Brief ride to Yongphula

Yesterday morning in clear light of morning sun, I was reading Anita Desai’s ‘Clear Light of Day’ as required for the PGDE course here in Sherubtse when friend Tashi phoned me, “Kinga Yugs is here. Come and meet him.” Immediately I book marked the book and rushed to the highway.

It had been long time since we haven’t met in person. Namgay Wangchuk from Punakha known among our circle of friend as Yugs was on his way to Samdrup Jongkhar from the village of his better half Nim Dem who is also our friend too. Although we could keep track of each other in social Medias, meeting old best friends in person conjures in us exceptional feelings of happiness, the joy of special moments we have shared and nurtured. We were happy to meet each other, all happy and in perfect status. We spent some hours expressing our happiness for the great opportunity to meet after long time of our departure from the college. We talked about how we are faring with our lives. After few moments of happy meeting, Namgay and his family had to go and we bid them safe journey.

     Some sticks of sugarcane from Namgay kept us on the road for few minutes after his leave, crunching and sucking the sweet coupled with some gossip. In the mean time Tashi, Yangchen Nob, Pema Chodup and Nado wanted to visit Yongphula. I was asked to join them if I was interested. I thought for a while and agreed to join them though I had to read the book for the class discussion in the following days.

     In few minutes we were all set to go and packed ourselves in friend Nado’s luxery car. Winding up to Yongphula enjoying the ride in the comfort of the car we reached up there safely. Our friend Yangchen Norbu’s colleague who was at his wife’s house too joined us at the junction of Samdrup jongkhar and Yonphula road. The bright sun was on. But the warmth of the sun didn’t embrace us much as the wind was far stronger as if to blow us away. The ongoing extension work of the airport scraped the landscape differently. We couldn’t walk the runway fully as the wind was blowing away dust from the dug lands. After about three minutes of our photo session on the soil filled run way we went straight to the lake few miles below the run way. The lake appeared brown and calm in front of us. We ran down to the lake to get more of the lake. There we took several photos to celebrate the beauty and the joy of our time together. At one side there were sand at the bank on which Tashi scribbled ‘BEACH’ soley to photograph. Later when were on the way one of us (I cannot remember who was that) shared, “now I will post the photos of the Facebook and Wechat with comments, “moments at Yongphulia(not austrilia) Beach”. Then with not much rhododendrons to be seen there, some of us commented that the Bhutanese song composer of the song “Yongphula lay atho metho tshak de gi Drangmi chu na kowa phang may” was lying. Such lighter moments we have shared besides the open view of some valleys of Tashigang.

     In the mean time we were invited to Yangchen’s friend’s house for some rest. We had to walk few miles down the airport to reach the village. We were given teas and ara. We thankfully had the tea and ara circling around the bukhari. The ara was so strong that the smell runs through our nostril so strongly. We bonded further with lots of talks concerning our lives and beyond often snaking on biscuits, tengma and ezay.

     Finally we came back thanking the hopitality of Yangchen’s friend. Although it wasn’t planned tip for me I enjoyed the moment with my college mates. Although I couldn’t finish up the book, ‘Clear Light of Day’ I was reading in the morning, I have rediscovered a clear light of friendship in us in clear light of sun at Yongphula.