The stage is set in a traditional Bhutanese living room format for the Bhutan Echoes - Drukyul’s Literature Festival Bhutan Echoes in Thimphu, where locals say, families share stories. This year’s theme is “Enlighten, Evolve, and Evoke”, with the festival taking place in between the artsy valleys where mountains are covered by clouds.
The multicoloured paintings in the traditional architecture — showcase the scenic views of Bhutan — from every single window. Be it the river, mountains, or the different monasteries. While the panels and walls have symbols of wisdom imprinted on them, the carpet features — the sun and moon — symbolising feminine and masculine energy, respectively. A traditionally carved table also makes it to the set.
The Queen Mother of Bhutan, Gyalyum Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck is the chief patron of the festival. She inaugurated the it at the Royal University of Bhutan, after lighting the butter lamp. The festival will take place from August 3-5.
In the first royal address, the queen emphasised the importance of cultural preservation and highlighted how art and culture shape Bhutanese identity. Her speech was a call to cherish and nurture Bhutan’s rich heritage. She also revealed exciting plans for the festival’s international expansion, aiming to put Bhutan on the global map for arts, literature, and culture by showcasing the country’s immense talent.
As the sessions began, the queen talked about the Bhutanese belief system about reincarnation, in conversation with Meru Gokhale, a writer and publisher. As audiences raise their hand, many are sceptical, if they believe in reincarnation — at all.
The morning was followed by the launch of Binod Chaudhary’s book — Making It Big. Mr. Chaudhary is a Nepalese businessman and a politician who is chairperson and president of the Chaudhary Group — which owns the popular instant noodle brand, Wai Wai. In his book, he talks about how his entire life was planned, as he was set to leave for India, to become a chartered accountant, however, due to his father’s ailments, he had to run the family business. In a conversation with novelist and columnist, Shobhaa De, he says, “that is when my entire life changed overnight.”
The day featured several conversations around the Bhutanese identity, where Dr. Dorji Wangchuk, an engineer, communication scholar and educator by profession, who loves dogs, was in conversation with Phub Dorji, who runs a digital start-up, discuss how the Bhutanese identity navigates in the digital age.
Drawing examples and insights from his PhD dissertation, Dr. Wangchuk says, there are three communities in Bhutan — the traditional, virtual, and hybrid communities. He says, “Striding between tradition and technology, between collectivism and individualism, and between money and meaning, is the hybrid community.” He speaks. the traditional Bhutanese identity is an interdependent self, which consists of a personal self, social self, and a spiritual self.
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