I have just participated in a 2 day workshop on Rosemaling Painting – a Norwegian folk art tradition. I kept thinking of our years in Bhutan where we were absolutely surrounded by a rich tradition of traditional painting. And I kept thinking of the art of calligraphy and the art traditions of China and Japan. I’m prompted to explore the connections between these various traditions and influences and interconnections.
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National Art School Thimphu Bhutan
My 12th Great Grandfather Miles Crosby 1483-1538 was a Royal Archer during the reign of King Henry VIII. I love these discoveries in my genealogy.
Incidentally – I reminisce and think of our 2 years 1985-87 in Bhutan where archery is the national sport. We would regularly see competitions and celebrations presumably when good scores were made.
It’s not often that you see a headline story about the tiny country of Bhutan, but such was the case when I picked up the Seattle Times a few days ago. In a way it was a heartwarming story – but also a sad one. The Nepalese are/were a minority community in this Himalayan Kingdom. But during the years we were there in the late 1980’s there were rumblings of expelling the Nepalese, even though they had been there for generations.
The headline story in the Seattle Times made this very personal. Here was a Nepalese/Bhutanese family – the family members had been separated for many years. They were among the more than 100,000 ethic Nepalis who were expelled from Bhutan in the early 1990’s (this was just after we left). In 1992, 15 members of the Biswas family fled their home in southern Bhutan in the back of a truck. They had sold their livestock and the land they had farmed for generations. They crossed India and found safety in a refugee camp in eastern Nepal.
Starting in 2009 waves of the family were resettled in Tukwila in South King County Seattle. The headline and feature article featured the last of the family to arrive here in Seattle from the refugee camp. A happy ending to a sad story.
For more details and pictures see the Seattle Times, October 17, 2016
I hope there is a happy ending for our many Nepalese friends we knew in Bhutan.
admiring the view
I have my own photograph taken from this point in 1986 – a monk was sitting in the foreground. It was a very tough hike. I couldn’t do it now!
Roaming the internet, i.e. reading Facebook messages, I saw a post from the United Nations Volunteer Programme in Bangladesh. Memories were triggered. I was a UNV once upon a time in Bhutan! A speech writer for His Majesty the King.
I can’t find a Bhutan photo but this is me back in time wearing a very warm Icelandic type hand knit sweater – essential in winter in Bhutan
It’s not often that one meets someone who has stayed at this hotel in Bhutan and who has witnessed the rolling up of the magnificent thanka at the Paro Tsong.
Hotel Olathang – Paro
Established in 1974 for guests invited to the coronation of His Majesty the King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, Hotel Olathang is Bhutan’s largest hotel sprawling over 28 acres of wooded land situated atop a hill overlooking the visually stunning and historically fascinating Paro valley.
Hotel Olathang was formerly under Bhutan Tourism Corporation (BTC) till 1991, after which it was incorporated into a Public Limited Company under the banner Bhutan Tourism Corporation Ltd (BTCL). Since then, it has been extensively upgraded and renovated over the years.
The hotel is beautifully located amidst blue pine forests and lush greenery exuding an ambience of peace and tranquility, enthralling visitors with its close intimacy with nature. The architectural design and structure of its facilities presents a purely Bhutanese touch and feel to it, at the same time maintaining modern amenities, ensuring guests a warm and comfortable stay.With its well-trained and highly professional team, guests are rendered services with the unmistakable and unique charm of Bhutanese hospitality.
I continue to find photos in the various archives that I am sorting through. Here are a few snippets.
1985 or 1986, at my loom Glimokra loom which I had included in our shipment to Bhutan – this was a lovely spot for the loom in our house. Look at that sunshine, and note the sweater I am wearing – nice and warm, handknit from Nepal. ( The sweater was purchased for me by a friend in Bangladesh who travelled to Nepal and brought it back for me. It was only a couple of years later that I got to wear it in Bhutan) Our living room there in Bhutan was very big – and very cold in the winter unless the sun was shining or we were nestled near the Bukari, the woodburning stove
a postcard of a painting in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), Wever en weefstoel, 1884, The loom
In London one time we were visiting one of the sons and we were wandering around in the Antiques Market in Chelsea. I saw a painting which reminded me of this one. I dithered about buying it – 100 pounds seemed like a lot and besides how could we get the painting back to Dublin. Alas, I didn’t buy it and I’m sure you can tell that I have regretted that ever since.
Rugweaving at a workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal, 1983
rugweaving, Kathmandu, 1983, note the cartoon of the dragon pinned up at the top of the loom – we bought several rugs in Bhutan that had that pattern so this workshop might have been where they were coming from.
I’m not sure – this workshop might have been a workshop for Tibetan refugees. Maybe someone can fill me in here.
