16th July- A Special Day!

Today i.e. 16^th of July, I share a beautiful tale of a colorful and happy soul I have known for the past few years. Here is to you Miss Tshering Yangki, who is completing 23 years of sparkling reign in the hearts of her lovely family and almost four years in my life now.

Tshering Yangki

She was born to pretty mother Sonam Lhamo and handsome father Tashi Tobgay as their first child in the JDWNRH on this special day. She has grown up in the protective cocoon of her loving granny (abi) who has not left any stone un-turned ensuring her a glittering childhood. And I am told by herself only that she was the most most short-tempered baby ever…that’s so bad Yangki! Soon a younger brother came into her family which divided the love from her parents and abi. And few years later she was blessed with a younger sister who is currently serving as her secret chamber.  Being the eldest, she has imparted the justice and given the best of her to both her younger siblings and parents.

Studies were the top priority and because of this she excelled in her academics and had gathered enough marks and karma to meet a friend like me in college…lol. I still remember the first time I saw her at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in August 2013. She looked so tiny but smiled heavily and carried that abnormally heavy purple trolley. The two guys who accompanied me to the airport were completely awestruck carrying her huge trolley. So here are some of the best memories collections with her I have in words and few pictures as well:

For the first six months of our college we ate from the hostel common mess and I still remember the way we had our meals together there. I would go to the food counter with a big and small bowl and pour in the food for two people. Once on the dining table, we would insert our individual spoons and feed ourselves. Everyone noticed and knew us this way and so even the cook would tell me to take more food as two of us was eating from one bowl. Some described us as too much cute and sweet together.

Like boys, we managed to sacrifice our sleeping time and stay awake till midnight to catch up a match between our favorites: Cristano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. We had very less knowledge about the club and all those leagues but still we dared watching and entertaining ourselves with those matches.

At the Sukhna lake, Chandigarh

And how can I forget our sudden Chandigarh trip in September 2014? We abruptly planned the trip a day before and by the next day afternoon the two of us were seated in the bus at Kashmere gate which was scheduled to depart for Chandigarh. It was 8 pm when we got out of the bus at Zirakpur, Chandigarh and waited there anxiously for our friends. Once our friends reached there, we had a crazy bike ride in a completely unknown and new place.

2015, Nepal earthquake perhaps would be the most dreaded natural disaster for us. And the residents of Delhi had the most terrible nightmares due to the aftershocks we were subjected to now and then. Yangki and me too were left frightened which forced us to vacate the hostel at the earliest and took shelter somewhere else.

Once in a life time opportunity

One of the best privileges I have received and of which I am dearly thankful to her is the Dharamshala trip. Those cold rainy days under the snowy mountains and a once-in-a-life-time audience with His Holiness Dalai Lama are something I treasure massively. The Tenzhug (long-life offering) offering and having a chance to listen to the teachings from His Holiness live are forever imprinted on our hearts as the most blessed moments in our life.

The first lunch at embassy

Splashing water at the Park

Our first sightseeing: Lotus temple

At the WoW

At the KOD

Bhutanese on the stage

We had those frequent lunches at the Embassy canteen and then the most popular Sarojini Market shoppings, so many sightseeings and our adventurous visits to World of Wonders, Kingdom of Dreams, Splash Water Park and Akshardham temple. The one and only rendezvous night at Jamia Hamdard which made us present a lovely cultural item portraying our colorful flag and a unique dress code on a foreign land made us the most proud Bhutanese ever.

Evening walk at India gate

I really miss our lovely evening walk from Rashnaprati Bhavan to India gate and our grocery shoppings from Alakhnanda Market.

Those lengthy delayed train journeys had been the biggest part of our college memories. While in the train, we lost our battle to the sleep though we were very much aware of the robbery that mostly happened during the night time when the passengers slept. And this even made me remember the smelly train food we were offered and having no other option, we had to eat those foods.

Adorning with Boe-gho for a tibetan perfromance

We gave a number of performances at the embassy celebrations of our King’s Birth Anniversary and those were just the proud things we did as a Bhutanese under the reign of our visionary Monarchs.

A crazy time

All these came down to the memorable farewell night which was the official end to our college life and to us, the end of being roommates. This has been the saddest part. We couldn’t stay in that Room No: A-702 forever. It was a place in this whole world where we created so many fond memories and had done so many crazy stuffs. The only room whose walls had developed the resistance to our donkey voices as we consistently assumed ourselves to be Taylor Swift and Minzung Lhamo. The only space which was safe for the two of us to share our deepest secrets and thoughts including all our worries and fears which we could never dare to say somewhere else. So let’s take a moment to thank our kind room here.

Our lovely room

Our last trip to Alakhnanda

There seems to be so many other memories which are both funny and emotional but let me keep this till here and wish you:

Happy Birthday Yangki

Be the lovely person you are

May you be always happy and smiley…just like the first time I saw you

Love you always and forever

Tashi Chenzom