Sunday, January 2, 2011

The Bitter Taste of Life.

          Life is what I call a synonym of time. It keeps ticking and tells us how long we have survived, how many we have loved, cared, and hated, how many we lost, how contenting/depressing the situation is, how momentarily everything alters with the flick of second, how tall our heights have grown, how heavy our weights have gained....and so on. It may tell us that there is/are something stored or needs to be accomplished but never guarantees that we will live enough to fulfill the quest. It is no different from a dew sitting on a blade of a grass. Everything that future holds remain vague and to some extend unpredictable, like a dream. For dream is only seen when we are half dead. Life, dream, and future are some of the ravenous fantasies that we long to accomplish and dwell in. However, we never (or seldom) realize that life, dream, and future are the consequences of the causes that we have committed in the past and and are still committing at the moment. Ignorance and fantasy have doomed our realities. The aftermath and payoff of such act have never been pleasing.


          Once, far in the foothills of Himalayas, sandwiched between two gigantic countries--India and China, the kingdom of Bhutan--know to be the last Shangri-La, there lived a family. A family that bored seven children, two parents, and a grandfather under the same roof. This was no big family in Bhutan. Some parents even bore dozens or more children. Anyway, the family solely relied on the father's monthly payment. He was well paid and had always managed to keep the smiles of his family glowing. In fact, there was never a moment where children's, the mother or the grandfather--both illiterate, had to be anxious about running short of food and roof before the salary of next month unfurled. The happiness in this family kept prevailing and stacking.


          However, the year of 1997 seemed to be the leakage in the chain of happiness the family long dwelled in. The grandfather's health started deteriorating. It was very evident and foretelling that the grandfather's life was closing to an end. At first, the grandfather suffered from not-so-serious back ache, followed by cough and cold, and later his both legs provided no function in standing firm and keeping his body weight rigid to the floor. Obviously, he ended up being in his bed by days and nights. A family member had to be always there to provide his meals on time and dump off his excretions periodically. No hope in extension of his life remained. Secretly, everyone gossiped and knew his days were numbered and the last wasn't too far from their prediction. As predicted, the grandfather, eventually yet slowly, passed away one fine evening in his bed that has been a little confined world to himself for the past few weeks.


          Although the family mourned and grieved about their loss for weeks, they finally managed to pull themselves together and replenish with the splendid contentment they were once bestowed with. Soon enough, as the griefs were reignited by the happiness, once again the smile returned on every face of every family member.


Photo Courtesy: Google images

After a biennium (from the year of deceased), the father bought a land by Paro Chu (Paro is a district, chu means river) that was big enough to mount a single-storeyed (storied) house on it. The following year, in 2000, the petition that was put forth upon building of house on the purchased land was officially approved. Subsequently, the foundation of the house commenced with the performing of ritual, followed by labor on September 24, 2000. That night, back in the old house, a bulb went dead in the restroom. It was late and despite the repeated opposition from the mother, the father remained persistently insistent in replacing the bulb. The poor mother, rather reluctantly, passed a new bulb to him. He then held the new bulb in his right hand and with his left tried reaching the bulb holder. Again, the mother being pessimist asked the father to return to bed and swap the bulbs in the morning but were to no avail. By then, the left hand of the father was an inch away from reaching the bulb holder. Just in a blink of eyes, the father was thudded to the concrete floor...He was electrocuted. The mother went cold feet, plunged into despair, heart beats flooded, limbs paralyzed, and eyes wide opened made the loudest scream she ever made. Being illiterate and clouded by ignorance, she thrust herself into helping her husband that laid before her eyes. She didn't have the slightest (or any) clue of the electric current that would pass onto her. Obviously, she reached a knee of her husband and immediately she too was electrocuted. However, by the grace of the God and her good fortune, she somehow managed to pull her hand away and thus on the safer end. She started running from room to room--crying, screaming, lamenting, praying, and what not. By then, all the children were awakened but only one stood for purpose for he was the oldest at the age of 17, while rest made the situation more devastating and despairing. The time heard no cry. It kept ticking with the same pace but to them the time was no ordinary time. Hours ran into minutes and minutes into  seconds yet the father still remained flat on the concrete floor holding the bulb holder in his left palm. The eldest sibling ran outside and turned off the "MAIN SWITCH"of electricity. Everything went dark. It was no different than hell. Everyone started running, panicking, and crying. The second eldest, 15, grabbed a flash light and disappeared into restroom--rest kept crying. May be because of the screams/crying, it caught the attention of nearby neighbors. About four to five men and women came rushing in. From a dark corner, a voice came screaming, "Help my dad! He is dying"....They gushed into the restroom but it was too late....only his last few breaths remained to escape. The father was then brought to the lounge (commonly known to them as "sitting room") with his both eyes red and almost shut. Every child cried harder and called his name out loud. The father tried reaching the voices of his sons and daughters. However, the harder he tried, the smaller his eyes shut and thinner his breath escaped. Few minutes later, a doctor and some police men came but the father was long gone leaving behind an illiterate and torment mother with seven children to raise. Thus, the price of foundation of house costed the life of foundation of family.


With the generous help and effort from most of the relatives, the family finally managed to built a house that started on September 24, 2000, into a two-storeyed (storied). 


          After performing all the necessary rituals for the deceased father, the family moved back to their village. The two eldest among siblings were sent to a boarding school. This brings the sole responsibility of father to the third eldest and it was a new start of life to the family. Everything had to start from scratch. For instance, from digging and sowing of seeds in field, guarding crops all night, hand handling axe for cutting a log into blocks and then chopping into pieces, and to performing woola (unpaid labor for the benefit of public) to name few. Life in village was perspiring and excruciating. A day won't pass by without someone from the family weeping over those bygone days with their father. Even so, the third eldest, only 14, stood firm, toiled all day either in the woods or fields, helped the younger's with their studies and home works, carried grains and wheats (weighing as heavy as himself or more) on his back up and down the mountain, across the river to grind into flour, and then carried back to home, which almost took the whole working day. By the end of a day, his back would be soared, limbs numb, eyes wearied, and often fall asleep before the mother finishes preparing dinner.


          Since 2003, the third eldest was also sent  to a boarding school, which was approximately 40 kilometers (24 miles) away from his house. Boarding school was favorably for the averagely or under-averagely earning people. In 2006, the third eldest graduated from a high school. And it was in the winter of 2006, while he anxiously awaited for his academic result, another tragic stroked him.


          On December 19, 2006, a phone call from a relative further distorted the mother's heart. The voice on the other end said, "There's been an accident and your two sons are in hospital right now." The mother having already faced enough tragedies burst into tears and collapsed on the floor. Everyone hurried to her and drove her to where her sons' were hospitalized. The eldest son was in one of the ward with both left leg and arm plastered and seldom showed any movement, lips and cheeks swelled and barely uttered a word. Due to several injuries in the skull, the other son was transfered to ICU (Intensive Care Unit). On December 29, 2006, he was pronounced dead. The eldest, later, recovered fully.


          Despite the fact having much tormented by the losing of family members and the hardships opposed by farming lifestyle, the third eldest qualified and succeeded in accomplishing a government scholarship to the United States of America.


          Ever since, I have been putting my hands together and praying for his safe return to home and a happy reunion with his family and friends in days to walk and talk.


p.s. Always LOVE your siblings and HELP your parents for this might only be the last chance you got and for it will be always your Happy Year. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!       

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, Tshering, I am so sorry for you and your family. Thank you for sharing. I want to tell your mom what a kind and decent son she has.
Love,
Dottie

Tea Pea said...

Thanks Dottie.

Anonymous said...

Hi Tshering, i hv heard the story once when i was in that same boarding school u mentioned( if nt wrong ) and felt the pain in my hearts. But didnt knew dat u lost ur brother in an accident, very sorry,
its the cruelty hand of death that drag everybody without mercy. Ur family was really bereaved, thanks for sharing..,
Wishing u a Happy Living ahead, with ur mom and other siblings.

Tea Pea said...

Thanks to whoever you are :)

Anonymous said...

hey dea, i didnt get time to go through thoroughly, nevertheless i know what ever you write in here you simply pour out ua true self.. ll go through when i get time alrit... GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY...

Tea Pea said...

Thanks and take in time in reading. God bless you and ur family too.

Tenzin Tshering Denkar said...

when i went through this article, i cudnt hold ma tears.., i pray to god never to let bad omen befall upon you and your family.
warm regards and prayers!

Tenzin Tshering Denkar said...

when i went through this article, i cudnt hold ma tears.., i pray to god never to let bad omen befall upon you and your family.
warm regards and prayers!

Tea Pea said...

@Denkar - Thanks for going through and I am very touched by your words and how you felt about my history.