between then and now, Her [...]
Thank you for taking part in the last Big Picture. Your answers were varied – Changangkha, Phobjikha, Gangtey, Wangdue, Paro, Bumthang, Dagana, Lhuntse and Thimphu town – and rightfully so. The old photo, after all, could have been taken anywhere in Bhutan. The picture, as you can now easily see, was taken outside the Tashichhodzong. [...]
Consider this: His Majesty the King issued a Kasho yesterday granting Nu 200 million towards the reconstruction of the Wangduephodrang Dzong. Nu 100 million was granted from the armed forces, and Nu 100 million from His Majesty’s Kidu Foundation. Now consider this: The government has allocated Nu 20 million per year to the Druk Gyalpo’s [...]
I was in Wangduephodrang on Saturday. I’d gone there to visit the De-Suung training program. After meeting the De-Suups, I stopped by the Wangduephodrang Dzong to see the massive renovation that the dzong was receiving. While returning to Thimphu, I stopped briefly on the other side of Punatsangchhu to take in at the grandeur of [...]
We, in Bhutan, take auspicious signs seriously. And the more auspicious the sign, the better. Today is Duechen Ngazom, the most important day in the Buddhist calendar. Today, coincidentally, is also Her Majesty the Queens’ 22nd birth anniversary. Her Majesty the Queen’s first birthday after being crowned the Druk Gyaltshuen falls on the most revered [...]
Our elders believe that the words of our kings are droplets of gold. They believe that to carry out a king’s command is to undertake a task that’s heavier than a mountain. They also believe that to ignore a king’s command is to waste an opportunity more precious than gold. Our kings do not say [...]
The Royal Bhutan Army, Royal Body Guards, Royal Bhutan Police, and militia and Desung volunteers celebrated Armed Forces Day yesterday. To commemorate the important day, I’m reproducing a translation of the motion of thanks that I proposed during the opening ceremony of the sixth session of Parliament about a year ago, on 19 November 2010. [...]
The heavens descended on Dochula yesterday. Boddhisattvas and gods, enchanting goddesses and spirits, guardian deities and demons, and Milarepa himself, meditating and levitating in the freezing cold, appeared before the thousands of pilgrims who had gathered to witness the inaugural Druk Wangyel Tsechu. The tsechu was inspired, guided and supported by Her Majesty the Queen [...]
Tshering Tobgay is a Member of Parliament representing Sombaykha Constitutency in Haa. He is the Leader of the Opposition Party in the National Assembly of Bhutan.
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