FROM MONGAR TO BUMTHANG.

Dated: 18^th August, 2016.

Today’s lesson on Dawa (Chapter-7, Dawa in Mongar) began with a recap of the previous chapter (Chapter-6, One, Two, Three Passes). All I had to do was to mention the word ‘Pelela’ and the next moment, the students were blabbering about the sheepherder’s tent, the beautiful female dog, Dawa feeling guilty and ashamed, his longing last look at the bitch. How Dawa came across the white-spotted dog while climbing down the Pelela Pass, the truckload of tourists, his arrival in Trongsa and departure for Bumthang.

Once I’s sure that they remembered the main points, I thought it was time to read two paragraphs of the next chapter, having spent a little time on the title (Dawa in Mongar). I read out and explained the two paragraphs. How Dawa was under the wrong impression that he was in Bumthang while he was actually in Mongar. His encounter with the grisly, ghastly dog before learning about the importance of the Kikila Pass (The story of Thuksay Dawa, the spiritual son of Terton Pema Lingpa, his enemies and finally, how the protecting deities of Thuksay Dawa chased away the enemies), Dawa’s desire to get to Bumthang at any cost and see this important pass once for all.

The time was ripe for me to put in some values. I spoke about one great quality that Dawa possessed in abundance – DETERMINATION. If someone has this quality, nothing can stop him from reaching his goals and targets, despite the heavy odds staked against him. Some people give up very early in life, even after the first attempt: while others like Dawa, never ever. If their target is to be a doctor, an engineer, a pilot or a politician, they will not rest till they have reached their goals of being so.

19^th August, 2014.

Thank you, Reader, for your unwavering faith in me. Last Friday, we were finally done with chapter-7. I was a bit surprised as I was not expecting to finish more than 2 and half pages. Would you believe it? We did nearly 4 pages. While explaining something about the Dog Deportation, I told them that it is based on a similar incident in the late 90s. As the dog population boomed in Bumthang, the local people started panicking. Dogs could be seen everywhere, multiplying, mushrooming beyond one’s wildest imagination. I also didn’t let go of this opportunity of talking about my own personal experience of how I fractured my left hand and how consequently I came to suffer from this ‘dog phobia’. We continued with Dawa’s realization of the grisly dog’s nostalgia for Bumthang, going around Mongar town and learning about the dog dynamics, Dawa being reminded of his followers in Thimphu, shunning their company, his followers’ complaint of Dawa lacking in essential leadership qualities and how mange, the disease he was suffering from, turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We concluded with Dawa’s decision to go to Bumthang at the grisly dog’s request. As the gong was sounded, I asked the class to go through the chapter carefully in order to be able to answer the questions from the text in the next class.

Tuesday, 23^nd August, 2013.

I’d to change my plan of asking them to answer questions from chapter-7, as they had their Weekly Test yesterday and was eager to discuss the grammar questions. I did as I was bid by the class, though the students’ performance was far from satisfactory.

Today, we started with Ms. Sonam Wangmo’s presenting her “Book Talk” on what has been a very popular novel in Bhutan in recent years, Pema Choden’s “Returning Home”.  Then for the convenience of the students, I briefly summarized chapter-7 once more, starting with Dawa’s arrival in Mongar under the misconception of the place being his destination – Bumthang, his encounter with the grisly dog to Dawa acquiring some useful knowledge about the significance of the Kikila Pass, his ability to detect through the accent of the grisly dog that he did not originally hail from Mongar till Dawa deciding to leave for Bumthang at the request of the grisly dog.

It was time for them to get busy with the questions and their answers. I told them that they would have to answer 8 questions in 20 minutes. I wouldn’t repeat the questions unless they found the questions difficult to answer. Once they finished answering the questions, they would exchange their Notebooks and go through their friends’ answers, correct them and mark them. The students would put their initials at the end before returning their friends’ notebooks.

Here are the questions for your information:

1.     Name all the passes that Dawa had to cross before arriving at Mongar.

Ans: Dawa crossed altogether 5 passes before arriving at Mongar without realizing that he had crossed one too many. The 5 passes were Dochula, Pelela, Yotongla, Thrumshingla and kikila.

2.     Where did Dawa find the grisly dog for the first time?

Ans:  Dawa found the grisly dog in the shade of a garbage bin with the words ‘Use Me’ written on it.

3.     What is the dog pass popularly known as?

Ans:  The dog pass is popularly known as ‘Kikila Pass’.

4.     Why were the dogs deported to Mongar?

Ans:  The dogs were deported from Bumthang to Mongar as there was an increase in the dog population. Dogs were to be found everywhere. Some people, due to their abhorrence and dislike of dogs wanted to get rid of the dogs. One particular day, the dogs were rounded up, loaded on a truck and dumped in Mongar.

5.     What did the grisly dog tell Dawa about himself?

Ans:  The grisly dog told Dawa that he was originally from Bumthang. He was deported to Mongar some years back by force. He also told Dawa that Mongar was all right for him as the warmer climate of the place was agreeable to his old bones.

6.     How many types of dogs were to be found in Mongar? Where did the followers of the bosses congregate normally?

Ans:  There were three types of dogs to be found in Mongar – the bosses, their followers and the ordinary dogs.

The followers normally congregated in front of the shops, the dzong and the parking lot.

7.     Why did none of the dogs, back in Thimphu, challenge Dawa openly despite having taken a disliking to his ‘unleaderlike characteristics’?

Ans:  The dogs back in Thimphu did not challenge Dawa despite his unleaderlike characteristics as Dawa performed his job flawlessly.

8.     Why did the grisly dog ask Dawa to go back to Bumthang? Where was Dawa at that time?

Ans:  The grisly dog asked Dawa to go back to Bumthang as the warmer climate of Mongar makes people lazy and lethargic. He also told Dawa that he was not a warm-climate dog and the cold climate of Bumthang keeps dogs warm and active. It will invigorate and stimulate Dawa.

Dawa was sitting in the football field at that time after a heavy meal.