Portrait from Bhutan

On an August day in 2005 I was on my way to my work in Delaware when a brief commentary came up on the NPR station in my car. In this commentary, I heard about a country, Bhutan, whose name I new but could not have placed it on the map. Bhutan just got a new Constitution that, following the best of Western principles, would provide the familial democratic rights to its citizens. It does not stop there however. Incorporating the best of the Buddhist philosophy, it makes the government responsible for increasing the so called Gross National Happiness, on equal footage with the expected increase in GNP. Furthermore, the new law would also require the citizens of Bhutan to be good Samaritans when need arises and follow pacifist principles. A country that elevates the inner goodness of humanity to the level of law immediately captured my imagination. Where is this country? How does this GNH work in practice? How peaceful could be the nation that just accepted this apparently unique, noble Constitution?

I went to the Internet and soon found out the country’s location between India and China, on the slopes of the Himalaya Mountains. I also realized that this small Himalayan Kingdom might just be one of the most picturesque countries in the world. Until less then 10 years ago, it was practically sealed off the rest of the world but in the late 1990s they started to open up to what they call “low volume, high value” tourism. Some more search on the Net and I quickly realized that a particular photography tour promises a unique and very intimate view into the life of the Bhutanese people and the beauty of the country. My good fortune finally took me to Paro, the only airport of the country, in April of 2008. I joined a group of 16 photo enthusiasts for a 13 day cross-country tour of Bhutan. It turned out to be superb travel event for all of us seasoned travelers and literally a life altering experience for a few of us. The only thing that surpassed the breathtaking beauty of the alternating high mountain ridges and fertile valleys with their clean, rapid rivers carrying the melted snow of the high Himalaya, was the kindness and openness of its citizens. They proved to be the most photogenic people I have seen with admirable willingness and patience to stand model for our insatiably curious cameras. Being a pediatrician, I particularly enjoyed taking pictures of the endlessly entertaining children. I always thought that my photography was the weakest in portraits, but in Bhutan my best shots came from capturing fleeting, unrehearsed moments on people’s face.

While we were there, the country had its first election, following the King’s abdicating his throne and calling for a democratic government. I thought that the King was forced to do this but in fact he himself had to lobby the country to accept the democratically elected government. All Bhutanese I talked to agreed that their current King is great and highly respected. However, he argued that one day a less than noble King may turn his power to some less than noble cause. He wanted to avoid this danger by securing the people’s approval of governments with time limited mandate. The country is poor and has its share of problems. The Buddhist peace loving and unimaginable tolerance however kept this small nation on the right track for centuries and hopefully will do so now, that its political system is being revitalized by a potentially benevolent Western invention, called democracy. Perhaps this tiny nation will show the rest of the world, how to get the full benefit out of this millennia old Western heritage. Until then, Bhutan will remain a paradise for those few lucky photo enthusiasts who can visit it.

For a 10 min slide show of this trip click here