The Untold

Plateau formed on the sloping terrain of BayYuel Pangthang, I was raised among cattle, horses, pigs, hens and cocks. Far from the mountain of Haila, my village seemed the heavenly table for ecstasy and happiness. Confined in the thick forest and decorated with the seasonal cereals, lively and energetic were roosters in the village to alarm the people. Alarm for to remind of time – to wake up and to prepare meals.

I am from BayYuel Pangthang, the village that taught me and brought up to carve about the happenings which are the history, the future and the present. I have my own history, future and present to share with you. 

The least developed was my village once upon a time. Far away, I could only hear and see little white vehicles plying through the Trashigang - Samdrup Jongkhar National Highway. Telephones and mobile phones were seen in pictures and was a news. Only the Lorries of the locality, the horses and mules were there for transportation of any sort of goods and materials. People had to walk half a day to reach the road at Tokarong. No matter how harsh the condition was, people struggled to increase their income through mandarin business. 

There was only school which my friends and I had to walk three to four hours and same hours back home. The scares on my knees and below chin are still vivid which the result was due to my mischief and jagged path. 

Monastic schools showed its significance bright but suddenly everything went off. The light to path of learning religious was all in vain when government closed the religious institutes that were built for the monks with hard work of the locality. And now I can see only the lone Lhakhangs (monastry). And one peculiar wonder is that a statue in one monastery changes its position time and again; indicating disaster is at the door step, if not careful, catastrophe will be befallen. 

 

Pangthang as you see on Google earth

The misery of the girls, disturbance of the parents and the preference of the boys at night to so called night hunting was rampant. The mastery to open the door, seduce girls, the technique to run away when parents knew, and strategy to coverup the mischief in the name of word consensus has left many scares on the girls of the village.

I have seen government officials including the constables became Dasho whenever they came for visit in the village; even plumbers, masons, and electricians became engineers. They came for the purpose, the purpose to fulfill their official duty but not to leave permanent shock which remains as scares forever to few girls and ladies of the heavenly plateau. 

Now the beautiful plateau of Pangthang is all set with modern facilities. Motor wavy road made its way through thick hard terrains, everyone is equip with cell phone,  and the electricity became real power that subdued the rampant night hunting to some extent. 

My little brother and sister now have to walk only half an hour to school. They no more have to walk long hours in rain, sun and have to cross rivers which become dangerous in summer and frequently encounter venomous snakes. 

Monasteries and stupas are renovated and taken care of. I can see left out children as cow herder are now monk and few as an adult student which they are given double promotion for their distinguish result amid other little kids.  

The future of the village looks good and organized. People started growing vegetables in large scale for the preparation of future supply to the project. Reconnaissance survey is going on for the upcoming hydro power plant in Ngyera Ama chu. People were informed that the project will be in two phases, one in Gomdar gewog and another in Wangphu gewog.