Detour to school
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Monday, October 12, 2009
The drayang culture
People agree that the scenario at Thimphu drayangs has improved since they have been legalised but people have shown concerns about the youths that they attract. These musical entertainment bars employ a lot of people, especially female entertainers,
some of them as young as 16.
Some of the owners running the drayangs are concerned about their employees and make it a point to drop the girls home. Some owners also have laid down strict rules for their employees, such as not being allowed to drink alcohol with the customers.
However, there are always some loopholes.
Entertaining in drayangs has been seen as an easy job to make easy money. The female
entertainers are sometimes abused and harassed by customers within or outside the drayangs.
Female entertainers are mostly employed to attract customers and the owners say that with girls around, the number of customers increases.
Sources say that some of these female entertainers go out with the customers after their work hours. According to Chimi, an entertainer,some of the entertainers
in her drayang have regular customers. And toearn more she has seen some of her friends willing to go out with the customers after work.
“The problem is not just for the entertainers but also the kind of crowd these drayangs attract,” said Tashi, a private firm employee.In the area she stays, there are three drayangs and she is disturbed most of the nights. “It is either the music from the drayang or the youth who linger around after the drayangs are closed,” she said.
She remembers an incident where she could not sleep well the whole night because a couple of youth were outside her building being a nuisance. “I looked from the window and the children were very young to be outside at that odd hour,” she said.
An owner of a drayang said that he has various age groups of customers coming
in. He said that at times, when smaller children come in, he does not entertain them but most of the time he is not aware of the age of his customers.“Children these days look older than their age,” he added.
Zangpo and his friends recollect seeing a group of young boys in a drayang. “There were four of them requesting songs, all of them looked like school kids,” said Zangpo.
There are people who usually go and drink in drayangs but a few others have their own reservations. “I have not been to all the drayangs but among the few I visited, it did not make a good impression so I think it is not a healthy environment for youth to be,” said Indu Gurung, who usually loves checking out entertainment places.
Pema, mother of two, said that earlier, late night parties worried her but with the drayang culture picking up so fast her concerns have increased.
“There should be a system where the owners of drayangs ask the customers’ age so that young children will not be allowed in such places,” she said.Tshering, a civil servant, said that he and his friends visited drayangs occasionally and if the girls agreed they got themselves a room to spend the night.
“Most girls come from poor background but some are educated and should actually have no problem getting a decent job, I don’t understand why they opt for such jobs,” said Tshering.
Most of the drayangs have come up with their own dress code. The entertainers wear uniforms provided by the drayang owners. The dresses are mostly kira but a few drayangs have bego (Tibetan dress) as their uniform.
A few drayangs look a lot cleaner but a few still remain the same. Thimphu has more than 12 licensed drayangs. Bhutan Infocomm and Media Authority regulates the drayangs.
some of them as young as 16.
Some of the owners running the drayangs are concerned about their employees and make it a point to drop the girls home. Some owners also have laid down strict rules for their employees, such as not being allowed to drink alcohol with the customers.
However, there are always some loopholes.
Entertaining in drayangs has been seen as an easy job to make easy money. The female
entertainers are sometimes abused and harassed by customers within or outside the drayangs.
Female entertainers are mostly employed to attract customers and the owners say that with girls around, the number of customers increases.
Sources say that some of these female entertainers go out with the customers after their work hours. According to Chimi, an entertainer,some of the entertainers
in her drayang have regular customers. And toearn more she has seen some of her friends willing to go out with the customers after work.
“The problem is not just for the entertainers but also the kind of crowd these drayangs attract,” said Tashi, a private firm employee.In the area she stays, there are three drayangs and she is disturbed most of the nights. “It is either the music from the drayang or the youth who linger around after the drayangs are closed,” she said.
She remembers an incident where she could not sleep well the whole night because a couple of youth were outside her building being a nuisance. “I looked from the window and the children were very young to be outside at that odd hour,” she said.
An owner of a drayang said that he has various age groups of customers coming
in. He said that at times, when smaller children come in, he does not entertain them but most of the time he is not aware of the age of his customers.“Children these days look older than their age,” he added.
Zangpo and his friends recollect seeing a group of young boys in a drayang. “There were four of them requesting songs, all of them looked like school kids,” said Zangpo.
There are people who usually go and drink in drayangs but a few others have their own reservations. “I have not been to all the drayangs but among the few I visited, it did not make a good impression so I think it is not a healthy environment for youth to be,” said Indu Gurung, who usually loves checking out entertainment places.
Pema, mother of two, said that earlier, late night parties worried her but with the drayang culture picking up so fast her concerns have increased.
“There should be a system where the owners of drayangs ask the customers’ age so that young children will not be allowed in such places,” she said.Tshering, a civil servant, said that he and his friends visited drayangs occasionally and if the girls agreed they got themselves a room to spend the night.
“Most girls come from poor background but some are educated and should actually have no problem getting a decent job, I don’t understand why they opt for such jobs,” said Tshering.
Most of the drayangs have come up with their own dress code. The entertainers wear uniforms provided by the drayang owners. The dresses are mostly kira but a few drayangs have bego (Tibetan dress) as their uniform.
A few drayangs look a lot cleaner but a few still remain the same. Thimphu has more than 12 licensed drayangs. Bhutan Infocomm and Media Authority regulates the drayangs.
Drayangs legalised
The musical entertainment bars in Thimphu, famously known as drayangs, were operating illegally until April. Recently 12 drayangs have been granted licences on fulfilling the general technical standards of the draft rules governing places of entertainments drawn by the regulating authority.
Bhutan Infocomm and Media Authority (BICMA), after inspection, legalised the rayangs with proper licences.The Director of BICMA, Kinley T Wangchuk, said the decisions were taken in cooperation with the police and the Economic Affairs Ministry.
During the inspections, 16 drayangs in Thimphu were found operating illegally. 11 of them were licensed. Out of the two new proposals for drayangs, one was given a licence.
During the earlier inspection, the draying owners were made aware of the rules and regulations and minimum standards of operation.
Earlier in the draft rules, the annual licence fee was Nu 5000. It has been raised to Nu 25000. “We raised the amount hoping to discourage people but a few more have shown interest,” said Kinley T Wangchuk.
The look of most drayangs earlier was dark, shabby, andloud with no safety measures like bouncers or fire extinguishers. Now with BICMA inspecting and regulating, these drayangs look cleaner.
According to the draft rules of BICMA, the general technical standards that the licencees operating places of entertainment should fulfil is that it should be located in town; away from dzongs, monasteries, schools, hospitals,
government offices, residential areas and it should be indoors.
“My drayang fulfils all but one standard,” said an owner of a drayang. He said that after BICMA inspected hislegaliseddrayang, he had been working
towards fulfilling the minimum standards set by them.
Drayangs are required to have safety measures such as fire extinguishers, exhaust fans, first aid kit and medical help, bouncers and security persons. They should also have separate restrooms for men and women, should be sound proof with proper
sanitation facilities and availability of condoms and birth control methods. This kind of entertainment is not just based in Thimphu. Paro has two drayangs running on provisional licences and Bumthang has one with a licence.Ngawang Lhendup from BICMA said the licensing for the other dzongkhags is different.
“We only issue the licence;the dzongkhag authorities regulate them,” he said. He added that other dzongkhags are also picking up this business.
Meanwhile, Sonam, 29, said that legalising drayangs was not a good step because a lot of young girls worked there as entertainers and customers harassed them for sex.
The drayangs employ a good number of people, especially females, who are used as an attraction for the customers
Bhutan Infocomm and Media Authority (BICMA), after inspection, legalised the rayangs with proper licences.The Director of BICMA, Kinley T Wangchuk, said the decisions were taken in cooperation with the police and the Economic Affairs Ministry.
During the inspections, 16 drayangs in Thimphu were found operating illegally. 11 of them were licensed. Out of the two new proposals for drayangs, one was given a licence.
During the earlier inspection, the draying owners were made aware of the rules and regulations and minimum standards of operation.
Earlier in the draft rules, the annual licence fee was Nu 5000. It has been raised to Nu 25000. “We raised the amount hoping to discourage people but a few more have shown interest,” said Kinley T Wangchuk.
The look of most drayangs earlier was dark, shabby, andloud with no safety measures like bouncers or fire extinguishers. Now with BICMA inspecting and regulating, these drayangs look cleaner.
According to the draft rules of BICMA, the general technical standards that the licencees operating places of entertainment should fulfil is that it should be located in town; away from dzongs, monasteries, schools, hospitals,
government offices, residential areas and it should be indoors.
“My drayang fulfils all but one standard,” said an owner of a drayang. He said that after BICMA inspected hislegaliseddrayang, he had been working
towards fulfilling the minimum standards set by them.
Drayangs are required to have safety measures such as fire extinguishers, exhaust fans, first aid kit and medical help, bouncers and security persons. They should also have separate restrooms for men and women, should be sound proof with proper
sanitation facilities and availability of condoms and birth control methods. This kind of entertainment is not just based in Thimphu. Paro has two drayangs running on provisional licences and Bumthang has one with a licence.Ngawang Lhendup from BICMA said the licensing for the other dzongkhags is different.
“We only issue the licence;the dzongkhag authorities regulate them,” he said. He added that other dzongkhags are also picking up this business.
Meanwhile, Sonam, 29, said that legalising drayangs was not a good step because a lot of young girls worked there as entertainers and customers harassed them for sex.
The drayangs employ a good number of people, especially females, who are used as an attraction for the customers
Drayangs – the seamy side of Thimphu entertainment
Agroup of men walk in and sit in a corner of the draying, a musical entertainment bar, in the heart of Thimphu city. A young girl approaches them for their order. After the men place their order, another girl with a notebook and a pen comes over to the group. She wants them to request for songs which she or her friends will sing or perform on the stage. It is 9.30 pm.
She puts on her best facial expression and body gestures to please the customers. She joins them in a seemingly hearty conversation punctuated by short, ringing giggles. Later, she joins them to drink. At long last, she lures one of the men into requesting for a song.
The man fishes out a 100 ngultrum note from a thick wallet. The minimum amount for a song is Nu 100. The girl leaves the table. Meanwhile, other girls try their luck with the same customers. It is 10 pm. Soon, another group of men come in. The girls move round and round and round the men.
This is the initial decent scene at a draying, a dimly-lit bar where young girls sing and dance and lure customers. The atmosphere is the same in all Thimphu’s more than 16 drayangs.
Each time a customer requests for a song, the money directly goes to the owner of the drayang. A book of account is maintained by the owner where the names of the girls and the amount they have collected are noted down. The amount the girls manage to collect decides their bonus at the end of the month.
Every girl is paid Nu 3000 plus a bonus which is determined by the number of song requests she has got. If a girl manages to get Nu 15,000, she gets Nu 1000 as bonus at the end of the month. If she makes Nu 20,000, she gets Nu 2000 as bonus.
“The bonus system is maintained because some girls work very hard to get requests while others don’t. This is to encourage the girls,” said the owner of a drayang.
Behind the hearty singing and merrymaking though, most drayang girls have sad stories to share.
Karma (name changed), 25, is one of some 90 girls who entertain customers in the drayangs. She studied till class VII with the support of her single mother. After her mother fell ill, she could not continue her studies.
She came to Thimphu chasing a dream of a decent life. She gave a try in one of the performing arts and music companies. But her knowledge of Bhutanese songs and quality of her voice fell far short of the qualification criteria.
“I stayed with a cousin and desperately wanted to get a job because I thought that I was a burden on my cousin who already had to look after five children,” she said.
After a long time, she got a job but that paid her too little. That is when she visited a drayang which was in need of female performers. She thought that the amount they paid her would be enough to sustain her.
She has been working with the drayang for the past four months and her contract with the owner is about to expire.
“It is frustrating at times when customers offer you money and ask you to come and spend a night with them. We have to handle such situations very carefully because, if we are rude, they won’t return so we just smile and say nothing,” said Karma. She said that her mother and cousin did not know that she worked as a performer in a drayang.
All the draying girls have signed a contract with the owners. “I don’t have any permanent girls because some of them marry and go away while others quit the job when they get a better opportunity,” said Dorji, the owner of Gyelwang Drayang.
Karma said that she performed in a draying because she did not have any other option. “After my contract is over, I will look for other jobs, and if I can’t get one, I may go back to my village,” she said.
Another draying girl, 23, is six months pregnant. But she still drags herself around because her husband does not support her. She cannot dance but sings. She said that she did not like the job but had to take it up for she was uneducated. “My husband does not treat me well so I have no other option but to work and be on my own,” she said. The girls in the drayangs work from 5 pm to 11 pm on weekdays and 5 pm to 12 pm on weekends.
Most customers in the drayangs are middle class people, according to Dorji. Men different ages come to the drayangs. Some are young boys. Dorji said a few of the customers tried to abuse girls physically but he did not allow that. If the customers did not listen to him, he called up the police for help.
He said, “The customers talk with the girls. Some of them, who know the girls well, fondle them. But the girls are not allowed to go anywhere until the drayang is closed. Once it is closed, I don’t know what the girls do.”
Dawa, a Thimphu resident enjoying in Zombala Drayang, said that he came to the drayang to reduce tensions and worries, but mainly to meet the young girls. He does not drink but requests a girl to sing for him after paying her Nu 100. This is the time when he gets to hug another girl who also tries to lure him into getting a request from him. This is how customers get so close that they make plans for the night.
“It is frustrating at times when customers
offer you money and ask you to come and spend a night with them. We have to handle
such situations very carefully because, if we are rude, they won’t return so we just smile and say nothing,” said Karma. She said that her mother and cousin did not know that she worked as a performer in a drayang.”
Jamyang (name changed), is also an entertainer in a drayang. She said that she did not mind the customers hugging and fondling her because all that mattered to her at the end of the day was her livelihood. And that she had to earn somehow. She added that she had to go to the extent of promising the night with the customer so that he would request for more songs, which meant more money for her.
Meanwhile, Kinley T Wangchuk, the Director of Bhutan Infocomm and Media Authority (BICMA), said that, during an inspection, they found that there were 16 drayangs in Thimphu operating illegally.
He said that they could not immediately shut down the drayangs because they employed a good number of people. “The drayangs have been made aware of the rules and regulations and the minimum standards they will have to maintain to operate and have been given a time of two months to fulfil them,” said Kinley T Wangchuk.
In mid May, BICMA will again do an inspection and if the drayangs are found operating without fulfilling the minimum standards, they will all be closed down.
An owner of a drayang said that not even a single drayang in Thimphu will be able to fulfil all the standards required by BICMA.
She puts on her best facial expression and body gestures to please the customers. She joins them in a seemingly hearty conversation punctuated by short, ringing giggles. Later, she joins them to drink. At long last, she lures one of the men into requesting for a song.
The man fishes out a 100 ngultrum note from a thick wallet. The minimum amount for a song is Nu 100. The girl leaves the table. Meanwhile, other girls try their luck with the same customers. It is 10 pm. Soon, another group of men come in. The girls move round and round and round the men.
This is the initial decent scene at a draying, a dimly-lit bar where young girls sing and dance and lure customers. The atmosphere is the same in all Thimphu’s more than 16 drayangs.
Each time a customer requests for a song, the money directly goes to the owner of the drayang. A book of account is maintained by the owner where the names of the girls and the amount they have collected are noted down. The amount the girls manage to collect decides their bonus at the end of the month.
Every girl is paid Nu 3000 plus a bonus which is determined by the number of song requests she has got. If a girl manages to get Nu 15,000, she gets Nu 1000 as bonus at the end of the month. If she makes Nu 20,000, she gets Nu 2000 as bonus.
“The bonus system is maintained because some girls work very hard to get requests while others don’t. This is to encourage the girls,” said the owner of a drayang.
Behind the hearty singing and merrymaking though, most drayang girls have sad stories to share.
Karma (name changed), 25, is one of some 90 girls who entertain customers in the drayangs. She studied till class VII with the support of her single mother. After her mother fell ill, she could not continue her studies.
She came to Thimphu chasing a dream of a decent life. She gave a try in one of the performing arts and music companies. But her knowledge of Bhutanese songs and quality of her voice fell far short of the qualification criteria.
“I stayed with a cousin and desperately wanted to get a job because I thought that I was a burden on my cousin who already had to look after five children,” she said.
After a long time, she got a job but that paid her too little. That is when she visited a drayang which was in need of female performers. She thought that the amount they paid her would be enough to sustain her.
She has been working with the drayang for the past four months and her contract with the owner is about to expire.
“It is frustrating at times when customers offer you money and ask you to come and spend a night with them. We have to handle such situations very carefully because, if we are rude, they won’t return so we just smile and say nothing,” said Karma. She said that her mother and cousin did not know that she worked as a performer in a drayang.
All the draying girls have signed a contract with the owners. “I don’t have any permanent girls because some of them marry and go away while others quit the job when they get a better opportunity,” said Dorji, the owner of Gyelwang Drayang.
Karma said that she performed in a draying because she did not have any other option. “After my contract is over, I will look for other jobs, and if I can’t get one, I may go back to my village,” she said.
Another draying girl, 23, is six months pregnant. But she still drags herself around because her husband does not support her. She cannot dance but sings. She said that she did not like the job but had to take it up for she was uneducated. “My husband does not treat me well so I have no other option but to work and be on my own,” she said. The girls in the drayangs work from 5 pm to 11 pm on weekdays and 5 pm to 12 pm on weekends.
Most customers in the drayangs are middle class people, according to Dorji. Men different ages come to the drayangs. Some are young boys. Dorji said a few of the customers tried to abuse girls physically but he did not allow that. If the customers did not listen to him, he called up the police for help.
He said, “The customers talk with the girls. Some of them, who know the girls well, fondle them. But the girls are not allowed to go anywhere until the drayang is closed. Once it is closed, I don’t know what the girls do.”
Dawa, a Thimphu resident enjoying in Zombala Drayang, said that he came to the drayang to reduce tensions and worries, but mainly to meet the young girls. He does not drink but requests a girl to sing for him after paying her Nu 100. This is the time when he gets to hug another girl who also tries to lure him into getting a request from him. This is how customers get so close that they make plans for the night.
“It is frustrating at times when customers
offer you money and ask you to come and spend a night with them. We have to handle
such situations very carefully because, if we are rude, they won’t return so we just smile and say nothing,” said Karma. She said that her mother and cousin did not know that she worked as a performer in a drayang.”
Jamyang (name changed), is also an entertainer in a drayang. She said that she did not mind the customers hugging and fondling her because all that mattered to her at the end of the day was her livelihood. And that she had to earn somehow. She added that she had to go to the extent of promising the night with the customer so that he would request for more songs, which meant more money for her.
Meanwhile, Kinley T Wangchuk, the Director of Bhutan Infocomm and Media Authority (BICMA), said that, during an inspection, they found that there were 16 drayangs in Thimphu operating illegally.
He said that they could not immediately shut down the drayangs because they employed a good number of people. “The drayangs have been made aware of the rules and regulations and the minimum standards they will have to maintain to operate and have been given a time of two months to fulfil them,” said Kinley T Wangchuk.
In mid May, BICMA will again do an inspection and if the drayangs are found operating without fulfilling the minimum standards, they will all be closed down.
An owner of a drayang said that not even a single drayang in Thimphu will be able to fulfil all the standards required by BICMA.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Children’s rights
Yesterday (October 9) it was quite late I was walking home with a friend after watching a Bhutanese film. We reached near the Hongkong market when we saw a crowd of people there. Vegetable vendors were also shouting. My friend said we should leave the place but I insisted we see what was going on.
I pushed myself through the crowd and was a small girl crying and hiding herself behind a woman. The woman did not know what to do. The girl’s mother and grandmother were drunk and were beating the child. The father was sitting nearby and not saying a thing. The family were asking the child to come home with them but the girl refused because she was beaten up.
A few concerned people asked the mother and the grandmother not to beat the child but the mother was very difficult to handle. She was drunk and aggressive. She was pulling her daughters hands so hard that the child was crying. “Don’t interfere she is my child and I have the right to do anything,” she shouted at the people. The woman behind whom the child was hiding was also helpless. She did nto know what to do.
There were some traffic police trying to sort things out. I asked one of them if they could do anything because the police have a different unit called the, “women and children protection unit.” The police first said it was better if the parents solved the problem mutually. I told him that would not be possible because the parents were drunk he then told me to call 113 and complain.
I called 113 and complained. The receiver there asked me a lot of questions which irritated me. He asked for my name, number, and the spot again and again. I explained to him that it was just near the city police station. To which he asked if there were other people there and how he could know when he get to the place. Had he come out he would have directly noticed the crowd. For once I thought the time taken by the police to answer the call and ask questions again and again was enough for people to run away.
There was an incident when I saw two guys fighting outside a party hall. One had carried some kind of a knife (couldn’t see in the dark). I quickly called 113 and informed the police. The fight took long and by the time police came one was seriously injured and was bleeding. The incident was just near the police station too.
But the issue here is not about the police but the child being beaten up. It was 10 pm and I could not stay there longer. I just hoped the police came to the rescue of the child. In Bhutanese society there are cases where children are beaten up. I also got a lot of beating as a kid especially from mom but can a small child be beaten up by three people in the mid of the town.
Sometimes I feel we should follow the west in having the children’s rights.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
My Thought
The sun is shining bright and I am even lazier. Don't even want to move an inch. I sleep on the side of the road where a tree gives me some shade from the harsh rays of the sun.
I hear people walking, vehicles plying by but that does not distract me much.Have always been a great sleeper. Humans are really unique from us. They are so obsessed with the way they look and dress. We don't care much about our looks and how we carry ourselves. I am only bothered about it when I meet some beauties but not much because they only behave different but have the same looks as I do.
The new beauty in my locality is a fair one. She is one in a million I would say but have many suitors, I haven't even tried my luck. I was always know to be the shy type and laziness added to it. Sleep most of day except when I am hungry.
I don't know who my parents are. I was raised by the people of the locality I live in. They are nice but sometimes can be real mean.
Ouch! that hurts. I raise my head to see who hit me. Damn! it is the naughty boy who lives in the locality. i don't want to be a pet dog. I want to live a free life but he is forcing me and putting a chain around my neck. He does that everyday.
Now I will have to go for a walk with him, I would rather be trying the new beauty then running around with him :(
I hear people walking, vehicles plying by but that does not distract me much.Have always been a great sleeper. Humans are really unique from us. They are so obsessed with the way they look and dress. We don't care much about our looks and how we carry ourselves. I am only bothered about it when I meet some beauties but not much because they only behave different but have the same looks as I do.
The new beauty in my locality is a fair one. She is one in a million I would say but have many suitors, I haven't even tried my luck. I was always know to be the shy type and laziness added to it. Sleep most of day except when I am hungry.
I don't know who my parents are. I was raised by the people of the locality I live in. They are nice but sometimes can be real mean.
Ouch! that hurts. I raise my head to see who hit me. Damn! it is the naughty boy who lives in the locality. i don't want to be a pet dog. I want to live a free life but he is forcing me and putting a chain around my neck. He does that everyday.
Now I will have to go for a walk with him, I would rather be trying the new beauty then running around with him :(
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