National_Geographic_Traveller_India-May_2018

BHUTAN

MAY 2018 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA 131

EYESWIDEOPEN/CONTRIBUTOR/GETTY IMAGES NEWS/GETTY IMAGES

(MARKET),

NIGEL PAVITT/AWL IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

(TAKIN)

Clock Tower Square simply to be outdoors, albeit with smart-
phones in tow.
Yet, globalisation has subtly crept in, which explains the ris-
ing popularity of snooker. At the end of long work days, men
gather at Thimphu’s many snooker bars, guzzling the local
Red Panda beer and betting on games. Locals are dressed in
trendy western casuals at these watering holes, which
is a marked difference from the traditional garb I
see everyone—including Sajan and our driver,
Ram—wearing.
Sajan wears the knee-length gho, a wo-
ven robe tied at the waist with a belt, while
women wear the ankle-length kira, a silk
or cotton jacket or blouse with an ankle
length woven skirt. “I sometimes see it as
a funny way to differentiate between those
with jobs and those without,” he quips on
our way to the National Textile Museum
in Thimphu.
The three-storey building is an introduction
to weaving, an industry and art form widely
patronised by the women of the royal family. One
floor is dedicated to festive clothing and garments worn
by the royals: weaves of fine silks and the softest wool. The
designs—nature motifs, mandalas and mythical creatures—are
detailed and intricate. Every region has its own style of clothing,
all created from appliques, embroidery and woven fabric in vivid
colours and fine threads of gold. I recognise the embroidered
patterns and appliques as designs I have seen on the king’s
boots in photographs from his 2011 wedding ceremony. “That’s

right, applique and embroidery is largely ceremonial and in the

past was done only by men. A man’s education was considered

incomplete if he did not learn these arts.” I would have been

happy to hear this when I was struggling with sewing in

extracurricular classes. The weaving industry employs a large

number of women but to a large extent, even today, as in the

past, men make the more elaborate thangkas.

Thimphu can also be called Bhutan’s art capital.

Modern galleries like Voluntary Artists Studio

Thimphu (VAST) work with local artists

and provide a platform for contemporary

works in Bhutan. On the other hand, the

city’s design schools are the ideal place

to see Bhutan’s handicrafts, from brass

Buddha figurines, colourful demonic

masks in papier-mâché and wood to

Thimphu’s famous handmade paper.

“The technique is similar to the

Japanese [paper-making] one. The paper

is made from the bark of the daphne plant,

but the plant takes a long time to grow and

the process is tedious. The paper is beautiful

but expensive.” The Junshi Paper Factory, part of an

industry that only began in the 1990s, is in a small warehouse.

The process of creating the paper is long drawn and non-

mechanical. The strong smell of daphne barks being boiled

irritates my nostrils as I watch workers use wooden frames and

bamboo mats to press the mush into sheets. They are dried to

produce the delicate final product—coarse paper with delicate

designs of pressed petals and ferns. Leaving the store, I have

Thimphu can also be called Bhutan’s art capital. Its markets and design schools showcase the country’s best art and handicrafts;
Though it looks like a mix of goat and cow, the national animal takin (b ot to m), is genetically closer to sheep.