Almond Blossoms

Van Gogh writes of the weather and that the almond trees are coming into full flower, "The weather here is changeable, often windy with turbulent skies, but the almond trees are beginning to flower everywhere."

Theo wrote to his brother Vincent on January 31, 1890 to announce the birth of his son, Vincent Willem Van Gogh. As a means of celebration, Van Gogh began work on a painting for Theo and his wife. He was very close to his brother and he sought to symbolize new life in the flowers of the almond tree for the birth of baby Vincent.

Van Gogh wrote to his mother of the birth of Theo and Jo's baby,

"How glad I was when the news came... I should have greatly preferred him to call the boy after Father, of whom I have been thinking so much these days, instead of after me; but seeing it has now been done, I started right away to make a picture for him, to hang in their bedroom, big branches of white almond blossom against a blue sky."

The composition is unlike any other of Van Gogh's paintings. The branches of the almond tree seem to float against the blue sky and fill the picture plane. The close-up of the branches brings to mind Delacroix's proposition that "even a part of a thing is kind of a complete entity in itself." Dark lines outline the branches. This is a feature that Van Gogh had admired in Japanese floral studies that, for example, may depict of a portion of a stalk of bamboo in an empty space. The bright color is reflective of the paintings made in Arles and the transformational work Van Gogh had on the still life genre..

Trembling of Time

Heartless as the cold december night
She put on a brave face...
His heart cried for mercy
As it reflected through the sadness in his eyes
The high cheek bones of weariness
Were his only outlook...

Her eyes dropped tears
In constant with the falling rain outside
With feelings of hopelessness
And stirred emotions
He was all she ever knew.
Even though the future seemed distant
She strongly believed in him
And the love she had for him
Which he would never find out...

But,
He thought of her as a miserable witch
Who did nothin but castes spells
Stole his heart and then threw it away.
To him she was heartless, emotionless
And selfish all by nature...
Somehow he still hadn't understood her
After all these years!!!

What he didn't know was that she was very different.
Kind hearted, gentle, thoughtful and caring.
Every night before she slept
she always thought of him and prayed
With longing-ness to be in his arms...
But he locked himself in a tower
That stood high above the rest
And further away from everyone especially her...

With next January she grew tired of his games
As frail as the barren oak trees
And as leafless as the evergreen ones
She needed him to stay strong
But he pushed himself away
Unable to understand the person she is
And soon after he took his own life
Not realizing it caused hers to follow too!

C'est La Vie

Four hours passes as dawn slowly broke
No love nor happiness
Dull as the shivering grey morning
The skies cried for clarity
As tunes on the radio went silent
With patient waiting
And no room for change
All ignites for hope was (((lost)))
With stolen promises
and refusal to rekindle old flames
Darkness stood bolder than ever
Until the first dew was formed
Was there ever a choice?
Like the soft petals of a rose
No sunshine nor rain
Would ever know of the pain
As Feelings and time stood still.

Fast Lane

Greatness is what is yet to come...
And only I myself can fool me

((((((Everyone can be sad))))))

Even though the green light blinked
I know wasnt ready to go...
This is just the way it is
So I drove away even faster~

I dug the deepest pit
And dived right into it
Knowing what lay ahead
As I just wanted to be happy

"What would you want me to be?
I want you to be good to yourself!
Why do you need me so much?
I need you because only you matter!..."

Thus falling deeper and deeper into this pool of darkness

I fell knowing you wanted me more and more!
But I'm stuck here in this dark hole
With no answers
leaving you even more clueless than you already are...


I see this life going steady .. 
Not in need of anything and
Not in want of anything either
Just pure simplicity with happiness


Do you promise to keep me happy?

Melancholic Raindrops

The endless downpour sparked creativity within
Laziness suddenly overcome by ideas
Spontaneous and mindless...
Ignorant of the consequences for 'if'

The ride was slightly bumpy
Not because of the road
But the emotions that yet again stirred
One week, two weeks and even three
Time didn't matter any more...

The splattering of rain drops,
The swiftness of the wiper,
And a figure emerging from a far,
While the music shuffled to appeal,
Seemed all too soothing of a night.

Conversations constant in rhythm,
A journey filled with laughter.
Inquisitive as the mind may be
The answers satisfied the moment
While the rain kept pouring...

I felt happy to be amongst the star
That hadn't yet fallen...
Nor was it lonely up there
Rather the light kept on shinning
And guided me in times of darkness...

Temptations of softness,
But the end is always bitter.
Hopeful for another encounter,
When "all's well that ends well".
Perhaps another day when it pours?

My religion is Practical

Never been a religious type of person ever since i was little but that doesn't make me an atheist either.
Well the root of my beliefs set foot only once i was a bit older but that wasn't just plain Buddhism. Most often people believe that because we are born in a Buddhist country we are binded by Buddhism but that is not the case.
I studied in Bhutan till i was in Grade 4, don't have any memories of attending tsechu's or family lochay's during holy days but rather the only thing i remember till date is being taken by my Asha all over Bhutan during the holidays and weekends visiting sacred nyes and lhakhangs. This was all the religious influence i received from the family before i was sent to a convent school for a few years and then to another multicultural christian school in India until i finished grade 12.
Up until now being away from home, took me further apart from knowing what Buddhism was all about and i based all my knowledge on the practical beliefs i held and applied them where i knew it to be most appropriate. Even today, I wouldn't say i am not a religious person like some of the people my age are but i would think of myself to be more of a practical person trying to help people not through religion but with good intentions to improve their livelihood. My family was not pressuring me to attend anything here and there too which further led me away from understanding my own religion.
But now that i am back in Bhutan i promised myself to explore further into understanding and knowing Buddhism beyond what i know and to accept religion as it is and now as how i wish it to be.
A positive start henceforth!!

Yesterday, it was Drukpa Tse Zhi and along with a few office staff, we went to Dechenphodrang at 7:30 am as we all had donated money to give the monastic body there to pray for the well being of our king, country and people. Had been there just a few times as the early morning was refreshing and the scene was absolutely breath taking.

Here are some of the images from the morning:

Walk Walk Walk

Recently I started going on walks and light jogging to Sangay gang since i stopped calisthenics about a month back since mid June. It's a nice place close to where i live in Motithang and the place is quiet and serene which is ideal for walking in the evenings. You end up meeting alot of familiar faces along the way who are either brisk walking, walking their dog, jogging, running while there are also those riding their bikes panting up the path... However, i noticed that many people you tend to meet who are completely or partial strangers tend to avoid eye contact when they encounter each other while walking. 

Apparently there are three different routes to get to the top but i took the normal paved road since i wanted to test my endurance and speed. It took about 30 minutes to get to the top as this was just my second day!!! So i took pictures along the way to capture what i see to share with you all :) 

A graffiti on the stone walls in Sangaygang

Add A bend in the Road

A view of Motithang and Thimphu from top