The Layap's Hospitality
This post is
long overdue. I visited Laya in April and I have been meaning to write about it
for such a long time. But somehow, I couldn’t. It seems absurd that my
excitement of it did not burst beyond the normal routine that ate up my time.
Anyway….
My office, the
Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH Research began its 2015 nation wide GNH
Survey in January 2015. There were six survey teams: each team comprised of 11
enumerators, three drivers and one supervisor and one assistant supervisor. My
team went to Samtse, Samdrup Jongkhar, Tashigang, Punakha and Gasa dzongkhags. The
survey questionnaire was revised and it was shortened to 147 questions from 249
questions from 2010 survey questionnaire. But it still took 1 and half hours on
average to complete one interview. I will not repeat the nine domains of GNH
and any other aspects. For those of you who are interested more in GNH, please
visit www.grossnationalhappiness.com
We were in Gasa
district towards the end of March. The Layaps move to Gasa to escape the harsh
winter in Laya and settle there for a few months – also witnessing the annual
Gasa Tshechu. Towards April, most of them go back. It was because of this
coincidence that my survey team could contact many of the respondents’
household in Gasa and only five of us had to go to Laya to interview those
households who had already returned.
We teamed up
with the election commission’s team that was going to Laya to conduct the
election of Tshogpa. However, we gave up the hope to get to Laya on the same
day like them. We took eight hours to reach a place called Koina (originally
called the Ku nye sa – the place to take rest – it is at this place that Zhabdrung
Ngawang Namgyal took rest on his way to Bhutan from Tibet. There is a chair
like stone near the river where Zhabdrung rested). The government of Bhutan has constructed a
small one storeyed guesthouse at this place run by a government paid caretaker.
Everyone moving between Laya and Gasa take rest here – while some stop only for
lunch or tea and snacks, others like us stop to halt a night. The caretaker is
from Laya and he was in RBA. His wife is from Tsho Tshalo in Samdrup Jongkhar
and they make quite a home there for the travellers. Despite our tiredness, our
mood lightened up and felt doubly welcomed when we were joined by a group of
Layaps – among whom two were our respondents from the previous day. Quite
naturally, we felt akin to them and we shared the resources for dinner – in
fact, it was them who gave us their ration, including cheese, which is a rare
specialty when we have to travel on a long journey.
The guesthouse
had enough blankets to fight the cold and we had a good night. The next morning,
we left at 8 a.m. and reached Laya at around 4 p.m. By the regular traveller’s
standard, we had walked at a snail’s pace but we were quite happy we made it. We
packed lunch and ate on the way by a stream, sitting in the light drizzle. We
hardly enjoyed the lunch but we had to eat to keep ourselves strong for the
journey. We were served tea by the RBA stationed before reaching Laya called
the Tashi Makhang. Those of you who are travelling to Laya for the first time
must be aware that you need a letter (called the pass) and you have to show it
to the person on duty at this army camp.
After two days,
it is at this place that you get the mobile signal. All of us called home to
inform that we had no problem on the journey and would be reaching Laya in two
hours. In reality, we took longer and before we reached the village, it started
to snow and we stepped into our destination cold and unsure of what the
tomorrow would be like.
But, the Gewog ADM, who happened to be related to me through marriage, was very kind and arranged everything for us.
The second
morning greeted us with a blanket of snow around us. We all felt jubilant by
the sight and we went on with our work despite the difficulty it posed for us.
After two days
in Laya, we went to Lugo, two hours walk from Laya village. We put up with our
respondent we met in Koina called Aum Pego. She is by nature talkative and
opens up easily and that is why we felt comfortable with her from the start.
All of us put up at her house in Lugo and while there, we also went to her
sister in-law’s house who treated us with tea and gave us chugo (dried cheese)
on parting. What will surprise you is their hospitality and the resources. They
have packed rice, blankets, mattresses and grocery items stacked up against the
wall to the ceiling. They surely would survive in the times of calamity.
Aum Pego had
sought help from one of the teachers (Dzongkha teacher) from her community
school to prepare dinner and breakfast for us. They had also packed our lunch
for the day’s journey. The house is usually not partitioned and all of us slept
in a line in the room. She is two years younger to me but has three children
already and seems strong and hardened by life. At dinner, what I noticed was
that, contrary to her, her husband is quiet and sits next to her without much
to add, while she talks almost exuberantly and flirtatiously to the teacher who
had come to help prepare our dinner. She told us that he usually helps her household
in cooking during the times of annual rimdro and other big gatherings.
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| Laya Village |
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| Preparation of dinner at Aum Pego's house |
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| At the Gewog Guesthouse |
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| Snow greeting us on the second day |
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