A Bhutanese GDP chartTHE national sales pitch of Bhutan sounds oddly boastful for a shy mountain kingdom. “Happiness is a place,” it declares. But for the numerologically obsessed citizens of this Switzerland-sized country squashed between India and China, happiness may also be a time. This year happens to be not only the 400th anniversary of Bhutan’s creation as an independent state, but also the most auspicious point in the 60-year cycle of Bhutanese astrology: the Year of the Fire Male Monkey marks the birth anniversary of the country’s patron saint, Guru Rinpoche, a powerful 8th-century mystic who conquered demons and spread Buddhism across the Himalayas.
This year also began with the best of news for the 750,000 Bhutanese: the birth of a male heir to Jigme Khesar Wangchuck, the fifth in the line of Druk Gyalpos or Dragon Kings. Loyal subjects, which is to say just about everyone, now beam that they have not one but three kings: the reigning monarch, who is 36, his baby son Jigme Namgyel, and also the fourth king, Jigme Singye. The king-father, as he is known, ruled the country for 34 years, gently steering Bhutan...Continue reading
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