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“Umm… My typical day in Bhutan? Interesting question! I am getting older and older and memories have started to fade away gradually. I am glad you wanted to know about my past. Let me first spit the chewing tobacco and recall with a fresh mind. Like many others back in the day, I used to wake up to the crow of roosters everyday – I mean every single day while in Bhutan. My day would start with a few cups of hot tea. Taking care of outdoor chores, in particular, gardening and farming crops was something I would put my efforts into on a daily basis. That’s what my parents wanted me to do too. We had a big...

“I used to have a pretty simple and typical day like most other Bhutanese farmers. I used to drink tea as soon as I got up, and after that I used to head  to the rice field. I used to plough the rice field and make the terraces till lunch time. For lunch, I used to have rice, lentil soup and veggies. Most of the time I used to drink rice beer and wine with lunch.  Then I would take a nap. Usually, I would come home after dusk and have supper and sleep on time. There was no television like these days. The soil was very fertile, yielding a good harvest. Hard work would  pay off. Sometimes I...

“Household chores – that’s what a girl did most of the time. What else? There was no school for us. Only my elder brothers attended school. Every morning we first drank tea. Then, we used to gather fodder for cattle, clean the aagan (front porch of the house), take care of younger siblings, and eat whatever mother used to cook. Back then, a girl could not cook for adults until she was married. So, in Kalimpong, when I was unmarried, I did not cook. Well, I could cook vegetable curry and a couple of other basic items but not rice and daal (legumes soup). My younger siblings were allowed to eat what I cooked. However, my parents, grandparents and...

“मेरो जीवनका ३७ वर्ष मैले भूटानमै बिताएँ । जन्मेर ज्ञान पसेदेखि छोडेका दिनसम्म कति घटना भए होलान्, कति रमाइला दिन आए, कति रुने दिन आए...बयान गरी साध्य होला र ? मलिन आँखाहरु तन्काएर ठूला पार्दै उनले प्रश्नकर्तातर्फ दृष्टिकेन्द्रित गरे । त्यसपछि सनन्न लामो सास तानेर फेरि बोल्न थाले । ...सामान्य रूपमा मेरो जीवन दोरोखा प्राइमेरी स्कूलबाट शुरु भएको मलाई याद छ । पहिले दोरोखा मिडल स्कूल भन्थे...त्यसपछि सरकारी तहमा दोरोखा प्राइमेरी स्कूल बन्यो । म एकली आमाको छोरो, कान्छो परें । एकजना दाजु मभन्दा सातवर्ष जेठो हुनुहुन्छ तर, दाजुले पढ्नै पाउनुभएन । गरिबी र अन्य बाध्यताले गर्दा अरुको हलो जोत्नुपर्ने, अर्काको गोठालो बस्नुपर्ने...विविध कुराहरु झेल्नुपऱ्यो । चैने धेरै कुराहरु त सम्झिँदा खपी सक्नु हुँदैन ! मलाईं चाहिं कान्छो भाइ...

“For most part it was a busy farm work day. During peak plantation seasons, we worked for twelve hours everyday. Looking after cattle, ploughing the fields, weeding the crops, and maintaining proper irrigation are some usual tasks. I also had to preside over rituals according to Nepali Hindu customs, whenever people called me for. Being a priest in the village, I had to skip some of my chores in the farm to perform unavoidable rituals in case of death or birth.  Often, I walked a whole day to go for such a ritual performance when people of Galechhu or Gwong villages in the hinterlands of Gelephu, asked me to do so. Mostly, we grew rice paddies. Besides, dryland crops...

“I had just returned home in the evening after hoeing the corn field all day. ‘Parents have given you away!’ screamed my younger brother. Apparently, a family from Khorsane gaun (village) in Chirang district in Bhutan had visited my house earlier to ask my hand for marriage. An astrologer had come along with them. The astrologer checked our horoscope compatibility, and he immediately slated the wedding date for two weeks later. That's how jodis (matches) were made back then. I was just 14 years old. Two of my slightly older friends were wedded a few months ago. I had a suspicion that I could be next in line. But I did not think it would be that soon. I...

“What do I remember about my wedding? Hmm… not sure you will get much of an interesting story out of me. My marriage followed a similar procedure as did the other marriages in Bhutan. I was about 10 years old when I got married and my wife was nine. You look surprised but this is just how it was in Bhutan. Whenever your parents felt you were ready, they would have a lady (or a gentleman) already chosen and permitted to be married to you. I know a few couples who got married at even younger ages than me. I remember I awoke with the sun on the day of my wedding as I was to be prepared as...

“I should have been 9-10 years old when I first got married in Dallayni, under Chirang district in Bhutan. I don’t recall much from my wedding day. I vividly recall though that I was scared. I did not know what marriage meant then. I wanted to continue to stay at my parents’ house. My first husband was from a big family. We lived together for 6-7 years before I eloped with another man, my current husband. My mother started disliking my first husband after we were a few years into our marriage. I think my mother knew that I was working too hard to take care of chores, even those that I was not capable of doing it, at...

“I was 27 years old at that time and she was 23. I was working as a peon in her village called Purano Basti in Sarbang, Bhutan. I was from Toribari which was 15 kilometers from her village. But I used to live in her village for my job. Actually, I had worked as a peon for five years and seven months in Bhutan. Initially I was paid Rupees130 per month. I was assigned to many villages like Bhur, Norbuling, Naya Basti, Lalai, among others. The roads were rough and not easy to travel. I used to pedal a bicycle for 2-3 hours to reach those villages and deliver mail. Although I was living in her village we didn't...

“I think I was 20-22 years old when I got married. Although my marriage is both special and unique, many others may not believe it. One day, I had spent all my morning chores working in my crop-land, and I returned home drained looking to eat lunch. Januka, 16-year-old then, had come to my house with a firm proposal to marry me. Indeed it was her second marriage. I was single. Januka told me that her mother wanted her to leave her other husband, a gentleman with the last name ‘Siwa.’ I do not want to disclose too much details about him. I learned that Januka’s mother recommended that she leave that ‘Siwa’ and elope with me. She ...