Re: hilly Bhutan: our enigmatic neighbour

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  Space is Big / Space is Dark / 
  It's Hard to Find / A Place to Park - Burma Shave 
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Akshay wrote: any nukkies have been there if yes then do share ur
experiences.

Akshay's post took me down the memory lane.

I had worked for about 15 months in Bhutan in 1980-81. What to talk of
traffic lights and fast food chains, Bhutan those days had a single road
from Phuntsholing to Thimphu by the courtesy of GREF (General Reserve
Engineering Force), an Indian Paramilitary force, through the mountains. The
150 km journey to Thimphu took the whole day. GREF had done a commendable
job of road construction. There was one bus plying between these two points
with just two stops in between. First a watering hole midway (named Takti
Chu - Chu means River). Second was a hydel project Colony (Tsimalakha -
Pronounced with silent T). The Hydel Project was an Indian Government Aid
Project for Bhutan. (There was a joke that when the Indians came in hordes
for the Project Work, they took the last letter "T" from the name of the
previous stop (Takti Chu) and silently dropped it in Tsimalakha). Journey
through the mountains was a pleasant experience as well as a frightening
one. Pleasant because of the scenery; frightening when you imagine that the
bus is going to fall into one of the gorges.

Those days Indians needed a permit to enter interior parts of Bhutan beyond
Phuntsholing. No passport was needed. You have to state the purpose and
destination of visit. Rarely was such permits refused by Bhutan officials in
Phuntsholing. Phutsholing is the border town, Jaigaon in West Bengal (about
80 km from Siliguri) being the Indian border post. Free movement of people
and goods between Phuntsholing and Jaigaon. 

Bhutan had hardly any infrastructure to cater to tourists. There were very
few hotels and none you would dare to visit a second time. Apart from the
lone bus and a few government vehicles, local transport was non-existent.
Timber was their main source of revenue apart from handouts from GOI. Bald
hill sides were visible even in 1980. 

Slaughter of animals was banned in Bhutan. Demand for meat in the Project
colony made the ban pointless. Some local people killed the cow or goat by
pushing it off a cliff and then sold the meat. Cruel isn't it? But they were
obeying the law - they did not slaughter the animal it just died
'accidentally'. Another source of meat was Animals slaughtered in India that
were transported on truck tops. I had a harrowing experience of having to
travel with one such skinned carcass on the top of an open truck in the
biting cold of December when our jeep broke down on way to Thimphu. I
thought people in Thimphu will find four carcass on the top of the Truck!

Whisky and Rum were cheap and we had our daily fill. Cheap Rum kept the cold
off during our Sunday treks on the hill side, mostly aimless wanderings just
taking in the quite. Until the day when we lost our way and roamed the
forest for 4 hours before we came upon a hamlet whose people guided us by
sign language to the nearby Road 20 km away from our colony. Such were the
reckless days of youth that we could have a hearty laugh even during those
dreadful hours when one guy dramatically named a rock as 'Sanjay Gandhi
Rock' and pissed on it. (It was the Sunday after Sanjay Gandhi's death).
Looking back, disrespect for the dead was amoral but it did relieve the
stress we all felt then. 

That was more than 21 years ago. Being my last few days of total freedom, I
cherish those memories. Soon after I left Bhutan, my wife came into my life
and changed priorities. Like me, Bhutan too must have changed a lot. I had
always intended to go back there for a look-see with my wife but could never
make it.  

V.K.Venugopal













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