Ancient rhythms of Bhutan’s mountains and valleys are not yet overwhelmed by modernity
A trip to Bhutan is a many-splendoured delight — sights & sounds along the way that retain the sacred imprint
On the flight from Delhi to Paro, one can view the mighty Kanchenjunga, the easternmost of the 8,000m peaks on the Sikkim-Nepal border. Over the years, the snow cover has thinned, exposing the grey and black rocks that lie beneath. Photo by the writer
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In visits to Bhutan over the past several years, one has had the opportunity to go trekking through pristine landscapes, soak in the magical legends associated with temples and monasteries in once remote folds in the mountains and slowly, imperceptibly, beginning to live at a slower rhythm. Not that modernity, such as we know it, is passing the country by. Far from it.
There is glitz and glamour in the streets of Thimphu and incredible luxury awaits those who can afford it in the discreet hotels dotting the country, that lie tucked away behind rough hewn walls that shield them from prying eyes. But this advancing modernity has not overwhelmed — at least not yet — the ancient rhythms that pulsate through the mountains and valleys, each of which retains its sacred imprint.
Bhutan is fragile not because of its acts of omission and commission, but because it has little control over the larger, more elemental, forces at work both in our region and beyond. On the flight from Delhi to Paro or from Paro to Delhi early in the morning, there are rare occasions when the sky is blue and the panorama of the Himalayan peaks unfolds in all its grandeur before one’s eyes. But over the years, one has witnessed the snow cover thinning and exposing the grey and black rocks that lie beneath.
An unusually heavy snowfall recently draped the mighty Kanchenjunga with a mantle of white snow such as I had seen many years ago. Then, on a subsequent flight, I could see the snow drape only in slivers between the rocks.
Bhutan is threatened by what are technically known as Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), which result from the melting of glaciers in the mountains and on the Tibetan plateau to the north. So are other countries that lie in the shadow of these high snow mountains known as the world’s Third Pole and Water Tower. The fragility of Bhutan is mirrored in all the countries of the Indian subcontinent.
The Himalayan ecosystem sustains an incredibly rich flora and fauna. Exotic migratory birds fly from across the cold deserts of Siberia and Tibet to nest in India, Nepal and Bhutan in the winter. The alpine wetlands of Bhutan are a favourite destination for the endangered black-necked crane and other migratory birds.
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to visit the Probjika wetlands in Bhutan not far from Bumthang. This is one of the few protected sanctuaries where the birds are safe and the local communities residing on its periphery are being co-opted into becoming sentinels of these beautiful and majestic birds. But a large number of guest houses and hotels have come up. There are problems of waste management, of human-animal conflict, as the birds feed off the farmlands growing potatoes and other crops in the rich soil.
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black-necked cranes in the wetlands. Photo by the writer
There is a great programme for managing the sanctuary through collaboration with the International Council for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), whose members are Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China. The ICIMOD is headquartered in Kathmandu and is doing invaluable work in conservation across the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountain zone.
It was an amazing experience getting up at 5 in the morning and driving up close to the nesting areas of the black-necked cranes, and then walking in the freezing cold closer to the little creeks and water bodies, where they were huddled up together to stay warm but also for safety against predators.
As the sun rises, they begin flying in twos and threes to their feeding places in the valley.
We learnt that this year, there were about 700-800 birds nesting in the wetlands. Their numbers had gone up thanks to the measures undertaken by the Bhutanese authorities and ICIMOD. But it is equally important that their breeding places up north across the Himalayas should also be protected. It would be such a pity if these wonderful species of birds and many others fall prey to rampant “development”.
The sanctuaries for these birds are sanctuaries for humans as well.
— The writer is a former Foreign Secretary and a frequent visitor to the Himalayas
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