Back to the mountains

It’s been over two month and fortnight’s time since I set foot on my own soil after what it seems like ages. I can’t believe my close to 3 year stay in foreign land would come by this quick that it appears like a blink of an eye. Notwithstanding its swift passage, I believe I had some of the finest moments- meeting people from different walks of life, getting mentored by experts, making memories with like-minded ones and walking the extra mile to discover myself more. So, in the truest sense I have abundantly lived my version of Japanese dream.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep
(By Robert Frost)

Now that I am back, there is nothing better than calling a place hearth and home. In saying so, my narrating here- the Japanese experience and Bhutanese one- solely shuns the which-is-the-better-of-two question. By all odds, both are unique in their own ways unconditionally deserving of the highest admirations.  Thus, the account here solely orbits around my thrill of coming back to the land of happiness after having been out in the land of rising sun relentlessly chasing my academic aspirations.

Otherwise, in spending a lengthy time outside, I am floored that the Bhutanese in me has emerged more refined than ever before. I have come to wonder if it takes going out to realise how much of a Bhutanese a Bhutanese is. Then I concur, without a trace of doubt, that it did take going out a long time to grasp how much of a Bhutanese I have become over the course of last couple of years. Put in other words, the Japanese way of life I was adapted to had churned out the best version of Bhutanese in me.

However, it is no denying that I have tremendously longed for home in between. There were always these upfront feelings- of mountains, bird chirpings, wild brooks and laid-back way of life back home- which had me occasionally soak in deep trance. It had dawn on me that I’d largely taken things for granted. And it is quite jocular it took miles of distance away from home to digest all these small things. As expected, it came at the cost of time and money. I had to pay for it since the idea of free lunch barely existed. Spot-on, in one of my sightseeing expeditions I was charged to walk into a bamboo forest. How it rings true that you only know your lover when you let her go.

Today as I try to catch up with my everyday work, I realise life has remained all the more same- whether living in fast lane or high up in the mountains. When I was away, since I had a tied-up schedule, I thought I would be quite cosy in my work place. But unlike those yesteryears, freezing the ticking hands of time has almost become non-existent. A simple get together with a colleague next door would require painstakingly calculated free time.

If not, in silently celebrating my arrival back home- I feel a singular sense of joy for being able to connect with the mountains and hills yonder right from the comfort of my bed room.