From a Gomchen to a Graduate
Eighteen years ago, a nine years old boy was admitted to community school by his then fourteen years old sister. Barefoot, shirtless, pant-less with only second-hand gho wrapped around, the boy had to walk for hours to get to the semi-permanent school run by headmaster whose qualification was less than matriculation and taught by temporary teachers mainly class ten students from Mongar High School. Some of them would keep us upside with legs leaning on the wall. Of all brutal punishments, the one punishment that rushed to fore of my memory was incident where we are asked who did we love. On refusal, the temporary teacher would make us jump from staked bench, almost up from the class room beams to floor. The landing would give painful vibration on legs later while walking home. This story was set in 1994 in a remote village called Jurmey under Mongar. A year earlier, the boy was projected to be a named gomchen just like his grandfather who died attending death and life rituals of