When taxes are looked as only internal source of revenue

Many Bhutanese are having hard time wrestling with a record number of taxes being imposed, from vehicles to fuels to telecommunication services. There is only one reason behind; to curtail outflow of Indian Rupees which had our economy pushed into ailing stage. The government of the day had this reason gilded in their minds even for imposing 5% tax on telecommunication services. And this is ludicrous. I cannot sketch zigzag lines to draw a link, keep aside the possibility of drawing straight lines to link how calling through mobile phones would contribute to outflow of rupees after all we recharge in Bhutanese currency and money we consume is in Bhutanese currency irrespective of the destination countries. I don’t find it radical and justified measure in none of n-ways.

I had my mobile e-loaded on 1^st of October for Nu. 50 through my B-Wallet, and following message is what I got;

“Your account has been recharged successfully with Nu. 50, talk time received is 47.5. The recharge amount is arrived based upon 5% Tax charged against Nu. 50.”

This message is irritating at mind, deceitful in action and ear-drum disturbing. If it is at all a witty cheat, I would prefer not receiving this message. Every time you recharge and this disturbing message pops up. I think everyone would prefer going unnoticed than painstaking brunt one needs to bear.

Carrying heavy taxes is wallet-tearing, Source: Google

By token of this post, I am sure that I’m not being projected stingy, unpatriotic and disloyal to my country. I feel there many noble ways of being generous, patriotic and loyal to our own country than by dragging to contribute in this way. The telecommunication services are already costly and taking away 5% could mean adding to it further. Also, this could have adverse impact on service providers. Instead of prosperity, these businesses might take a recession. Through the lens of business perspective too, I cannot see any white spot. Through the prism of curtailing rupee outflow, I couldn’t see any rays being reflected. I find it ridiculous.

What next? This is the question that is impendingly high at the doorstep of citizen’s mind. 

Read More

Running round the clock

Eve of Blessed Rainy Day,

I pushed my last post.

Since then I took a lengthy pause,

With the blessings of Blessed Rainy Day.

There has been traffic of works,

That was trivial but urgent.

Also there has been series of calls,

These had my time in a stall.

I could neither compose,

Nor walk along all of blogger reads.

It was time I got self-imposed,

To have missed many blogger treats.

Days were just crammed,

Compartmentalized and jammed.

I could find no passage,

As aisle of Blogosphere is clogged.

Source: Google

Thus, I am into hibernation,

Through the days of self-imposition.

Sooner I shall wake up,

And walk along with my dear Bloggers.

My hopes are high,

To glide and fly,

Days, weeks, months and years,

Through the path of Bloggers.

Until next time I write,

Unwinding my time,

I am pushing my wishes,

To all my Blog friends.

Read More

Blessed Rainy Day 2014 (23rd September, 2014)

Happy Blessed Rainy Day to all my Blogger friends.

I swam through an ocean of past, my youthful days, those days that were jammed with memories, the memories of past Blessed Rainy Days; a day before Blessed Rainy Day, our heart would be bubbling with excitement. The night would past with a nap. The time a cock signals a birth of day at 3 in the morning, we’d be out of bed ready for a bath, the cleansing bath believed to rinse off sinful demerits we have had accumulated until date. Everyone would ensure timely bath is taken anyhow. For those who haven’t taken bath for long, it would be an annual bath they’re taking. Interestingly, there are many in remote villages who’d fit into this category. But, today, the situations have changed radically and I can’t construe it the same.

Those memories were triggered by a call I received from my cousin brother. He said that he has planned this year’s Blessed Rainy Day at Paro, for family-friends gathering concurrently.

 

Source: Google

Since I came to Thimphu after completing my undergraduate to look out for job in 2012, we have had similar gatherings for last two years. So, without a tinge of hesitation on a plate of my decision, I pressed an endorsement button for this intimately family plan he’d come up. This is one of a few days we could have family-friends get-together which otherwise is seldom possible. I cannot afford to toss away this day without a colour of memory for it. The hassle and bustle of daily affairs won’t arrange such beautiful gathering so frequently. This out-of-blue, seldom-tip-toeing day, emerging out of marshy daily schedules, must be put alight to savor the merriments in an uncertainly life we hold ourselves. So, the day has to be earmarked for important, entertaining, memory making activities. Also, day is a religious one and has to be religiously passed.

For my foreign friends, FYI; Blessed Rainy Day marks an end of monsoon season and beginning of harvest season. The day is declared a government holiday across the nation. On this day, people take bath at a particular auspicious time as determined by an astrologer, with a belief that it would cleanse off all the bad deeds and pollutions of life that would’ve accumulate bad karma. I suggest you guys to take bath on this day (tomorrow, 23^rd September 2014) to rinse of your negative karma.

Happy Blessed Rainy Day to all. Thruebab Trashi Delek!

Read More

Freely Littering Mentality

I have heard stories from Singapore, Australia and USA, from the people who’ve visited these countries.

For the first time visitors, they were surprised to have meted out with unusual, un-Bhutanesely encounter; in Singapore, people are not allowed to carry edibles while traveling by bus. It’s simply unbelievable.

In Australia, friends and relatives who had been there say that if you wear your white T-shirt for a week, it would be still with any dust on it. It’s same with the car, you need not wash for weeks. It’s simply amazing.

In USA, every single person takes care of litter, if one is seen littering, another person who has seen you littering would reprimand you, it’s not the concerned authority who is doing that. If they see fights or beating children or women, the case would be reported in a wink and police would zoom in from nowhere. Everyone takes responsibility of the society. It’s just wonderful.

I feel the story would be the same of many countries.

Talk about our country, it’s just the other way; we can take anything we like in public transports provided the space is available. Everyone litters care-freely. You buy a chocolate and wrapper goes on the ground. You drink a bottle of coke, it crumbles on the ground. The litters cannot reach its designated place despite numerous Green Bins put up by the municipality in towns, and Bins put up by schools as social contributions. Unfortunately, people who advocate proper use of bins end up littering outside freely.

 

Source: Google

There are myriad reasons for Bhutanese to gather and aftermath is the chunk of litters. In any gatherings, be celebrations, Tshechus, watching movies in a hall, going for picnics, queuing up to receive blessings, the by-products are litters, the trash from edibles and drinks.

Unlike, everyone taking responsibility in the mentioned countries, none of us take responsibility to care our own trash. It’s a story of SOMEBODY, NOBODY, ANYBODY and EVERYBODY, where responsibility gets shifted between the four to have none taken responsibility at the end of the day.

We’ve had enough awareness and policies being framed. But none has proved successful: one time, we’d defaulters fined but it didn’t work. Another time, we’d rigorous awareness campaigns to see that aftermath of those campaigns itself were garbage. It didn’t work either. What next?

I feel we have gone wrong at the root. Children were never taught to litter properly for our parents as children weren’t taught by their parents either. The repercussions of this flaw seem almost irreversible. We’re moving ahead without a way to turn back and rectify the foul steps that we’ve trodden.

Until date, no think-tanks could successfully think through to put a brake to this perennial issue we’ve been going with. We know there is a national call waiting for an answer. That answer everyone must ponder. All that we’ve ticked are incorrect answers. We bear hopes that we could tick a right answer one day sooner.

If we could replicate of Singaporian, Australian and American on ourselves, Bhutan would be an epitome of green environment. I could see a lot of elements worth emulating and importing from these countries.  But at this pace of litters we produce, Memelakha(a site identified for dumping trashes) would be everywhere across the country in no longer.

Everyone: you & I, parents, teachers and the government need to brainstorm over this perpetual issue of litters. What could be hit-the-nail answer to the call waiting in line?

Read More

Suicide isn’t a panacea

Life has so much to do within a wink of life-span. For parents, their children have to be grown up and educated to stand on their own feet. For children, their parents bear a mountain of hopes that their children would someday grow up to provide walking stick when old. These are sheer simple things of life. More of it, the life has in its bucket. Life has to go on irrespective of the hurdles in our way stumbling us and walls that are unsurmountable. We should craft our ways to pass the hurdles and climb up the walls that are in our way. Life is such; neither the bed of roses nor the bed of thorns. Life has its tides, we must hold stronger to keep ourselves standing along the wavy ocean ride of life. The stronger the waves across ocean of life we travel, smoother we would sail along in life. It takes fortitude and perseverance, the twin passports to keep life going. While we must have fear to be cautious, we shouldn’t succumb to it.  

In life, suicide isn’t solution in itself. The suicide has become rampant over time. It now appears that suicide is fashioned as solutions for numerous problems in life. Especially, this appears to be the case with youths. In a speck of few months, there are lots flashing out on suicide and attempting to suicide cases. The students when beaten by teachers pick up suicide as solution to it. The lovers when couldn’t make through due to objections from parents find suicide as solution to it. The victims of the rape find suicide as solution to it. It has become an easy solution to life’s struggles. It has become a fashion for many youths. And this isn’t the right thing they’re doing at the end in life’s verdict. Their passing in this way isn’t bravery either. Their death isn’t noble in any way. Their death in this fashion is the most miserable option.

Source:Google

 In religious terms, life is precious and invaluable. Nothing can buy life of a person. Suicide taking one’s life isn’t justice to the merits accumulated for eons to have born in human’s realm, the best of all. Suicide isn’t a religious act either.

The numbers are increasing, it is becoming a concern. For teachers and parents, it is all becoming stone-hard difficult to raise them up and plant in them the life-lessons. Parents can’t put them on track even if heart sees their children veering off. Teachers can’t usher their students through the peaceful aisle of life even if they sees their students off track. The fear of suicide would keep their hearts melted never solidifying again. As pay-off for their hard work and noble intentions, they may see their lives behind bars for doing their duties. They’ve to reconsider their actions as their actions could be an easy button for suicide.

It’s a time, parents change conventional methods of bringing up their children. The current way appears not-for-present-generation way of growing children. In the same line, teachers might have to reconsider their present pedagogies  around teaching and educating students.

While Bhutan is less risk zone for endemic ebola virus, suicide is becoming contagious among youths and this is a plague that parents, teachers and nations as a whole needs to see through the lens of present generation and magnify the solution areas to see it clear in the future vision of nation.

Read More