MEMOIR-Personal Narrative

 Getting on with Life

The community of Lauri, located in Samdrup Jongkhar, is known for its tendency to focus on their own future, rather than their surroundings. They prefer to remain within their own village, fearing that outsiders might be unreliable or deceitful. As a result, the community's children are often kept within the village and expected to become agriculturalists, as agriculture is the primary means of livelihood. The community relies on a barter system, and finances play a minimal role in their lives. Unfortunately, this way of life means that most of the youth in the community are illiterate, unexposed, unemployed, and socially backward, as they are never sent to school.

Karma, the eldest son in his family, was not sent to school and was kept in the village to assist his parents with farming. As a young boy, he had to babysit his three siblings and work in the fields. Life was difficult for him in those early years. When Karma turned five years, he was assigned to herd the family's small flock of cattle with his grandfather. They herded the cattle in the village during the early summer months and took them to the forest for grazing during the day. While tending to the cattle, Karma gathered ferns, mushrooms, firewood, fruits, and also managed to catch some fish to bring back home in the evening.

The popular method of fishing in the community was "Toopi," where earthworms were sewn into loops and attached to a short stick to lure the Batpalas (torrent catfish). This method was very effective and could catch four to five fish at a time. Herd boys and girls usually took advantage of the growing summer season to fish. While fishing, they enjoyed the music of the running rivers, and some Indian teachers even joined them in their fishing excursions.

During the rainy season, life was miserable for Karma, as he had only a meter of worn-out plastic raincoat to shelter himself from the frequent changing weather. He also had to deal with leeches, ticks, and thorns while herding the cattle in the forest. The lack of modern shoes made it worse, and his feet often suffered fungal infections from the pricking thorns. Despite these challenges, Karma remained committed to his work and continued herding cattle, encountering different species of birds and animals in the forest along the way.

Getting into School

Karma was fortunate when the village head and representatives came to his house for the school enrollment survey. The policy required every family to send one child to school, but Karma's parents were reluctant to let him go, fearing they would have no one to assist them at home. They took Karma to the office of the Gup, stating he was unsound to attend school, but their efforts were in vain, and Karma was admitted to school at the age of nine. During those days, more importance was given to child labor than schooling.

It was a challenging time for Karma to leave his parents and homeland and start a new life in a boarding school. Life in the hostel was unimaginable, with no proper bed to sleep on, no light/electricity, and no nearby toilets. During the monsoon, the floor was never clean and dry, and jute sacks and animal hide served as common mattresses for more than 150 students. In the absence of electricity, they burned candles, kerosene lamps, and pine wood spill for lighting, which produced heavy soot.

Living in a hostel was tough from every angle, and going to the toilet in the middle of the night was the most feared experience. It was not unusual to find someone had defecated in the corridors every night. Karma couldn't ask his friend to accompany him to the toilet, so he defecated in the corridor. Luckily, there was another friend also defecating in the corridor, and none of the dogs howled, so they were safe. The captains tried to find the culprit in the morning but failed when the two remained silent. If there had been proper lighting and nearby washrooms, such experiences would not have been a memory.

Life was full of hardship, and the food was usually bulgur wheat supplied by WFP, which they ate in the form of porridge or curry. It was infested with rice weevils, and there was no choice but to eat it, picking out the insects they could spot. The quantity was insufficient and could never satisfy their hunger. They eagerly waited for Saturdays when they were assigned to fetch firewood for their teachers, who would sometimes reward them with sugar tea and biscuits.

Karma dropped out of school for a year to take care of his bedridden parents and resumed a year later. In 1991, when all the men of the village were called up for militia due to anti-national problems in southern Bhutan, Karma's father left, leaving the family in a difficult situation. They migrated to their winter camp near the Indian border, where they made a living by selling firewood to the border town of Teenali. The Indian counterpart paid Rupees 10/- for every 40kg of firewood, and those with more family members earned more. Similarly, another source of earning money was by harvesting jungle rattan cane to sell across the boarders. Rattan cane would fetch litter better than firewood though it was difficult to harvest from the deep jungle.

In the winter of 1995, Karma resided in Kalaktang town, Arunachal Pradesh, India. He sought to earn income by participating in road development projects. Later, he relocated to Domkho and Murshing villages in Arunachal Pradesh in search of better employment opportunities. He was assigned to community road construction, earning Nu.60/- per day. Karma experienced unforgettable hardships working in the snowy mountains, enduring cold and dust that left his hands, toes, and mouth with painful cracks. Despite the challenges, he persevered, aiming to gain independence from his parents. After laboring for two months and factoring in his expenses, his final savings amounted to Nu.300/-, sufficient to cover his school-related costs.

Completion of Primary School

In 1996, Karma completed his primary schooling after studying for eight years in the same school. During his fifth-grade year, Karma failed his midterm examination, and as a result, the school demoted him to fourth grade. A week later, he passed another test, which allowed him to return to fifth grade. In order to complete primary school, Karma had to take the Board Examination in sixth grade. These exams were only held in a few centers and not in the schools. Karma had to walk for two full days and then travel by road for one day to reach Deothang, where he took the exam in 1996. The exam results were announced in the national newspaper, Kuensel, which was only published once a week on Saturdays. There were no other options to check results as there was no internet available at that time. Students across the country had to wait until Saturday to find out their results, which was difficult for those in remote places. They often had to use Satellite Wireless Communication to contact someone in urban centers to check their results. The only communication available was via an operator encoded by a Satellite Wireless Communication station. Fortunately, Karma received a passing certificate from class VI.

After the results were announced, Karma's family became worried because they did not have enough money to meet daily expenses. Karma's parents worked day and night to earn money for his education and were only able to provide him with Ngultrum 600/- at the end. With this money, Karma decided to attend a new school that was three days away by foot and two days away by travel. During that time, school placements were determined by the Ministry of Education, and students didn't have the option to choose their schools. Karma found himself placed at Nangkor Lower Secondary School in Pemagatshel, a completely unfamiliar location as he had never ventured beyond his village before.

Karma and his friends were fortunate to have their former teacher assist them in arranging transportation. The former headmaster, Mr. Dawa Tshering, provided them with lodging at the Samdrup Jongkhar school and managed their transportation to the school. The only mode of transportation from Samdrup Jongkhar to Pemagatshel was via gypsum carrier trucks, as there were no public buses or taxi services available at that time. They traveled in the gypsum truck for two consecutive years from 1997-1998. As it was their first time traveling to a new place and their travel time was arranged at night, they had to spend the night outside on a building plinth. They all slept on the plinth because they did not know the location of the hostels. The next morning, they discovered that the hostels were still under construction and students were being accommodated in the hall. They then moved to the hall in the morning and got their respective beds.

During vacations, Karma had to look for employment to make his school expenses. Despite facing numerous challenges, Karma got the opportunity to work as a "Khalasi," a driver's assistant, to finance his next level of studies. He worked with a driver at Bhutan Engineering Company Limited during the winter vacation of 1999. As a helper, his duties included washing the truck, placing wheel stop stones at each stop, and applying grease and tightening screws from underneath, which proved challenging during wet weather conditions. Making entries at the checkpoint was not easy for someone who only knew their mother tongue. Drivers treated their "Khalasi" like slaves and gave them ungracious and unforgettable commands, which were unimaginable. Nevertheless, Karma is grateful to the driver for teaching him the hardships of life, even though life under him was indescribable.

Schooling at Jakar, Bumthang.

After finishing Lower Secondary School, he was transferred to Jakar High School in Bumthang, which was located in the central region of the country, much farther from his home in the eastern region. The commute to Jakar High School was not an easy one, as there were only a few available transportation services to Bumthang. In 2008, he visited Bumthang for the first time, accompanied by a group of eight friends who shared everything from primary school to high school. None of them came from a wealthy family, and they were all financially struggling most of the time.

Schooling at Jakar High School was incredibly challenging, from the severe weather conditions to the difficulties of life in the hostel. While his nearby friends spent their holidays with their parents and relatives, he had to stay in the hostel for the whole year with nowhere to go. His stay in Bumthang was quite cramped as he couldn't travel to any places during breaks and holidays. The travel days required to reach his home was equivalent to term breaks of the school, making it impractical for him to go home. Unfortunately, staying at school during holidays wasn't enjoyable either, as he was facing a financial crisis, and the local students took advantage of their situation and ran off with their belongings.

Whenever the school declares local holidays, they had no means to visit their families but to engage themselves in some activities int he school. One day,  they decided to make a trip to Kikilha during one of their term breaks. They collected every penny that they had in their worn-out purses and managed to arrange for lunch and refreshments. They borrowed utensils from the school canteen and decided to cook behind the hostel, as cooking was yet another problem in the hostel. They managed to take out sufficient firewood to cook their food, with the help of Mr. Kinzang Dorji, who went inside the canteen and delayed the owner's conversation to let his friends drag firewood from the stack behind the canteen. They used the firewood dishonestly as there were no rice cookers and curry cookers during those days, and cooking was done in a fireplace. By hook or crook, they arranged their trip and started their journey towards Kikilha, climbing uphill. After a few hours of climbing, they reached the top of Kikilha and ate their lunches. The drinks for their lunch were a bottle of Black Mountain Whisky, which soon put them into a deep snooze. By the time they awoke, it was almost evening, and they immediately walked downhill to school.

One of their other plans was to snatch green apples from the open orchards, as there were many apple orchards in and around the school. During their midterm break, they went to pluck apples from above the school and remained quiet as they entered the orchard. They plucked a few apples and munched on them vigorously before they could gather any more to take back to school. Suddenly, a man approached them in anger and gave them a remarkable scolding, stating that during the day, they were stealing, and during the night, the bears would attack their apples. He added that he did not want to see them there. Instead of apples, they carried those unholy words back to school in an empty hand in the late afternoon. These were unforgettable memories for them at Jakar High School, although they enjoyed doing all sorts of mischievous things.

 Schooling at Drukgyel HSS, Paro.

Karma completed his matriculation from Jakar in 2010 with good results and managed to secure a competitive seat at Drukgyel Higher Secondary School in Paro during the pre-university orientation at the Youth Center in Motithang, Thimphu. Although he was interested in taking Computer Studies, he had to opt for Arts stream as his knowledge of mathematics was only average. Attending a different school was challenging as the schools were far from his hometown, and he faced difficulty in finding lodging during school holidays. However, he and his friends managed to stock rations from the school mess to support them during breaks and holidays.

Joining the Government Service

After completing class XII in 2002, Karma attended the selection interviews for in-country training courses and higher studies at the Youth Center in Thimphu. He was admitted to study Geography at Sherubtse College, but having no one to support him, he withdrew from the college. He visited the Youth Center to retrieve the documents he had submitted the previous day, as he had decided to withdraw from college. During his visit, officials questioned his decision and did not grant his withdrawal request. Nevertheless, given his financial constraints, he had no choice but to reconsider and make a different decision. Consequently, he chose to pursue a career in the teaching profession. A few days later, he began his Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) induction course at Yangchenphug High School auditorium after confirming that he was selected to undertake B.Ed. secondary at the National Institute of Education, now known as Samtse College of Education.

The induction course gave him a clear understanding of what teaching profession meant, and he felt secure about his career choice. After the ten-day induction course, they were sent to schools across the country to serve as Apprentice Teachers for one year before undergoing the three-year teaching degree program at the institute. Karma was placed at Lauri Primary School, a school in his hometown, which was remote and not preferred by many. Two more friends willingly accepted to go to the same school, and they joined the school within the next three days. The principal of the school and teachers welcomed them warmly.

During his one-year stay in the community, Karma learned many social values and had enriching experiences. He met the lady who would become his life partner during his apprenticeship.  In 2004, he began his three-year Bachelor of Education program at Samtse College of Education. The one-year apprenticeship program in the real field had provided him with a different perspective of teaching, and he found life in the workplace, schools, and colleges quite different from every aspect. 

Karma, equipped with teaching pedagogy after completing a three-year bachelor's degree in teaching, received his final placement from the Ministry of Education at Tonmijangsa LSS in Trashiyangtse. However, upon reaching Trashigang, he was instructed by the district education officer to go to Ramjar LSS instead. Ramjar is a village in Trashiyangtse with all the necessary facilities and a middle secondary school located on a plateau called Bonkangzor. Karma stayed in Ramjar for seven years and became socially and culturally assimilated into the community. 

During a routine medical checkup, Karma was admitted to Mongar Hospital without his consent of having any health issues. The doctor administered hypertensive medication upon discovering high blood pressure without any guidance on dietary control or physical exercises prior to prescribing the medication. The following day, a complete blood test revealed that he had CKD, with creatinine levels one level higher than normal. Additionally, doctors diagnosed him with fatty liver and left ventricular hypertrophy. These medical findings deeply disturbed Karma, further deteriorating both his physical and mental health.  Therefore, he made the choice to depart from Ramjar and seek a placement in Thimphu for the sake of his well-being. As per his wish, he was transferred to Thimphu. While his children were initially unhappy about the move, Karma reassured them, reminding them that they could make new friends in Thimphu and attend a better school.

Kuzhugchen, the new place.

Karma was placed at Kuzhugchen Middle Secondary School in Thimphu after leaving Ramjar. His new place of school assured him of better care for his well-being by granting him to have less teaching periods. After few months of working in the school, he received a scholarship offer from the University of Brunei Darussalam, Brunei, to pursue higher studies. Despite his health worries, he chose to accept the scholarship and subsequently traveled to Brunei. While in Brunei, Karma had the opportunity to undergo a comprehensive medical screening examination covered under the scholarship program. During this examination, doctors determined that Karma had a neurogenic bladder, whereas in Bhutan, he had been diagnosed with an alcohol-related disease. The doctors asked him to confirm whether there were any signs of spinal injury resulting from accidents that had contributed to his illness. Back to Bhutan, Karma asked his parents if there were any records of accidents in his past. His parents confirmed that he had indeed fallen from a rocky ledge as a child, which could have subsequently led to his neurogenic bladder condition.

After completing his studies from Brunei, he was transferred to Wangbama Central School in Thimphu. While he enjoys working at Wangbama, the school's windy location exposes him to various health allergies.