Traveling in Bhutan is less about seeing monuments and roaming in touristy streets. Its more about immersing yourself in the experience of “encountering” the place; not necessarily in a very spiritual manner but in a very layman way; because when you start to feign over-spirituality, you tend to loose out on many small little details that seem negligent then.
A perfect place to “loiter”; the experience of just strolling in the streets is almost like entering into a time warp. Encounters with the architecture, with the people, the landscape, the religion, the culture, the cityscape, the monks, the chili and the cheese, are all experiences which are rather tender and intimate.
Religion is like an aura in the Bhutanese air and the prayer flags are like its prophet; like metaphors of the religion; a progressive revelation. It is believed that when the wind moves the prayer flags even with the slightest breeze, these prayers and blessings become activated, and then are carried through the air in a spiritual vibration across the vicinity. Everything that is touched by this wind becomes pure. This is what the prayer flags are “supposed” to do to you spiritually. But to a layman, they are flapping and fluttering bits of tidily cut cloths painting a highly reminiscent and almost elusive image of color, sound and movement in their minds. Very often the only sound one would hear in the streets would be the flapping of a hundred prayer flags, in unison with each other; but contrasting to the tempo of the activities occurring around them. Similar is the sound of the rotating prayer wheel that one can see everywhere in Bhutan; its hypnotizing motion and sound.
Religion seems to blend very naturally in the fabric of the landscape and the prayer flags, prayer wheels, the tiny stupa offerings, the monks, all seem to create an enchanting rhythm. The country seems to sing in unison because of the serene and persistent architecture, the prayer flags hung in every nook and cranny and most importantly because of its people. People who are happy, friendly, unified and content.
The country is happy and colorful; colorful both literally and metaphorically, but it is debatable that in the current times whether the colors are natural or rather imposed. A simple example of the cornices that one sees all over the country in each and every building. Bhutanese government has made it mandatory for all new buildings to add these cornices in their design; whether they look good or not. They seem like a stuck on addition to the new buildings; stubbornly unyielding. The king has banned the import of any car in the country saying that the amount of cars in Bhutan is enough to support the amount of people in the country. The country is trying to keep its culture intact and stay untouched by western influences in any way; but it is totally debatable as to what is more important to a country; its unique and isolated cultural standing or its global growth; and it is totally not our job to make any value judgments in such political matters.
Leaving everything aside; it is simply the mysteriousness and elusiveness of the place that would make you want to revisit it and encounter everything all over AGAIN …
Like every time ! Chaman! yu impress me with your pictures!
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