Thimphu / ཐིམ་ཕུ

Thimphu - the capital 'city' of Bhutan. In the mid-eighties there were 15 000 people living here, now there are 100 000. It's starting to feel the pressures of urbanisation already, with some 'incidents' involving youth and knives. And with the relatively recent opening up of the country to television and internet without any censorship whatsoever,the pressures of consumerism are inevitably starting to be felt, especially by the teenagers.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the kind of rubbish we in the west promulgate on the airways has a deleterious effect on well-being in general, inculcating aspirations in the young and susceptible minded that areunrealistic and unattainable for the majority of viewers. It begins with valuing a pair of trainers over vital things like healthyfood or enriching things like new experiences. Consumer goods are designed with obsolescence in mind – the steady increase in thenumber of blades on a razor, Windows 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, fashion full-stop! The endless cycle of desire, disappointment and reneweddesire is inevitable. It smacks of a hypertrophic and out of control Samsara. At least being cool is gradually starting to be seen forwhat it really is nowadays - a sure sign of an absence of character. Big up the geeks, the nerds and the independent thinkers of the world.

I had a fascinating conversation with a government official today. I asked him if he was worried about the impact of these external forces, having noticed several articles in the Bhutanese newspapers that expressed concern. He was both sanguine and realistic about what was happening in the capital. Yes, there have been incidents, and yes the impact of television isbeing felt but it's foolish to stand in a river and hope to hold back the water. He was confident that the way the Buddhist values saturate the culture of Bhutan will lend the youth a greater resilience than your average floundering teenager has. Aside from spiritual ideals, they have amazing role models to aspire to as well, the Minister of Education being but one example of enlightened leadership.