THIS ISSUE IS THE WEEK’s second international cover in as many weeks. Last week, we brought you the voices of the contestants in the Sri Lankan presidential poll. This week, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay of Bhutan spoke to Chief of Bureau Namrata Biji Ahuja about the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), which is coming up across the border from Assam.

 

Bhutan is pitching GMC as the Silicon Valley of the East and the vision is of a tech city built on a bedrock of nature and spiritual values. For a country with 70 per cent forest cover, Bhutan cannot imagine a life too far from nature.

 

Other prominent Bhutanese, too, have spoken to us in this issue―about GMC, Bhutan’s progress, and Thimphu-New Delhi relations. Interviews with former prime minister Dr Lotay Tshering and Dasho Karma Ura, president of the Centre for Bhutan & Gross National Happiness Studies, are part of the cover story. Tshering emphasised that the five founding principles of the GMC were health, education, sustainable energy, spirituality and wealth management.

 

There are web exclusives, too, on theweek.in. In addition to an article on the evolution of tourism in Bhutan, there is an interview with Dasho Kunzang Wangdi, the first chief election commissioner of Bhutan.

 

Bina and I were recently in Bhutan and the biggest joy was meeting my college-mate Om Pradhan, aka Ob, after around 60 years. In the years after St Stephen’s, he had become an institution in the country. He was ambassador to India in the mid-1980s and served two terms as ambassador and permanent representative at the United Nations in New York. In October 2007, the king of Bhutan appointed him chairman of Druk Holding and Investments, the commercial and investment arm of the royal government. Despite his official commitments, he was a most attentive host and went out of his way to make Bhutan memorable for us. Thank you, Ob.

 

Another St Stephen’s connection that made my day came in the interview with former CEC Wangdi of Bhutan. As a royal subject, his first exposure to democracy was in college. The first vote in his life was for Shashi Tharoor, who was running for president of the St Stephens Students’ Union. He says it was an eye-opening experience to see Indira Gandhi as prime minister, the JP movement in full strength, and on a student level, to see Arun Jaitley elected president of the Delhi University Students’ Union.

 

Another thing that surprised me about Bhutan was the air. I landed in Paro with a lingering chest congestion from Delhi. The mountain air was like fine wine, and it cured me in no time. If you are not impressed by the air, I would recommend the K5―which Ob gifted me. It is a mix of blended Scotch and Bhutanese grain whisky, produced to mark the coronation of the fifth king, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk. Hence, K5.

 

Didn’t imagine a Bhutanese whisky, did you? Well, that is just one of the many things that will surprise you in the Land of the Thunder Dragon.