and its central bank “has stopped replenishing commercial banks with INR needed to pay for imports from India, as a radical measure to curb rupee spending that threatens to balloon to crisis levels”, says a report in a local daily.
It then describes the woes of commercial banks which are unable to make rupee remittances for Indian imports. And this landlocked country of breathtaking beauty depends almost entirely on Indian imports for most of its needs.
For Bhutan, a young democracy where the first election took place only in 2008, but where the King (King 5 as the present one is called) continues to be revered, India as an esteemed neighbour and names such as Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and now Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, are taken with both respect and affection. “India helps us a lot and we are very grateful to it,” smiles the bubbly, ebullient Karma, our guide, the best possible advertisement of the tiny kingdom's proud emphasis on the Gross National Happiness (GNH) rather than the GDP.
This is evident as the small ATR of Druk Air, which flies to the Paro international airport only from Kolkata and Delhi five times a week – no Indian carrier operates flights to Bhutan yet – has a group of 15 accountants who had come for a week's training to Kolkata, some public servants, also here for training, and a couple of others who had attended an RTI conference in Bangalore. A smiling Bhutanese man readily swaps seats with me so I can get a window seat to get a glimpse of the magnificent snow-capped Everest peaks during the flight. Your introduction to typical Bhutanese architecture with gently tapering walls, classic lines and the central theme which is religious, is the beautiful Paro airport, where, like in almost all buildings in Bhutan, yellow and ochre are the predominant colours.
We are a group of journalists visiting the country on an invitation from Taj Tashi, a beautiful 2-acre property with 66 rooms, which started operating from 2008 and is one of the capital Thimpu's five-star properties.
An Indian can visit Bhutan even without a passport; a voter ID card or driving licence will do. The traditional mainstays of Bhutan's economy have been agriculture and livestock rearing and about 70 per cent of its 7 lakh population lives on subsistence farming. The main crops are rice, barley, millets, buckwheat, vegetables and of course chilli. When it comes to a spicy diet, the Bhutanese can give us Indians a run for our money. It is a common sight to see lots of chillies drying on the terraces/attics of Bhutanese homes. With traditional Bhutanese cuisine – delicious red rice served with meat and tons of vegetables – invariably a pungent red chilli paste is served to pep up the food.
At one such traditional Bhutanese dinner at the Taj Tashi, Damcho Rinzin, Media and Marketing Officer, Tourism Council of Bhutan, tells me that export of hydro-power to India and tourism are the two highest revenue getters for Bhutan. “We want to expand tourism, but only high-end tourism”. Till now, this land of mesmerising beauty, unspoilt culture and a natural, inherent charm into which a certain innocence is interwoven, is left untouched by all the evils that a large influx of mass tourism brings into any country.
Bhutan, an expensive destination, is now targeting the upper-end Indian travellers to boost its economy. The American and Japanese tourists, followed by Indians, are the mainstay of its tourism industry. While western tourists have to pay a daily fee of $250, from which their accommodation, transport, food cost can be adjusted, for Indians there is no such tax. “But non-Indians who pay this tax don't mind when we tell them that 15 per cent of this fee goes towards welfare measures for our population,” says Karma, the guide.
These welfare measures include free education and health care; the brightest students get full scholarship to pursue professional course in either India, US or Australia. Those with complicated diseases fly into Kolkata and then to CMC, Vellore, and other hospitals for medical treatment for which the Bhutanese government picks up the tab.
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