The King’s Palace

Rahat Mahfuz

Thirteen members from Dhaka University Photographic Society (DUPS) had gone to capture the beauty of the land of the ‘Thunder Dragon’.
We started our journey to the capital city, Thimpu, after staying two days in Paro. Bhutanese guide Nima and driver Dharma were with us. The bus was running through a narrow road. The road was covered by tall mountains on one side and other side went straight down around a thousand metres. We saw the beautiful layers of mountains where clouds and the sun were creating fabulous diagrams. Some awfully excited persons had taken their heads out of the window of the bus. Camera shutters were busy at every moment.
Bhutan is known as one of the happiest countries in the world. There, everything moves clockwise. The people of the country are amazingly spiritual. They start their day by twirling the ‘prayer wheel’. There is always a mark of satisfaction on their smiling faces. The whole country looks like a decorated garden. Killing animals is forbidden there. Even they are not allowed to catch fish in rivers. Smoking in public places is punishable with six months’ jail and fine. There are no beggars there.
All buildings in Bhutan look identical. And the pictures of their king and queen are seen everywhere. Whether inside the car, billboards on the road or walls of shops, they up put a photo of the king. I understood the reason behind this infinitive love for the king later.
After reaching Thimpu, our guide Nima took us to show the palace of the king. On the way, he told us again and again, “You’ll see one of the biggest palaces in the world”. And we were just imagining about a vast palace. But we didn’t know what a surprise was waiting for us! When we stopped at a viewpoint, everybody was in a hurry to get out of the bus. The place was crowded with a lot of tourists from different parts of the world.
It was not as big as we thought, but still it was a large building. I said, “Nima, your king’s palace is really beautiful!” Nima laughed and replied, “Dear friend, are you talking about the largest building? Then you must be wrong. That is our monastery.” “Oh I see, then the next one is your king’s palace?” I said. Nima laughed again and replied, “No, that is our parliament house.” I laughed at myself then and said, “Now I get it. Your king lives in the building behind the parliament.” I was disappointed again to hear that it was their court building. Then, where was the palace of the king that is one of the biggest palaces in the world?
Nima took my camera and zoomed in on a photo. There he showed me a place between a fortress and parliament house which was totally covered by some tall trees. There was a small house there. The walls were white, sheds were deep red and there was a little minaret in yellow colour. Pointing to that house, Nima said, “Our king and queen live there. He can easily build a big palace. But he is more concerned about his people.”
I was so moved that I couldn’t talk for a while. It looked as if the small house was touching the sky from a green land. And I thought that the king with a big heart doesn’t require a massive palace. 

The Kings Palace

Rahat Mahfuz Thirteen members from Dhaka University Photographic Society (DUPS) had gone to capture the beauty of the land of the Thunder Dragon. We started our journey to the capital city, Thimpu, after staying two days in Paro. Bhutanese guide Nima and driver Dharma were with us. The bus was running through a narrow road. The road was covered by tall mountains on one side and other side went straight down around a thousand metres. We saw the beautiful layers of mountains where clouds and the sun were creating fabulous diagrams. Some awfully excited persons had taken their heads out of the window of the bus. Camera shutters were busy at every moment. Bhutan is known as one of the happiest countries in the world. There, everything moves clockwise. The people of the country are amazingly spiritual. They start their day by twirling the prayer wheel. There is always a mark of satisfaction on their smiling faces. The whole country looks like a decorated garden. Killing animals is forbidden there. Even they are not allowed to catch fish in rivers. Smoking in public places is punishable with six months jail and fine. There are no beggars there. All buildings in Bhutan look identical. And the pictures of their king and queen are seen everywhere. Whether inside the car, billboards on the road or walls of shops, they up put a photo of the king. I understood the reason behind this infinitive love for the king later. After reaching Thimpu, our guide Nima took us to show the palace of the king. On the way, he told us again and again, Youll see one of the biggest palaces in the world. And we were just imagining about a vast palace. But we didnt know what a surprise was waiting for us! When we stopped at a viewpoint, everybody was in a hurry to get out of the bus. The place was crowded with a lot of tourists from different parts of the world. It was not as big as we thought, but still it was a large building. I said, Nima, your kings palace is really beautiful! Nima laughed and replied, Dear friend, are you talking about the largest building? Then you must be wrong. That is our monastery. Oh I see, then the next one is your kings palace? I said. Nima laughed again and replied, No, that is our parliament house. I laughed at myself then and said, Now I get it. Your king lives in the building behind the parliament. I was disappointed again to hear that it was their court building. Then, where was the palace of the king that is one of the biggest palaces in the world? Nima took my camera and zoomed in on a photo. There he showed me a place between a fortress and parliament house which was totally covered by some tall trees. There was a small house there. The walls were white, sheds were deep red and there was a little minaret in yellow colour. Pointing to that house, Nima said, Our king and queen live there. He can easily build a big palace. But he is more concerned about his people. I was so moved that I couldnt talk for a while. It looked as if the small house was touching the sky from a green land. And I thought that the king with a big heart doesnt require a massive palace.