De-Suung བདེ་སྲུང་། : “Yellow Vision of Orange”: (a contemplative reflection of a humble citizen)

 

 De-Suung (བདེ་སྲུང་།), the Guardians of Peace, envisioned by His Majesty The King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck was launched in 2011. It was founded on The Royal Vision of promoting peace, harmony, and unity through a spirit of camaraderie, volunteerism, and cooperation.

“The underlying premise of the training is built upon the spirit of ‘volunteerism’, and the need to reinforce ethical standards and also to cultivate values of community service, integrity, and civic responsibility.” The De-Suung is an integrated personal development program, aimed at encouraging active citizenry through volunteerism for the nation-building. Responding during the time of disaster and the post-disaster relief operations through solidarity and volunteerism were the primary goal of the initiative from the golden throne. The ORANGE turned out to be the blessing from the supreme “ Yellow”; the blessing in the form of service by the orange heroes to the citizens.

An orange vision could have been founded on prophecy that many had not envisioned of future, that only raven crown guided would foresee. With De-Suung programme, nation-building was ensured in active citizenship and commitment to the next level of the democratic system. Thus, the future was predicted and visioned in Orange brigade and selflessness.

A decade back, COVID Pandemic was not even a supposition, let alone be the reality of its real-time notoriety. Face Mask dominating the supply and demand curve of the market dynamics was not even a distant dream. Physical distancing would have never been so much solicited terminology. Therefore, the lockdown has been a fairytale word of this generation.

        

Did we ever contemplate on the readiness of the nation through the service of orange heroes shielding the nation and her citizens? Did we ever doubt when will these oranger’s harmonize in the call of the nation? Did we even felt the need of the Orangers' at one point in time? The clairvoyance of the king of destiny has prevailed a decade back for the unseen possibilities of the reality that we are facing today, the Covid-19 pandemic. I feel that it was a readiness initiative by the small nation for global chaos. The readiness prophecy was painted as an Orange; the De-Suung.

 One of the objectives of the De-Suung is: “To instill a greater sense of community, harmony, and cooperation as a group and individual members of society”. After being a mere spectator of the service by the Orangers’ at such an unprecedented time of Covid-19 pandemics supporting other frontline personnel (White, Camouflage, blue, and Green and others) uniform, can we think of anything more to fulfill the objectives of the very noble initiative? To me, the call of the nation has been answered ( although the fight will go on until the COVID is defeated, the Orangers’ keeps our hope high and assures the victorious certainty).

  After a very successful first phase of the lockdown ( with a wishful prayer that this will be the last as well), the question that comes to my mind is: What if the De-Suung Program was not instituted? Would it have been comfortable for the nation to respond as much as we succeeded this time without e Orangers’? The Orangers aka the De-Suups has been a blessing of His Majesty the King to the land of Druk and Drukpas. Today, I humbly call it “The Vision of The Visionary.”

                                                       Kadrinche, Mewang Chog 

* * *

                                                                 Lhendup Tharchen

                                                                4th September 2020

Yartsa-Guen bub

Cordyceps sinensis : Yartsa-Guen bub

Photographs from 2014 

The question I ask every time at the end of auction day is: Is it CORDYCEPS festival?

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Guest Blogger Lhendup Tharchen saves snow leopards in Bhutan

by SIBYLLE on FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Lhendup Tharchen, wildlife biologist from the tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan working to save snow leopards and tigers in the only habitat in the world where the two big cats overlap. Photo (c) WildCru.

Lhendup Tharchen is a wildlife biologist and Park Manager in Bhutan. He is originally from Ura, a small village in Bumthang. Lhendup currently works in Jigme Dorji National park and his work focuses on the big cats, snow leopards and tigers, of Bhutan. Bhutan is the only country of twelve snow leopard range countries where snow leopards and tigers share habitat.

Lhendup is our guest blogger and he shares his excitement at the recent proof from camera traps of a snow leopard family in Bhutan.

“Some say “Mountain ghosts” and some refer to them as “Queen of the Himalayas”. I can’t resist to refer them as the” King of Himalayas”, the elusive and cryptic species , the snow leopard.

 Bhutan is known for its un-matching biodiversity richness. The per capita of biodiversity richness for a small country like Bhutan would beyond any doubt be one of the highest among the countries.  

 Until recently, when camera traps were not deployed for snow leopard surveys, irrespective of the concrete evidence reports from the field, many people questioned the true existence of snow leopards. It is at time a big question whether we really have snow leopards in Bhutan.

Not one, not two, but a family of three snow leopards captured by remote camera trap in Wangchuck Centennial Park (WCP) in Bhutan. Photo (C) WCP.

 This is where and when the modern technology rescued conservationists in Bhutan in raising our heads while talking on snow leopards. In a difficult terrain like Bhutan’s, no amount of energy would suffice the search for Himalayan kings, and last resort one would wish for is magic and magical powers. Rugged and in accessible  terrains compounded by high altitudes with low oxygen level  is not only an inhibiting factors for the researchers in Bhutan’s high mountain terrains, but a matter of daring to sacrifice one’s life to struggle with the available oxygen in those places. Up on the mountains, where you feel at the height above most of the places on the planet except for few peaks like EVEREST and its competitor ranges,  one will wish for only one thing, the SNOW LEOPARD rolling on its tail on the snow covered steep slopes.

Blue sheep, a major prey species for the snow leopard in the Wangchuck Centennial Park in Bhutan. Photo (c) WCP and WWF/Bhutan.

Findings from the camera trapping effort in the northern protected areas of Bhutan in last 2 years span has proven more than anyone could wish the proof to be.  Numerous individuals have been captured in Jigme Dorji National Park (JDNP) and Wangchuck Centennial Park (WCP).  Big cats are solitary in nature, but who said that they are lone animals. Like everyone do, they love their families. So is the Snow leopard family in WCP has been captured using the remote camera.

The officials of WCP, disregarding all the above hostile factors gave their best for the conservation and so did they get their best.  Thanks to all the dedicated heroes of WCP. There have been many records of pictorial findings throughout the snow leopard ranges, but to me at least, three individuals captured on a single shot in a  camera trap is probably the first one ever (pardon me if I have missed any from others parts of the world).

And that is how snow leopards survive in the KINGDOM of BHUTAN and Bhutan is  a special place for HIMALAYAN KINGS.”

Thanks for sharing your story, Lhendup, and we wish you and your Park colleagues and all snow leopard partner NGO’s good luck for this work. Bhutan has a wonderful record of environmentalism and conservation and it is awesome to see snow leopards thriving there.

Records of Tigers at High altitude in Bhutan

I would like to thank Mr. Karma Jigme for this successful attempt.

Dedicated to Tigers and people living in Central Bhutan

I post this paper on my blog to thank my Professor David Macdonald, CBE, University of Oxford for all his support, guidance and blessings. 

KADRINCHE LA (THANK YOU SIR)

My lens on birds

With the leading Snow leopard expert on the planet.

My fortune: A moment with the leading Snow leopard expert on the planet, Dr. Rodney Jackson at Bishkek, Kyrgyztan during the snow leopard forum 2013. Dr. Rodney is also the Executive Director for the Snow leopard Conservancy.