The hunt for blood orchids?

By 2020, Bhutan will have already become brighter with the electric capacity of more than 10,000 MW from  different Hydro-electricity houses. This is because, somewhere in March, 2009, Bhutan finally decided to construct ten additional hydro-power projects with the assistance of India government. Wangchu hydro-project is one of them. And Gaeddu college of Business Studies was awarded by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Ltd to conduct socioeconomic survey and social impact assessment, on their behalf. But lets not bother about the findings now; let images(photos) speak.  

And you know, collecting data, especially during those summer days (for socioeconomic and social impact assessment) for probable to-be-effected remote hamlets nesting besides the two slopes of Wangchu river falling under three gewogs of Chukha-Darla, Bongo and Lhamaizingkha was everything: experiencing; tiresome; adventurous; exciting; enjoyable; boring and many more, something that could remind us of the "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchids"

(Can you see the stream down there? Well, this is not stream; it is Wangchu river I am talking about. And I am sure almost all of you actually crossed this river. bet me if you didn't. Don't you remember how you crossed Lungtenzampa? This is the same river you have crossed. Now I know you know which river it is. But this falls under Chukha dzongkhag. Shhhhhhh....it is going to give us additional 600 MW of electricity; don't tell anyone. We are soon going to be rich)

The following snapshots say it all about our field-trip:

Pic 1(The first of many hurdles on the way to our destination: This bridge has been constructed after an incidence of an old man fallen, injured seriously and admitted to hospital, according to one of the locals. Oh god!!! at least he wasn't' dead. During our first trip, it was simply risky to pass through that rock, and we decided to take another route that took an hour extra just to escape that risky short-cut route. This bridge stands at Khesasi village, some kilometres west from proper Gedu town )

 Pic 2 (This is exactly the same spot where the above bridge now stands. It was captured during our fist trip. Photo courtesy: Ugyen)

Pic 3(This is red leech, kind of leech we had to encounter our way. Gedu is a place of leeches but I hardly find this type here. Just imagine, how this leech would look like if he is fully fed with the blood, human blood. Opppppps!!!  I can feel the leech-bite on my skin. I am always allergic to its touch. But I have an idea. I would just need some grams of salt for the osmosis. Because many a times we had to let this process happen on our way )

 Pic 4 (This is yet another hurdle)

 Pic 5 (Hardest of the hurdles: You can actually see a local guide helping to ferry someone very new to this kind of transportation system. That was "Pass thrrough or else die drowning under water" situation, the real moment of the truth in deed).

 (We find these terraces in some villages. But only a few households have wetland. In these terraces rice is cultivated, where it is one of the main crops for their living. And you could also easily find out from this picture, the kind of landscape some of these villages are located in.)

 ( And this is the main crop in many of the villages we visited. These are maize crops)

Note: The title of the post may seem exaggerated and taken with a pinch of salt, the images I posted are real and genuine. 

 

The uncertainty

Did you ever wonder what next could bring you? Oh yes! we are already preoccupied by our own thoughts. Mundane thoughts most of the time. Just some hours ago, I watched Hard-talk on BBC. Then, I realised anything good or bad can happen anytime, and change the entire course of life. Stephen Sakur's interview with Nicklinson family made me dumfounded. The fact is, it reminded me of many similar incidences I have seen, heard and experienced in many similar ways.

Life is uncertain. I heard this many times; you must have heard it too. But who cares?. Nobody bothers to examine it until one succumbs to the fact. The point is: we live as if we live forever. We want to be powerful over other; we crave for wealth;we just think of our own happiness.But this is very true. Isn't it?. Oh! I am not preaching. I live by these very principles too. Ehhh..do I sound hypocritical?. Let it be.  Or am I being nihilistic?. No, I am one optimist being; I have one big goal.

My total sympathy and empathy to all those who have undergone uncertainty of life, negatively, so to say. I have seen number of happy families breaking; I have seen handsomeness and beauty wadding (become disabled) after accidents and other circumstances. Still unconvinced? Just think of some victims who survived bomb explosions: limbless. And I hear and see how once powerful men (most of them leaders) falling. On the contrary, I have also seen how beggars can turn into millionaires; ordinary into celebrities; submissive into influencing. Yes! when I hear "Life is uncertain", I try to understand it as a "change" this way-this is it.

Nicklinson family tragedy is one such example.Today, Tony Nicklinson desperately wants to end his life. Since after massive stroke in 2005, he has been paralysed. This is really touching. It is very touching to see once very smart husband turned into nothing more than "locked-in" man. And I have a similar story to tell: A few months ago (not even three months now, it was in mid-July), my cousin narrowly escaped death because of car accident. Just a day before his accident, we were together. See how things can be uncertain sometimes. When I saw him lying on hospital bed, hapless during first few days, I couldn't stop worrying: what if he becomes blind forever; what if he can't walk; what if .... These frequent occurrences made me comprehend a little about "uncertainty of life".  But thank god, he is normal now. And there are yet more tragedies and more glories alike.

Well, what could be the solution to this problem of uncertainty then? Okay. One might not be able to stop uncertainty abruptly but the one thing we could do can be, take measures to prevent it from occurring. This is no total panacea again. Sometime, Something bizarre or weird can happen out of the blue however you try to prevent it. You never know when. But, if rich, powerful, ordinary and all know that power, wealth, fame or anything  are just very "relative", "transferable" or "vanish-able" and live by these concepts of knowledge, there should not be selfishness, dominance or hatred amongst kinds of population. This may seem totally hypothetical but it is doable.