Tag Archives | Bhutan

You Want to Go to Bhutan

Whether or not the real Bhutan lives up to the hype of the mythical Shangri-La, there is no doubt you want to go there.

Bhutan is indisputably beautiful (Shangri-La!) and you want to go there, so you should! But traveling to Bhutan is complicated. While Bhutan doesn’t officially keep quotas of tourists, foreign visitors must pay substantial fees to government-approved tour companies for the privilege. When you’re in the country, guides keep close track of your itinerary and what you do. That may be enough to dissuade you…but then you look at these stunning photos of the King’s coronation in 2008 and think, “Let’s go!”

Do you Speak Dzongkha?

Do you speak Dzongkha…? Well, why the heck not?

The three most commonly spoken languages in Bhutan are Dzoongha the west, Sharchopkh in the east — both Sino-Tibetan languages — and Nepali in the south — an Indo-European language, and the traditional language of the threatened Lhotshampas.

Kheng Sonam Dorji

If you value the traditional music of Bhutan as much as you should, thank Bhutanese musician Kheng Sonam Dorji for both his music and his work as the founder of the MBRC — The Music of Bhutan Research Center.

Visit the MBRC’s beautiful website to meet Bhutanese master artists such as Aum Sedy, Aup Dengo and — of course — Aum Tshewang Lham. (Thank you, Kheng Sonam Dorji!)

Bravo for Bhutan!

This week in our online class we visit Bhutan, a landlocked, consciously isolated country high in the Himalayas that tries very hard to stay exactly as it is. For a country that officially values its’ economy’s gross national product less than its citizens’ Gross National Happiness…can you blame it? Of course, there are many sides to Bhutan’s story. Bhutan is on its fifth King but only recently had its first democratically elected government. The ethnic situation Bhutan is complex — a hundred thousand Lotshampas currently live in refugee camps and accuse the government of human rights abuses. So the real Bhutan may not be Shangri-La. But don’t you still want to go?

Kids Can Play Khuru

Yesterday we joined Bhutan in celebrating Blessed Rainy Day, a unique Bhutanese holiday marking the end of the monsoon season. Yes, Bhutan is far away, but you don’t have to feel left out…you and your kids can celebrate Blessed Rainy Day wherever you are. We can pretend to take a bath outside, drink butter tea, eat thupka soup and, if you have it in you, PLAY KHURU.

Blessed to Celebrate Blessed Rainy Day

You ask, what is our favorite Bhutanese holiday? That’s easy — Blessed Rainy Day!

This week in our online class for kids we enjoy the Bhutanese holiday called Blessed Rainy Day, which celebrates the end of monsoon season in Bhutan. On Blessed Rainy Day Bhutanese bathe outside, eat Thukpa soup, play Khuru (darts), drink suja (buttered tea) and eat dresi (sweetened rice), wear a gho, shoot arrows and dance traditionally like we see in this video. Happy holiday!

Bhutan’s New Music: From Rigsar to Rock

The majority of music performed in Bhutan today is still traditional, accompanying Buddhist rituals and/or celebrating the King, though in the early 1990s the newly opened Bhutan Broadcasting Service began to play music called rigsar that fused Western, Nepali and Indian sounds. Rigsar has slowly given way to other forms of Bhutanese pop and even rock. In this video watch groundbreaking Bhutanese rock band “Who’s Your Daddy?” performing a so-familiar cover at a music festival in India.