Download or read book Bhutan written by Karma Ura and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-01-16 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The process of modernization has brought discontinuities in collective memory. This volume and its sequel provide an act of collective remembrance, knitting together many voices and stories. It shows the readers a world of the past before modernization began in the 1960s. Volume 1 unfolds accounts of births and rebirths in the household, making of houses and matrimony, rearing of children and livestock in a village, and husbandry of lands and forests. After sketching these fundamental aspects of existence, it details seasonable migration, backpack and caravan trade, and travel over different climatic and linguistic areas. Colours, sounds, and other sensory experiences of ordinary people are described before ending with the rhythm of the farming of major crops such as millet, rice, and wheat.
Download or read book Bhutan the Unremembered Nation written by Ura and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-01-16 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The process of modernization has brought discontinuities in collective memory. This volume and its prequel provide an act of collective remembrance, knitting together many voices and stories. It shows the readers a world of the past before modernization began in the 1960s. Volume 2 covers the monumental architecture of dzongs (castles) and administration of the country, authority and power, cosmological concepts and beliefs, religions and rites, visualization and meditation, visual arts, and folk drama that affected the daily life of the people. Some chapters also dwell on monastic life and monkhood, and Guru Rinpoche's imprints on the land and its people.
Download or read book Bhutan Art and ideals written by Karma Ura and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bhutan Community and livelihood written by Karma Ura and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Blessings of Bhutan written by Russ Carpenter and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2002-10-31 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A captivating and splendid account of a complex nation on the cusp of tradition and modernity. Bhutan is distinctive--from its social structures to its development philosophy of Gross National Happiness. The Blessings of Bhutan is based on extensive travel and interviews. Written in an accessible style, the authors blend narrative about the country's history, religion, arts, and governance with lively personal anecdotes. It is an excellent contribution to the study of contemporary Bhutan that will appeal to laymen and scholars alike." --Karma Ura, Director of the Centre for Bhutan Studies "The blessings of Bhutan are many, including the appearance of this lyrical account of the country's many unique and fascinating aspects. Because they are among the Westerners most familiar with Bhutanese life, Blyth and Russ are able to penetrate well beyond the Shangri-la myth and show that, while parts of such an otherworldly myth apply, this Himalayan Kingdom is brimful of surprises, contradictions, and modern dilemmas." --K. E. S. Kirby Dorji, writer/editor, United Nations consultant, longtime resident of Bhutan.
Download or read book The History of Bhutan written by Karma Phuntsho and published by Haus Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 830 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2008, Bhutan triumphantly took the stage as the world’s youngest democracy. But despite its growing prominence—and rising scholarly interest in the country—Bhutan remains one of the least studied, and least well-known places on the planet. Karma Phuntsho’s The History of Bhutan is the first book to offer a comprehensive history of Bhutan in English. Along with a detailed social and political analysis, it offers substantive discussions of Bhutan’s geography and culture; the result is the clearest, richest account of this nation and its history ever published for general readers. A 2015 Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title Award Winner
Download or read book Beyond the Sky and the Earth written by Jamie Zeppa and published by Doubleday Canada. This book was released on 2011-01-28 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tradition of Iron and Silk and Touch the Dragon, Jamie Zeppa’s memoir of her years in Bhutan is the story of a young woman’s self-discovery in a foreign land. It is also the exciting début of a new voice in travel writing. When she left for the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan in 1988, Zeppa was committing herself to two years of teaching and a daunting new experience. A week on a Caribbean beach had been her only previous trip outside Canada; Bhutan was on the other side of the world, one of the most isolated countries in the world known as the last Shangri-La, where little had changed in centuries and visits by foreigners were restricted. Clinging to her bags full of chocolate, hair conditioner and Immodium, she began the biggest challenge of her life, with no idea she would fall in love with the country and with a Bhutanese man, end up spending nine years in Bhutan, and begin a literary career with her account of this transformative journey. At her first posting in a remote village of eastern Bhutan, she is plunged into an overwhelmingly different culture with squalid Third World conditions and an impossible language. Her house has rats and fleas and she refuses to eat the local food, fearing the rampant deadly infections her overly protective grandfather warned her about. Gradually, however, her fear vanishes. She adjusts, begins to laugh, and is captivated by the pristine mountain scenery and the kind students in her grade 2 class. She also begins to discover for herself the spiritual serenity of Buddhism. A transfer to the government college of Sherubtse, where the housing conditions are comparatively luxurious and the students closer to her own age, gives her a deeper awareness of Bhutan’s challenges: the lack of personal privacy, the pressure to conform, and the political tensions. However, her connection to Bhutan intensifies when she falls in love with a student, Tshewang, and finds herself pregnant. After a brief sojourn in Canada to give birth to her son, Pema Dorji, she marries Tshewang and makes Bhutan her home for another four years. Zeppa’s personal essay about her culture shock on arriving in Bhutan won the 1996 CBC/Saturday Night literary competition and appeared in the magazine. She flew home to accept the prize, where people encouraged her to pursue her writing. Her letters from Bhutan also featured on CBC’s Morningside. The book that grew out of this has been published in Canada and the United States to ecstatic reviews, followed by British, German, Dutch, Italian and Spanish editions. Although cultural differences finally separated Jamie and Tshewang in 1997 while she was writing the book and she returned to Canada, she will always feel at home in Bhutan. Zeppa shares her compelling insights into this land and culture, but Beyond the Sky and the Earth is more than a travel book. With rich, spellbinding prose and bright humour, it describes a personal journey in which Zeppa acquires a deeper understanding of what it means to leave one’s home behind, and undergoes a spiritual transformation.
Download or read book Bhutan Through the Ages written by Norbu Ramphel and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Present Work Is A Well-Considered Tribute To The Beautiful Kingdom In The Himalayas. It Brings Together Excerpts From All The Reputed Chronicles And Accounts Of Various Times In The Past Two And A Half Centuries Pemberton, Turner, Bogle And Some Others. Materials Have Been Put Together In Three Distinctive Volumes Under The Collective Title Of Bhutan Through The Ages. The Effort Has Borne Fruit Because Of The Generous Assistance Provided By Several Persons And Offices: The Reading Of The Various Accounts Transports One Into A Land That Is As Romantic As The Thoughts That Are Inspired By It. It Would Serve Its Purpose Well Even If It Brings To Mind The Splendors Of One Of The Few Remaining Kingdoms In The World And Of Its Many Delights And Dilemmas, The Dynamics Of Dynasty And The Grand Affairs Of State.Details Of The Volumes" Bhutan: Emergence Of A Nation-State" Discovering Bhutan: Excursions And Explorations" Historical Foundations And Political Evolution Students, Researchers, And Teachers In The Field Besides The Administrators, Anthropologists And Adventurers Will Find This A Unique Reference Work.
Download or read book Bhutan written by Awadhesh Coomar Sinha and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Book portrays the transition of the Bhutanese frontier community from a theocratic to a feudal one. It examines the ecological ethnic and historical processes through which the Bruqpa theocracy was established in the 17th century A.D. After explicating the aspects of conflict between the monks and the regional feudal lords, establishment of the Wangchuk rule under the British patronage, status of the Bhutan within the Empire, the impact of the Indian freedom movement on Bhutan, it uncovers the Bhutanese national identity, nation building efforts and national dilemma of the emergent nation state. It is divided into three parts and ten chapters besides preface, introduction, bibliography, index and a couple of charts. The book is based on some of the classified materials never published before. While it identifies the process of state formation with that of the efforts to traditionalize the modern functional roles and a paternalistic populism in the context of developmental strategies, the book traces the roots of the recent democratic movement in Bhutan.
Download or read book Bhutan Culture Smart written by Karma Choden and published by Kuperard. This book was released on 2018-02-01 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The tiny Kingdom of Bhutan, at the eastern end of the Himalayas, nestles between the giant nation states of China and India. Often called the "Land of the Thunder Dragon," it remained secluded until recent times—the first ever "tourist" set foot in Bhutan in 1974 and was followed by the introduction of television and new technology at the turn of the 21st century. In 2008, Bhutan became the world's youngest democracy, moving from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy in a historic change initiated by the revered and much-loved Fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. A sovereign country throughout the ages, Bhutan is now establishing its place on the world stage and demonstrating leadership on climate and environmental issues. It is determined to maintain its Buddhist culture and way of life as it evolves and adapts to political change and economic challenges. Its unique development policy of "Gross National Happiness," which measures progress not through material gain but on a happiness scale, is generating global interest. The abundant hospitality of the Bhutanese, the variety of Bhutan's ancient monasteries and colorful festivals, and its near-perfect ecosystem and natural beauty never fail to reward the traveler. Culture Smart! Bhutan will give you a deeper insight into the country's history, values, and customs, as well as practical guidance on how to develop a meaningful rapport with the Bhutanese.
Download or read book Incredible Bhutan written by JL. Jatinder Singh and published by JL. Jatinder Singh. This book was released on 2019-08-05 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book you will find information about Bhutan's History and Travel. Bhutan is a wonderful country, its beauty can not be described in words.The beauty of this country seen in the mountains. I hope you like this book very much.
Download or read book Unbecoming Citizens written by Michael Hutt and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2005 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book was prompted by the arrival in Nepal during the early 1990s of some 95,000 people of Nepal ethnic origin who claimed to be citizens of Bhutan (a Buddhist Himalayan kingdom with a population of less than a million) who had been wrongfully evicted from their country. Bhutan ispopularly regarded as a Himalyan Shangri-la, and very few outside Nepal believed the refugees allegations in the early years of their exile. Even twelve years later, not a single refugee had returned to Bhutan.The book is based on research conducted in Bhutan and Nepal during seven visits to the region between 1992 and 2001, and particularly on interview-based life history research in the refugee camps in Nepal. It reconstructs the history of the Nepali community inBhutan, from the first settlers migration to its southern belt in the late 19th century up to the exodus of many of their descendants to Nepal in the late 20th century. It analyses the new policies on citizenship, language, a nd dress which were adopted by the Bhutanese government in the 1980s,and the political resistance to these measures which led ultimately to the denationalisation and flight of many erstwhile citizens. As it describes these developments, the narrative also pauses at intervals to reflect on the relationship between national, cultural and ethnic identities, and on theways in which history can be constructed and utilised to buttress competing claims. It deals with the specificities of the Bhutanese issue in detail and draws out its broader implications for a world awash with refugees.
Download or read book Bhutan Through the Ages Bhutan emergence of a nation state written by Norbu Ramphel and published by . This book was released on with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bhutan written by Karma Ura and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1950 Tibet was invaded by China. Over the next ten years, many Tibetans fled to Nepal or India, and some escaped to Bhutan by making the climb over the Himalayan mountains. At that time Bhutan was a Buddhist monarchy, with barely half a million people, nearly every one of them a farmer. It was a country with a dynamic oral tradition and no written language, and with large expanses of unexplored and uninhabited land. No roads existed until the 1960s. The first tourists were allowed in limited numbers in 1974, and although more tourists are allowed today, the number is still controlled. Road construction is constant now, and television, the Internet, cell phones, and automobiles have arrived. Mary Peck visited Bhutan between 1999 and 2005, having heard about this country that had been closed to visitors until the 1970s. "What drew me to Bhutan were stories about a country of more wilderness than cultivated or developed land, with a government that considers protection of those lands important, and a culture with reverence for the land and its resources," says Peck. She understood her visits as standing on a curve of timewith a way of life that had existed with very little change for generations still visible and yet able to see enormous change on the horizon. The book features over fifty duotone images taken by Peck of modern Bhutan that are a rare portrait of this society and landscape. Accompanied by essays by Peck and Dasho Karma Ura, this book is a beautiful representation of a country anchored by its past and brimming with hope for its future.
Download or read book Tantric State written by William J. Long and published by Studies in Comparative Politic. This book was released on 2018 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Today, the majority of sovereign states can be described as 'democracies' in that they possess elected political leadership and some measure of commitment to the protection and promotion of individual rights and equality under law. Likewise, the economies of most democracies revolve around free trade, integrated into wider regional and global markets. Virtually all are organized around Western liberal principles and values. For some, these philosophical commitments are indigenous and longstanding, and for others they were imported later, often through colonization. This book asks how democratic governance and economic development differ when founded on Eastern, Buddhist principles, rather than Western, liberal, and Enlightenment values and beliefs. The small, remote country of Bhutan is the only democratic, market-based state that is rooted constitutionally and culturally in Mahayana Buddhist principles and ethics. In this book, it provides an alternate vision for what democratic states built on Eastern philosophy might look like. William Long argues that the differences in democratic and development systems between Western and Eastern approaches are profound and important. Bhutan's approach to democracy and development is based on the idea of 'Gross National Happiness' and offers a unique approach to the challenges of political polarization, economic inequality, and declining public trust in political institutions"--
Download or read book Bhutan written by Frank Rennie and published by IAP. This book was released on 2008-12-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a misty-eyed vision of Bhutan which has popularized it as ‘the last Shangri-la’, the hidden Himalayan jewel, the travel destination of celebrities and unique-experience-hunters. We are not entirely comfortable with this image. Bhutan has undoubtedly become the focus of considerable media attention in the last few years. Articles appear regularly on its substitution of happiness for money as the indicator of the country’s wealth. Television programs, books, visits by personalities – all have served to bring Bhutan to global awareness. This attention only serves to increase pressure on the culture to become like any other. How has Bhutan resisted the impact of globalisation which has had such a homogenizing affect on most other countries in the world? A practice, until recently, of self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world, the Buddhist tradition, and the lack of any successful foreign invader have combined to produce a living culture that is as unique as it is fragile. This fragility suggested the need to document a context that seemed on the verge of change. Our second visit in 2008 confirmed our sense of immanent change, as we could see for ourselves the ways in which ‘international culture’ was beginning to appear: the first escalator in the country, widening the main road from single track to dual carriageway, the first democratic election, the availability of satellite television, and internet expansion... Nevertheless, we continue to feel that in Bhutan there is a different ‘way of knowing.’ We have worked with staff at the University to try to capture something of this in three different forms: • chapters written by Bhutanese individuals about the culture, landscape, education and folklore • extracts from interviews with university staff and associates to draw out particular characteristics of Bhutan which would be of interest to Western readers • photographs of Bhutan which provide a different ‘view’ of the country to complement the text. The subject matter has been chosen by Bhutanese staff at the Royal University of Bhutan as an expression of their understanding of their own land. There are conventional travel books about Bhutan available and we have not attempted to contribute to this literature. Bhutan: Ways of Knowing is a book which reflects Bhutanese understanding of their country. We hope that you will find these contributions as interesting and thought-provoking as we do, and that you, too, will find a different way of knowing about Bhutan.
