Thursday, October 17, 2013

Our Cultural Ambassador

Last night, I was You-tubing and I came across our very own Sonam Dorji, popularly Kheng Sonam Dorji. I was browsing for the videos on Mountain Echoes and I came across the videos from TED x Thimphu. I could see Sok Sian Pek Dorji’s talk on the role of media in a GNH driven society and followed by the video of Kheng Sonam. I am sorry this TED Ex program took place in Thimphu but I could only find it out last night.

I watched this video and I got moved by his presentation. The fact that music and dance has on our culture is quite amazing, as preservation and promotion of culture is one of the pillars of GNH. I have been working for the last six years in Kheng and I have heard about the popular folk song, “Bumoi Karma Wangzom”. It was after I watched this video that this popular song which is sung throughout the Lower Kheng, was composed by Kheng Sonam Dorji at the age of 15.

He embodies the real Bhutanese art and he is doing a great job documenting the folk culture of Bhutan before Globalization sweeps it from the face of the earth. Please do watch the video and I am sure you will not be disappointed. Therefore it is needless to say that Kheng Sonam can be our cultural ambassador to the world. We want more of such people in Bhutan to show that our cultural vitality is our pride. This is who we are and it should remain that way for eternity. 
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11 comments:

  1. Nawang P PhuntshoOctober 17, 2013 at 10:50 AM

    Except for his artificial English accent, I like everything about this man and have a great admiration and respect for him. He is an icon and inspiration for many! Thanks for the post Lobzang!

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    1. SogyelOctober 17, 2013 at 11:15 AM

      hahha,,,,like many bhutanese he got his artificial accent..:P

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  2. Lobsang Nima October 17, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    Yes, sounds a bit artificial, judging by his kheng accent, I am pretty sure he must be from the Lower Kheng region........

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  3. SogyelOctober 17, 2013 at 11:12 AM

    wow ...i heard that Kheng SD is been documenting the folk musics from my friends who work with him. Its great that he would be able to preserve it. Feels proud that being a khengpa, some khengpa doro is being projected and believed as such thing called cultural ambassador...

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  4. Lobsang Nima October 17, 2013 at 11:19 AM

    Sogyel,
    That is a nice thing to say and Thank you for the comments but it's a new thing for me that you too belong to Kheng....

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  5. AnonymousOctober 17, 2013 at 4:44 PM

    I heard that muta and moya song aired by BBS radio many years ago as a kid. As soon as people back in my village talked about Kheng Sonam Dorji, they used to remember this song first. And his songs are very popular with the village folks. Yeah, a real cultural ambassador! Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Lobsang Nima October 18, 2013 at 9:30 AM

    Thank you for the comments, we should appreciate him, otherwise, the generation today rejoice in imported music and imitate them...

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  7. Rupa GurungOctober 25, 2013 at 2:26 PM

    Thank you for sharing Lobzang sir, (y) for him!!
    greeting Rupa.

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  8. Lobsang Nima October 28, 2013 at 12:09 AM

    I couldn't find any other .....Rupa KK Gurung

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  9. AnonymousAugust 13, 2014 at 11:44 AM

    Hi guys it is great pleasure to overcome some of your comments her in the blog.
    I absolutely welcome all kinds of criticism from individuals and appreciated for not being modest where normally we Bhutanese are.
    For me any comments plays integral part in shaping my quality as it plays constructive measure in my life, therefore I obliged all for kindly putting up opinion.
    Prior to my accent I 101 % agree it will definitely for Bhutanese, it sounds more than artificial but in one way it really served the purpose since mission of this TEDx was to introduce the Bhutanese musical culture to worldwide audience which beyond the Bhutanese listeners.
    To be frank, it took me three months to get this artificial English accent under the trainer/mentor Jane Hancock of USA, California. The training was funded by TEDx organizer since Asian English is not always understandable for the western audience and now I am having hard to get back to normal Bhutanese style which I felt is serious problem and I predicted I will be always blamed for artificial accent further.

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    1. Lobsang Nima August 14, 2014 at 1:02 PM

      Thanks Mr. Kheng Sonam that you responded to the write up here. I know some of the comments are just off the mark. Thanks for responding to this and however, this was not intended to defame you and I wrote this pure out of the passion for writing and letting the youth know about this TEDx festival.....

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