Gelay's view

The Big Buddha Statue in Thimphu

August 23, 2010

The big statue of the Buddha under construction at Kuensel Phodrang overlooking Thimphu is 51.5 meters tall, making it the 17th tallest Buddha statue in the world. The tallest in the world is the Spring Temple Buddha in China at 128 meters. The 20 million USD statue once completed will be a major attraction for Buddhists.

The big Buddha is the statue of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Fire in Haa Bazaar

November 18, 2009

Today a fire in Haa bazaar destroyed 4 houses leaving many famalies without anything. The fire which started at about 1 in the afternoon was finally brought under control at about 4. After the fire I spoke to one of the victims, Mr. Gopinathan, who lost everything. Mr. Gopinathan is from Kerala, and he has lived in the same house for 14 years. In-fact his eldest daughter was born in the same house. His daughter has exams tomorrow.

The smoke from the fire in Haa bazaar as seen from a distance.

The Descending Day of Lord Buddha

November 9, 2009

Today is the descending day of the Lord Buddha. History says that Lord Buddha was born in Lumbini, Nepal, and his mother expired after 7 days. Therefore 6 years after attaining enlightenment at the age of 41, he ascended to heaven on the 15th day of the 6th month of the lunar calender to preach to his mother.

When he was preaching his mother along with gods and goddesses in heaven, people on earth were worried because they did not know where Buddha was. Then, Buddha’s disciple, the clairvoyant Sharibu, had a vision of the lord to be in heaven.

Following the request of all the devotees, another disciple of Lord Buddha, Mao gyel ge bu, who was known to possess miraculous powers, ascended to heaven on the 15th day of the ninth month of the lunar calender and requested Buddha to return to earth.

Lord Buddha descended to earth on the 22nd day of the 9th month. The descending day of Lord Buddha is a celebration of his return to earth from heaven.

Butter lamp offerings in front of a giant statue of the Buddha in the Thimphu Tashichhodzong.

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Thimphu Chorten in the Morning

November 6, 2009

The other day I had to meet someone at the Thimphu Chorten. I was early, so I took some shots of the Thimphu Chorten. The sky was magnificent – there is something about the sky in November. I grew up in this neighborhood, and when I was a kid, we used to play hide and seek (ku-ku) here. Of course back then, the Chorten looked very different. Enjoy the HDRs.

Thimphu Chorten at 8 AM on the 5th of November, 2009.

Posted in Photography | Tagged HDR, Picture Story | 4 Comments

Aftermath of an Earthquake in Eastern Bhutan

November 5, 2009

An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale occurred at 14:53 local time, 08:53 UTC, on September 21, 2009 in the eastern region of Bhutan. The epicenter was situated in Mongar. Mongar is about 200 k east of the capital city Thimphu. More than 2,543 households from 47 gewogs in the 6 eastern districts of Mongar, Trashigang, Trashiyantse, Lhuentse, Pemagatshel and Samdrup Jongkhar were effected. The earthquake claimed the lives of 12 people.

Remains of the Thnagrong Lhakhang.

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Third Day of the Thimphu Tshechu

October 8, 2009

Thimphu Tshechu is a popular Bhutanese festival which takes place in the fall. Spread over a 4 day period, the Thimphu Tshechu attracts thousands of people, both local and international tourist. The Tshechus are religious in nature. Masked dances are performed depicting popular themes from the Buddhist mythology and folklore. This year, the Thimphu Tshechu was held from 27 – 30 September.

The mask dances are performed to the music played by these monks.

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Thank You Guys

October 2, 2009

Thank you guys for all the lovely birthday wishes. I had a great day. A very good day at work. And a very good game of basketball. And just before I called it a day, Tintin and Dechen came looking for me with this beautiful cake. Thanks. I get my first birthday cake at 33.

Gelay is a photographer, tour guide, mountain biker and a web developer in Bhutan.