ANG TSHERING LAMA

A SHERPA'S RENDEZVOUS WITH BHUTAN HIMALAYAS

- Subhasish Chakraborty

As a much-published travel writer, I hope to awaken the spirit of wanderlust and the global attention that Bhutan is right now receiving for its revolutionary stance on "Gross National Happiness" instead of the more acceptable "Gross Domestic Product" by introducing the thoughts and opinions of a legendary Himalayan Sherpa - Ang Tshering Lama, who knows the Himalayas by the tip of his fingers.

I have known Ang since my childhood days in India's remote North Eastern state of Assam. He has summited Mt. Everest multiple times and holds to his credit the mantle of conducting the world's highest rescue mission on Mt. Everest in the year 2017.

According to Ang, who himself is a diehard Buddhist - "Bhutan has for a long time been following the policy of "Isolationism" in its attempts to safeguard traditional Bhutanese culture. As a Sherpa, it fills my heart with joy when I see a small Himalayan kingdom putting Happiness in front rather than Capitalism. This not only requires guts to implement but also speaks volumes about the moral backbone of Bhutanese society. Tomorrow if Bhutan were to open up its tourism sector to globalization, the country for sure will be earning Megabucks from day one, given the plethora of unexplored mountain peaks and the intrinsic Himalayan landscapes that remain an enigma for today's discerning international traveller".

Well then, that's pretty Sherpa-like, ain't it? - pragmatic, no-nonsense and to the point.