It is believed that on Thrue-Bab (blessed rainy day) all water on earth turns holy. God is believed to shower its blessings over all water on earth. And a shower on the day is believed to cleanse our body and mind of sins, diseases and negativity. This gives all the reason for Bhutanese to celebrate the day. Family members from far and near gather. They throw a feast. forget their work tension and it is a time for them to relax and have all the fun. A scrumptious porridge and butter tea would be set for breakfast followed by a grand lunch and dinner. The day reiterates joy, happiness and a sense of unity among family members.
But this year I could just dream of the day, as I am away from my home overseas. I miss my family and friends at home. Nonetheless, I am not alone who have been gripped by the feeling. My friends were also nostalgic. So we planned to make the day at a friends apartment. After I took a shower early morning and pray I headed for the friend's apartment.
We are twelve Bhutanese students in my class. We started the day with a scrumptious Thup (porridge). Karma Drupchu, a man with great culinary skills was our head chef. While he cooked we helped him by cutting vegetables. The rest were lost in cheerful talks, cracking jokes and laughing. After sometime we found Karma's eyes getting heavy. He said he didn't sleep the whole earlier night as he had to guard the chopped pork chunks he was cooking until the bones were cooked soft. That took him the entire night. Thanks to him, we had a very delicious Thup.
But this year I could just dream of the day, as I am away from my home overseas. I miss my family and friends at home. Nonetheless, I am not alone who have been gripped by the feeling. My friends were also nostalgic. So we planned to make the day at a friends apartment. After I took a shower early morning and pray I headed for the friend's apartment.
We are twelve Bhutanese students in my class. We started the day with a scrumptious Thup (porridge). Karma Drupchu, a man with great culinary skills was our head chef. While he cooked we helped him by cutting vegetables. The rest were lost in cheerful talks, cracking jokes and laughing. After sometime we found Karma's eyes getting heavy. He said he didn't sleep the whole earlier night as he had to guard the chopped pork chunks he was cooking until the bones were cooked soft. That took him the entire night. Thanks to him, we had a very delicious Thup.
Karma at work
Chopping veg.
His demonstration of culinary skills didn't end there. The lunch he prepared was just so delicious. Ever since we came to Thailand we hardly got to eat our native dishes. Today we found the Bhutanese cuisines that Karma prepared as great delicacies. In a sense, it was ironical that we found our own dishes as delicacies. Once more we thank him for the great lunch.
As for dinner we headed to Rangnam apartment in Bangkok. The president of the Bhutanese Students Association of Bangkok (BSAB) initiated a get-together for all Bhutanese students spread across various universities in Bangkok. It was an opportunity to meet new friends and old friends. In fact, it didn’t matter whether we were old or new friends but the fact that all of us were away from home, simply brought a sense of unity and friendship. There was food, drink, music and dance. One event of the evening was striking-the offering of khaddar(Scarves) of wished and friendship to friends who would soon be graduating and leaving their membership from BSA. About 20 or so friends, including me, were offered Khadars. We exchanged autographs on each other's Khadar. We concluded the event with wishes and prayer for everybody's success in any endeavors.
My autographed Khadar
Although we had all the fun and joy here with friends, deep inside we still missed home and family.
HAPPY THRUE BAB!
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