The obligations of life in city

 As journey continues with my life, there are more obligations to fulfill. When I was in the school to college days, my obligation was to pass exams, qualify for college and come out with a degree. When I completed my degree, I was obliged to pass and qualify for the civil servants, so that I become somebody in the society and make my parents proud of me. I was able to fulfill these
obligations without much problem by the god’s graces and wishes from everyone.

Now I am in a job and my obligation is different. The first one is to stand on my own feet. I have siblings still studying and as an elder, I am obliged to help them and assist my parents both financially and logistically.

But the first assignment for me is to get settled myself.  To do that, I have to find a house, procure necessities to start with. These necessities include the kitchen utensils to bedroom needs to few basic leisure items like television, stereo etc. One of the most difficult tasks is to find a house at reasonable price as I open my new chapter.

Finding a house in a city like Thimphu is almost impossible. With the huge rural-urban migration and more people coming to the capital for better life makes our life even harsher. The smallest apartment with a single room at the attic of any building cost not less than Nu. 3000. Most of these attics lack the basic amenities like proper restroom, continuous water supply, decent kitchen and proper ventilation in the apartment. But tenant have no other means than to reside. The Charles Darwin’s theory of survival of fittest is applied here. If we are not competent we are bound to be eliminated from the group. The process of natural selection starts here and screens the unwanted ones and keeps that best suited and adapted to the environment. Many people today describe that finding a wife in Thimphu is far easier than finding a small apartment. That is true as far as people living here are concerned.  

The Tenancy Act of Kingdom of Bhutan 2004 has been there for the last six years and it is still in the dormancy and it has never been enforced. It is a white elephant for the tenants. No house owner gives a damn to it because they can always find another one to occupy their apartment. So for these people there is no need to compromise and listen to their tenants or need of such Act.

Once we get house, then it is the turn for the shopkeepers and vegetable venders to hammer us. Most of these people are rude and client unfriendly besides overcharging their customers with a lot of lame excuses.

All these make our life more complex and harsh vibe to lead a happy life. In short, the essence of Gross National Happiness loses its charm in this context. The age old tradition of hospitality and the essence of extended family are getting slowly diluted and degraded. The people are now becoming more materialistic. In the process, the life in a city is perplexed in predicament. In other words, the greed and selfish grows more and more strong as we continue to live in the world of urban. These are some of the most prominent impacts of modernization and urbanization.

No matter what is the condition of the life, we have no other alternative path than to take the one travelled by everyone. That is the fact of life and everyone who falls on this path is ought to follow the rest of the life. So shall I have to because I am made to travel the same path and overcome the struggle to lead a decent life.