Tashi Dendup's Profile

This book is a compilation of facts and information about Bhutan. What makes this book spectacular is its collection of high-quality photography. I got a chance to flip through it when my school received one copy thereof.

If only our history textbooks are as good as this. I loved it and I got to know more about it when the author himself talked about it as a guest on Radio Valley 99.9. The clip is still available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nq1-OHOQ5w and I strongly feel that whoever reads this book needs to listen to what he has to say. You not only understand the nuances of the book more, but also appreciate it all the more.

Besides, I am this book will also serve as a prepping material for the graduates sitting for RCSC or just anyone who needs to take a peek into the Bhutanese history or simply brush your history knowledge on Bhutan.

I first met the writer at the "Writer's Convention" organised by the Samtse College of Education. And after a year to two, I was placed in her school and that was the only time I met her again. She gifted me a signed copy of this book (my maiden author-signed book) and as a poetry-lover myself, I couldn't hold myself from checking out the verses immediately. I loved them. A beautiful work of poemification.

Our version of the Harry Potter series. I took a handful of books to the class for sale on madam Chador's behalf and poof, all the books were gone. I couldn't even keep a copy for myself. It was so considerate of her to send me one later (signed). And coming to the story, my students were like, "There's no ending!" :D I had a hard time convincing them that writers employ a variety of devices to narrate their stories and that was probably one of them, done purposely (and purposefully) by the author.

I got to know Nawang sir through this book. Since then, I have been constantly reading his write-ups on social media and on his blog. His hiatus in Perth seemingly prefigures that he's going to breathe out more books in the future when he finds ample time to do what he does best. Looking forward to that, sir. Cheers!

More than reading it myself, I enjoyed reading it aloud to my students back then when I was still an English language teacher. It's an exquisite book penned by Azhi; it takes us back to a part of Bhutan history that our students do no get to learn in their history classes. I feel every young Bhutanese should leaf through the pages of this book and get to know our history more.

Now who hasn't read this? When I ask youngsters to name the novels they've read, the non-readers proudly say, "DAWA". I read it one evening in 2007 at my relative's house in Dagana. I was headed for my school as a teacher apprentice the next morning. So I needed to sleep early but this book kept me wide awake through the night. One reason also is because the book belonged to them and I knew I cannot take it. So I made sure I completed it before I left. Perhaps, it is this book that gave birth to my reading habits; I just came out of high school then as a not-so-much-of-a-reader. In my eight-month-long stay in a far off rural school, cut out from the rest of the world, I immersed myself in books and travelled the world through them. What a memory!

Read it in one sitting a long time ago. I liked it a lot coming from a young budding writer back then. I'm sure she must have matured a lot by now in terms of her writing finesse. And I am sure she will inspire thousands of children to pick up writing now that she's a teacher.