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Time Of Adaptation
4. Time of Adaptation
I think I should write the secret of how I managed to stay there as I reached there from the scorching heat of Kerala to icy cold. (Not all places in Bhutan are like 'Ha'. Southern Bhutan of low altitude and eastern region are less colder.)
After reaching that evening and the next morning, food was brought by the children from the hostel. It was a curry of dried spinach leaves and dried fish. I didn't know that the pieces in my curry was fish. There was no one to tell me that. As I was hungry l ate the rice with gravy of the curry. Decided to make the next meal by myself I bought a kerosene stove, a couple of aluminum pots and rice. The fellow teachers told me that the supplies will be available at the IMTRAT (Indian Military Training Team) canteen.
Bhutan Army was trained by Indian Army. All the regiments and wings of the Indian military are there to impart training. They have a CSD canteen that sells Indian items and a wet canteen that sells condiments. A kilometer walk from the school leads to the army camp. There was the GREF(General Reserve Engineering Force) who build roads, bridges and buildings for soldiers
GREF is a paramilitary force. Malayalis were present in all these forces.
Not knowing anything about 'Ha', I arrived with a pair of pants, a shirt, a lungi and cash, less than three hundred rupees. The Malayalis I met when I had arrived at the capital city Thimphu, told me about the cold in Ha and forced me to buy a woolen sweater. As it was the end of April, there was less cold. The soldiers noticed the Indian boy who came to the army camp wearing a half shirt. They enquired about me. Someone went and told Nair Saab, who was the commandant of the army camp, about the new Indian who had arrived there. He called me to his office. Without saying that he is a Malayali, he spoke in English and Hindi and learned about the new teacher of the 'Ha' school. He gave me two thick military woolen blankets and told me to eat food from the NCO (Non-Commissioned Officers) mess of the army at a cheaper rate of Rs 62 per month. He also gave me good advice. Later I came to know that he was from Ponkunnam of Kerala.
Proximity to the soldiers enabled me to speak Hindi correctly and to get Indian goods delivered. The senior Malayalis in the army and the GREF people behaved like guardians!
420 rupees was the first monthly salary. Food costs Rs 62 and other expenses Rs 30. Out of 420, 300 would be sent home. A life that satisfied the mind. Neither the school nor the teachers nor the children were a problem. All my headmasters loved me as I helped them in office works. One of my headmasters (Dasho Sangley Dukpa) got promoted and became Director of Education. After many years, when he met him in the Education Department, he introduced me to the other officers saying that, 'A man who had not been late for a second'.
Tuition was taken for children of army officers after school hours. An amount equal to the salary was also received from it. It was the products of China that helped people to survive the cold. As China was fifteen kilometers away, villagers used to go to China on donkeys or yaks and bring goods and sold them. Jackets, shoes and hats that keep you warm in any cold weather were available at low prices, so you can resist the cold. Bathing was done by heating water on the stove. The food at Army Mess was healthy and nutritious. I used to watch Hindi movies from the army theater for a ticket rate of two rupees.
Like this five years were spend at Ha.
© Rajendran Thriveni
I think I should write the secret of how I managed to stay there as I reached there from the scorching heat of Kerala to icy cold. (Not all places in Bhutan are like 'Ha'. Southern Bhutan of low altitude and eastern region are less colder.)
After reaching that evening and the next morning, food was brought by the children from the hostel. It was a curry of dried spinach leaves and dried fish. I didn't know that the pieces in my curry was fish. There was no one to tell me that. As I was hungry l ate the rice with gravy of the curry. Decided to make the next meal by myself I bought a kerosene stove, a couple of aluminum pots and rice. The fellow teachers told me that the supplies will be available at the IMTRAT (Indian Military Training Team) canteen.
Bhutan Army was trained by Indian Army. All the regiments and wings of the Indian military are there to impart training. They have a CSD canteen that sells Indian items and a wet canteen that sells condiments. A kilometer walk from the school leads to the army camp. There was the GREF(General Reserve Engineering Force) who build roads, bridges and buildings for soldiers
GREF is a paramilitary force. Malayalis were present in all these forces.
Not knowing anything about 'Ha', I arrived with a pair of pants, a shirt, a lungi and cash, less than three hundred rupees. The Malayalis I met when I had arrived at the capital city Thimphu, told me about the cold in Ha and forced me to buy a woolen sweater. As it was the end of April, there was less cold. The soldiers noticed the Indian boy who came to the army camp wearing a half shirt. They enquired about me. Someone went and told Nair Saab, who was the commandant of the army camp, about the new Indian who had arrived there. He called me to his office. Without saying that he is a Malayali, he spoke in English and Hindi and learned about the new teacher of the 'Ha' school. He gave me two thick military woolen blankets and told me to eat food from the NCO (Non-Commissioned Officers) mess of the army at a cheaper rate of Rs 62 per month. He also gave me good advice. Later I came to know that he was from Ponkunnam of Kerala.
Proximity to the soldiers enabled me to speak Hindi correctly and to get Indian goods delivered. The senior Malayalis in the army and the GREF people behaved like guardians!
420 rupees was the first monthly salary. Food costs Rs 62 and other expenses Rs 30. Out of 420, 300 would be sent home. A life that satisfied the mind. Neither the school nor the teachers nor the children were a problem. All my headmasters loved me as I helped them in office works. One of my headmasters (Dasho Sangley Dukpa) got promoted and became Director of Education. After many years, when he met him in the Education Department, he introduced me to the other officers saying that, 'A man who had not been late for a second'.
Tuition was taken for children of army officers after school hours. An amount equal to the salary was also received from it. It was the products of China that helped people to survive the cold. As China was fifteen kilometers away, villagers used to go to China on donkeys or yaks and bring goods and sold them. Jackets, shoes and hats that keep you warm in any cold weather were available at low prices, so you can resist the cold. Bathing was done by heating water on the stove. The food at Army Mess was healthy and nutritious. I used to watch Hindi movies from the army theater for a ticket rate of two rupees.
Like this five years were spend at Ha.
© Rajendran Thriveni
