Bidding 'Adieu' to Dawa is painful!

In the next class, I asked them to answer some questions. Unfortunately, I could not spend as much time on discussing Dawa as I wished. I had some great ideas like I wanted them to draw some pictures of their favourite characters, or their favourite scenes from the novel, but the time factor was weighing heavily on my mind. I still have to teach them a story entitled “I’ve got Gloria” by K.M.Kerr and another poem to boot! There are some holidays coming up due to the Chhukha Tshechu.

I decided to spend the last period on “Dawa, the story of a stray dog” by continuing with the question left unanswered in the previous class due to lack of time. The students were to verbally talk about their impressions of Dawa and they came out some 7/8 characteristics of Dawa. The question was:

1.      What are some of your impressions of Dawa at the end of the novel?

Ans: Dawa is a friendly dog. He went back to Paro towards the end of the novel to meet Moley. This simply proves his friendly nature. He was educated and intelligent. He, unhesitatingly, without going into any open confrontation with the dogs on the way to Thimphu, put his tail between his hind legs and showed them that he meant no harm. Similarly, he behaved in the same manner in the village below the Jakar Dzong, when the menacing-looking dogs came charging at him. These are acts of sheer intelligence on his part.

We get to see the romantic streak of Dawa in his infatuation with the beauty, Singyemo, who ditched him for Katu. He also fell momentarily for the beautiful, black yak-herder dog on the top of Pelela. The religious side of Dawa comes to the fore as  we find him spending a lot of time at the cave of Gelong Ma Pelma, though he was long cured of his deadly disease, mange. But what cuts out Dawa from the rest is his patriotism, his love for Thimphu or Bhutan for the matter. The last line of the speaks volumes of his love for and pride in his motherland.

After we were done with the discussion on Dawa, Rajesh Rai, who has been keeping quiet for the last couple of weeks, surprised me by standing up and asking me the question:

2.      Sir, can you share some of your feelings about the writer of this novel based on your reading and understanding of it?

Ans: I thanked him for the question and then told him that during my stay of over 14 years in Bumthang, I could meet Ashi Kunzang Choden only thrice. Once we invited her to read out to the students in the jam-packed MPH during the Reading Week. Another time when I was coming back to school from BoB some half hour's distance away, I was given a lift by her. We talked about a lot of things and she really impressed me with her knowledge of contemporary issues. As we reached near her house, she even asked me to come in for a cup of coffee or something. So it goes without saying that she is very knowledgeable, friendly and hospitable.

Apart from my feelings of her based on those personal encounters, I felt while going through the part of the novel where we find Dawa shifting to his new shelter at Thowadrak and spending most of his time looking at the vast empty space in front that most probably she spent some time there. Reason enough for her writing so vividly and poignantly! Only a religious minded person would do that.

She is the first Bhutanese woman to have written a novel in English and has a great command over the language. Despite my fault-finding nature, I could only marvel at her mastery of the language from the very first page of the novel to the last.

Ashi Kunzang has to be a fiercely patriotic lady as is evident throughout the novel. Through the portrayal of Dawa sitting near the temple overlooking the Thimphu town with loving emotion, she bares a part of herself or her love for her motherland. ( Bhutan is growing  and coming up. I purposefully talked about the football match between Bhutan and the Maldives on the previous night at Changlimitang Stadium. Nearly everyone had given up on Bhutan coming back in the match. But against all odds, Bhutan scored 3 goals in the last 15 minutes and created history!) She knows it from the bottom of her heart that Bhutan cannot remain the same as change is inevitable and welcome. But there is no doubt about the fact that she is a very proud Bhutanese.

I concluded the answer by asking them to be always proud of this glorious country as Peace and Tranquillity seems to have found a nest in this majestic, mountainous country like nowhere else.

Rajesh kept standing still throughout but the moment I finished answering his first question, he came out with the second which went like:

3.      Why do you think this novel was included in the curriculum, out of the hundreds and thousands of novels available in the market?

Ans: Dawa was chosen, from among hundreds of novels, due to various reasons. Firstly, earlier students in class-IX had to study a play called The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright ever. But many students found Shakespeare very difficult to understand because of the language.  As a result, students performed miserably in the exams. Consequently, Shakespeare was removed from the curriculum and Dawa was introduced.

I also told them about the huge loss the government incurs every time a high school student flunks in the exam. The government spends nearly 70-75 thousands per HS student per year. I asked them to work out how much money the government has to pay if 5 students fail in one school and then multiply the amount by the number of HSs in the country. How much would that be?

Another reason might be when a book is written by a foreign author, it is difficult for the students to identify and relate to the places and people, but as this book is written by a Bhutanese author, students find it easier to do so.

Finally, I informed them that as the language used in 'Dawa, the story of a stray dog', is exceptionally good that might have influenced the teacher-educators to go for it, having obviously thought about the long term benefits the novel would have for the students in due course of time, so far as their English is concerned.

GOOD BYE DAWA, STAY GOLD.

Dawa Moves On ......

Contd from pg 1/-

After I finished reading and explaining the last two pages of the novel, I also shared with them my feelings of the previous night when I was going through the last few pages, preparing for the lesson. I told them that many of them will be successful in life, but only a handful of them may be coming back to CHSS as a teacher. They will replace the elderly teachers like me and teach a new generation of students. But whatever it may be, they will have lots of fond memories and they will be contented with their memories and achievements. , I requested the class to give a round of applause for Ashi Kunzang Choden for writing such a beautiful novel. Generations of Bhutanese students have already been fed on this value-laden novel and many more should be. I still remember having taught this novel some 9 years back!

There can’t be any better ending to the novel: Dawa looking down at the valley and getting apprehensive of its growing size. But he is happy for the capital and his love for his motherland; his patriotic feelings come to the fore. Jamyang asked me how would I have ended the novel, if I was the author. I told him in reply that writers like Mrs. Kunzang Choden are not born every day. They are blessed people, meant for all times and places. I was not sure if I would have wanted to end the novel any differently. But if I had to make any change at all, I would try to find a soulmate for our own Dawa. I would try to do that as Dawa is not getting any younger. In fact he is very old now. Most of the dogs do not know him and even if some do, they do not seem to trust him all that much. So who is going to care for him in his old age? He has no children of his own. If he has a partner, life would be still meaningful and pleasurable for him and the two of them can stay happily ever after.

All said and done, Jamyang seemed happy as the bell for the recess rang. As I was coming out of the class, I heard someone speaking in a singsong voice in my mind. Thank you so..oo very much, Ashi Kunzang Choden for writing such a graceful, value-laden novel. The constant presence of having Dawa Koto in our daily diet, will keep generations of Bhutanese youth healthy, happy and rooted to the ground and remind them of their role and responsibility of keeping this god-blessed country green and gorgeous for ages to come.

P.S: I would like to blog about some of the incredible questions we discussed along with the MCQs, nearly 40 in number, made by Class-IX A in the next couple of blogs.

BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN (CHAPTER - 12)

Dawa finally went back to Paro where some of the older dogs recognized him. The only reason for his coming back to Paro was that he wanted to meet Moley and went to the places she normally visited. But finding her nowhere, he went to her favourite place under the steps of the lhakhang in town. There he found a young dog mother feeding and licking her litter of puppies. Dawa was suddenly overcome with a sense of paternity. She looked so contented that Dawa did not want to intrude into this serene scene of a happy family. He was turning back to go away from that place when she called out asking him if he wanted anything.

Through the talk with her Dawa learnt that she was the third generation niece of Moley and she was her great-great-great aunt. Dawa then introduced him as a friend of Moley. When Dawa looked surprised on hearing that Moley had passed away years ago, she wanted to know what was so surprising about it as Dawa himself did not look so young either. Dawa rushed back to the pool he would use as a mirror, on the left bank of the river, to practise his howling posture long ago. Dawa was intrigued by the seemingly long passage of time and wondered about his place amidst all the visible changes. He had to look at himself. But the blue pristine pool was no more what it was before. When he looked into the water, he could not find his reflection as there were plastic bags, empty packets of Maggi, two empty bottles of Mountain Spring water, one half shoe and even a packet of Amul Taaza on the water and the bushes and plants around!

 Dawa removed some of the garbage from the surface of the water and looked at himself in the muddy water. He found a blurry figure in the murky water with rainbow colours around, like the ones one finds around the statues in the temples. He was surprised and crouched down to have a closer look. It was not luminous like the one finds around Buddha’s head, but oily and poisonous. Concerned Dawa looked around for the changes. So much has changed during his absence – the ever growing number of cars, the mechanical workshop, and the buildings everywhere. He wondered if the sleeky rainbows in the pool of water were being caused by the garbage or the changes. Being a dog without the intellect of the humans, it was difficult for him to find out the answer, so he decided to concentrate on his reflection in the water. He looked very old and pensive. He then smiled a smile of contentment thinking about all the places he had been to, beyond Paro. It was mainly due to Moley.

Then he positioned himself like he used to long time ago. He tried to focus on the imaginary moon, the source of his name and identity. He thought about his dead family next. Then he howled, the loud, muffled sound slowly rising to a crescendo followed by a lingering tremor. This is how he paid his tribute to Moley and Paro.

It was no different in Thimphu. Most of the younger lot had no idea about who Dawa was and those who had heard about him being the leader of the howling pack once, found it difficult to believe that he was the same Dawa. They thought that he was trying to have fun by trying to be a part of an urban legend! The only logical explanation, felt Dawa, of the mysterious passage of time could have been his long stay at the cave of Gelong Ma Pelmo.

Thimphu is what he has chosen to be his home. He has a wonderful view of the whole Thimphu valley from his place near Changangkha lhakhang. He rues not having any children of his own, but that frees him from any responsibility of parenthood. He smiles when he hears the nightly howling, as indisciplined as it was not during his time. But he was pleased to think that every dog was entitled to freedom of speech. Day after day he watched Thimphu town growing and spreading, converting the paddy fields into concrete blocks and climbing up the forested hills. He realized with fond wisdom that Thimphu will grow to its destined size and his eyes become misty with loving emotion.

Contd on page 2/-

IT'S FUN TIME AGAIN !!

Eventually we are done with Chapter-11 entitled: The Full Moon Night. I sincerely believe that we have done a wonderful job so far, despite the pressure of the past couple of weeks.

We finished chapter-11 last Friday. On Thursday I asked them impulsively to make their own questions at home/hostel. It was a pleasant surprise therefore, when I found out that they had not let me down. As I had two consecutive periods with them on Friday, I decided to make the most of it and requested them to discuss their own questions in the sixth period. At the end, I also asked them to write down the main points of the chapter summarized by me in the previous period, in their own words along with the answers to four questions during the weekend.

Now let me share the students own questions along with the main points of the answers here. The questions are mainly objective type in nature.

1)      Where did Dawa find his shelter?

              Ans:  Dawa found his shelter on the outcrop of a rock.

2)      What promise did Dawa make to Moley?

       Ans:  Dawa promised to share the details of his travels with Moley on his return.

3)      Who was instrumental behind Dawa reaching the cave of Gelong Ma Pelmo?

Ans:  The one mainly responsible for Dawa reaching the cave of Gelong Ma Pelmo’s cave in Thowadrak was the grey dog in Mongar.

4)      What does Thowadrak mean?

Ans:  Thowadrak means the Big Rock.

5)      Who were the women? What did they bring for the care-taker?

Ans:  The three elderly women were pilgrims. They brought a lot of things for the caretaker including eggs, fried biscuits and rolls of incense sticks.

6)      Why did Dawa feel like barking one day?

Ans:  Dawa felt like barking/howling one day as it was a full moon day.

7)      What happened to Dawa’s body as he got cured?

Ans:  As Dawa was beginning to get cured, he found new fur, yellow-brown in colour, his original colour, spouting in place of his crusted and open wounds.

8)      Why did the care-taker not chase Dawa away from the cave?

Ans:  The care-taker did not chase Dawa away from the cave as he had been staying there for long and harmed no one during his stay.

9)      What did the care-taker tell the women about Dawa?

Ans:  the care-taker of the temple asked the women not to worry about Dawa as he was a harmless dog and never stole or bit anyone. He also went on to tell them that though Dawa looked ragged, he had a sensitive mind.

10)  Why did Dawa keep postponing his departure for Thimphu?

11)  Ans:  Dawa kept postponing his departure for Thimphu as he wanted to be cured completely of his disease. He was also very content and tranquil staying there.

12)  Who was Markhang? Why did he attack Dawa?

Ans:  Markhang was the old guard dog of the big house on top of the hillock. Markhang attacked Dawa as Dawa was a stranger there and had taken the liberty of entering into the courtyard of the big house, uninvited and unnoticed by others.

13)  How many houses were there in the village east of the big house?

Ans:  There were 20 houses in the village east of the big house.

14)  What was Dawa warned about?

Ans: Dawa was warned that each household in the village had a dog. So he was expecting a dog attack.

15)  Where were all the dogs gone? Why?

Ans:  All the dogs were gone to the big house as some people were busy chopping meat and bones off the carcass of a yak.

16)  Where were all the dogs assembled and why?

17)  Ans:  All the dogs of the village east of the big house were assembled in the courtyard of the house in the hope of stealing some meat and bones from the pile on the bamboo mat.

18)  What was the name of the gawky female dog? Describe her.

Ans:  The name of the gawky female dog was Nomala. She was very beautiful with big joints and paws.

19)  Why was Nomola treated very well by the men of the house?

Ans:  Nomola was treated very well as she was going to be the next guard dog of the house. She was also a very beautiful and intelligent dog.

20)  Why was Dawa impressed with Nomala?

Ans:  Dawa was impressed with her as she was beautiful and intelligent. Dawa felt she had good breeding and parentage. He was equally impressed with her big joints and paws and thought that she would make an impressive guard dog in the near future.

21)  Briefly give a physical description of Markhang?

Ans: Markhang was the old guard dog of the big house. He was very big, bigger than most of the big dogs in that locality. He was black in colour with red-brown markings around his neck. At one time he must have been an imposing dog with his teeth and fangs. He had long fur that felted at some places due to lack of grooming. The area under his piercing eyes was wet as his eyes watered frequently. The bristles on his face were coarse and unkempt. He had a booming voice.

22)  How did Dawa feel about the pilgrims?

Ans:  Dawa felt absolutely delighted with the pilgrims as the only people he would see at Thowadrak were the lama, the young monks, the caretaker and the hermit. Besides, he was happy with their arrival as he himself was a pilgrim there.

23)  Why was Dawa still alive after being severely bitten by Markhang?

Ans: As Markhang was a very old dog, he had lost all his teeth and fangs. So when he grabbed Dawa’s neck in his mouth, he was chewing up and salivating the furry area around his neck and thereby trying to frighten him uselessly.

24)  What was the significance of the full moon night in Dawa’s life?

Ans: [The question has been discussed in the earlier blog.]

25)  Why did Dawa decide to spend the night at Kikila on the way to Thimphu?

26)  Ans:  Dawa decided to spend the night at Kikila as it was a historic and holy place. By sleeping there he was expecting to have an auspicious dream that would have an impact on a believer like him.

In addition to the above questions, the students were also asked to answer the following questions as home-work:

Ø  How was Dawa cured from mange?

Ø  If you were Dawa, how would you feel leaving Thowadrak?

Ø  How do you feel about Dawa after going through this chapter?

Ø  Briefly write about what Dawa experienced during his night stay at Kikila.

CHAPTER - 10 (THE FULL- MOON NIGHT0

Dawa found shelter on the outcrop of a rock. He would just sit there and gaze at the open space in front. From the very first day of his stay there, he felt at peace with himself and all his restlessness was gone. The cave was just at the right distance from the temple – neither too close nor too far.

But one day he became agitated again and missed howling and the company of the other dogs. A dog in a sacred place must not howl, so he suppressed all sounds that formed in his throat and came out as hiccups.

As he sat there lost, he heard voices and eventually found three elderly women coming up, panting, and carrying heavy baskets on their backs and aluminium kettles in their hands. They were pilgrims. Dawa was happy to see them. Other than the people who lived there, rarely did he get to see other people. Dawa tried to greet them with his eyes, but they got scared and called out to the care-taker for help. The care-taker asked them not to fear such a harmless stray dog.

As the most elderly of them was feeling dizzy, she sought help from one of her younger companions and holding hands, they walked along the footpath. Dawa tried not to frighten them and pretended to be asleep. As they passed by, he smelt them, a strange mixture of fried biscuits, sweat and incense scent.

Before entering into the temple, they rested outside and took the baskets off their backs. Then the care-taker came to the door and told them that the fire for melting the butter in their kettles for lighting the butter lamps, was ready. The women, having in the meanwhile taken their things out of their baskets, offered him some fried biscuits, eggs, rolls of incense and lots of other things, unseen by Dawa. The care-taker told them that there was no need for gifts. They shouldn’t have taken the trouble really. He also asked them to keep some for the lama. The women informed him then that they had brought some gifts for the lama as well.

Before entering into the temple, they asked the care-taker if it was safe to leave their luggage behind, particularly in view of the presence of the dog. The care-taker’s response was the greatest gift for Dawa as he said: "The dog looks ragged, but he has a sensitive heart like a human. He never steals or bites other people."

Dawa felt a sense of camaraderie with the pilgrims. He was intrigued when he heard them conversing about the cave of Gelong Ma Pelmo. Only then did he realize that it was the very cave he had been staying in all these months. The news was too shocking for Dawa to bear.

He came out of it as he saw the pilgrims heading toward the cave. Dawa was trembling with excitement when the care-taker was praising him for his sensitive nature. But he observed them for a distance. They came with folded hands and prostrated. They also stuck butter lamps in the crevices of the temple. One of them asked if there was any specific mantra for Gelong Ma Pelmo as they were so used to chanting OM MANI PEMA HUNG, while praying to her. The care-taker replied that as long as they included all the sentient beings in their prayers, it was fine with him.

Dawa realized that he was there in Thowadrak due to the prayers of other people. He was overcome with a deep sense of gratitude and universal fellowship. It being an auspicious day, the fifteenth of the month coinciding with the full-moon day, the care-taker sounded disappointed on finding out from them that there were no other pilgrims coming up.

Dawa though could not take it as mere coincidental that he christened himself and found out the cave of Gelong Ma Pelmo on a full-moon day. All the pieces of his life seemed to be falling into place.

One day he felt that something was missing, amiss. Though things around him were going on as usual – the care-taker was fetching water from the stream, the river flowing down and the ravens cawing sitting on the trees. Then he realized what was missing – his itching was gone! He examined and re-examined himself.  All his lesions were gone and in place of the open, crusted wounds, he had new fur sprouting.

As the lama was passing by, he remarked that the mangy dog did not look as bad as he had thought earlier. Phuntsho, too wise for one so young, disagreed respectfully by commenting that it was really bad when he came there at first. But he recovered during his long stay in the sacred place. Dawa was indeed cured of his mange!

Dawa always knew that he would eventually get back to Thimphu, which he considered to be his home, and regale Moley and Dampa with stories of his travels. But he felt so content and tranquil that he was in no hurry to get back to Thimphu. Knowing that he might not come back to Tang again, he thought of visiting all the villages in Tang on both sides of the river. As he climbed down, he looked back at Thowadrak and felt as if he was leaving a part of him behind. He crossed the bridge and climbed up the hillock called Uri Ngphang (Ram’s Nose) and proceeded toward the big house. There were some twenty households on the east side of the house and each house had a dog, he was told. Despite the casual way he was treated by the old black dog on the way, Dawa wondered about the dogs before moving to the courtyard of the big house. All the dogs were gathered there in a circle as there was a huge pile of meat and bone, possibly the carcass of a yak, on a bamboo mat. An old man was chopping them into small pieces and spreading them to dry. Another old man was trying to keep the dogs and the ravens at bay with a stick. It was a scene as the ravens competed with the dogs for the pieces of meat flying off the chopping board. He eased himself in between two dogs, unnoticed by anyone. Suddenly an old dog with red-brown markings all around his neck, came to Dawa and sniffed him all over, thrice. He rebuked Dawa for being there as he did not belong to that place. Dawa had no intention of a confrontation and was getting up to go, when the dog fell upon him, biting into his neck. Dawa was terrified and cried out. He tried to get out of the steely grip. He could only get away when two men came to his rescue by forcing the jaws of the big dog open.

Dazed and disoriented, Dawa heard the two men laughing about what might have happened if the old dog, Markhang, was not toothless. Dawa felt the wetness around his neck, but there was no blood or throbbing pain. All the dogs were more concerned with the bones than the incident. A dog next to him confirmed his feeling that there was no harm done. Two men, feeling pity on Dawa, threw a piece of meat to him. He was still all shook up and as a result, the meat was pulled out of his mouth by a raven. It was simply not his day as things were going haywire.

His attention then was caught by a gawky female dog called Nimola, who kept on stealing pieces of meat and running away. She was being given preferencial treatment as she was to be the next guard dog. Dawa was impressed with her breeding, parentage, looks and felt that she would be a fine guard dog.

Contd on page 2/-