As August begins, the capital has burst into life once again, drawing authors, artists, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and students from across the globe and our own country. Bhutan Echoes has returned with its 13th edition, now known as Drukyul’s Literature and Arts Festival. The three-day festival kicked off on Saturday, featuring a vibrant array of performances and conversations, bringing voices from all over the globe together. Her Majesty Queen Mother Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, the Royal Patron of Bhutan Echoes, graced the festival and addressed the audience.
Addressing a house full of audience, Her Majesty Queen Mother Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck shared how Her Majesty’s love for storytelling began.
“I loved reading stories. I loved making up stories and this is how my life for telling stories and reading started. Later on, I was busy with life, very busy but when my father was turning 70, I thought, oh my goodness! I need to record his life otherwise a good piece of history, a way of life in Bhutan would be lost. Therefore, I started drilling him, my notebook, and my Dictaphone to take all his memories and record them. That is my book of Rainbows and Cloud, my first book came into being.”
Her Majesty said that her second book, ‘Treasures of the Thunder Dragon: A Portrait of Bhutan’ is based on the journals Her Majesty kept during her travels within the country.
Her Majesty added that the book is the result of her experiences of seeing, feeling and addressing the needs of the rural people in Bhutan.
Furthermore, Her Majesty advised the audience to keep records of their experiences.
“My advice to you is to journal, to keep a record of what you experience, what is important to you, what you observe. So, please do that young ones and it will be very beneficial. And I know amongst you, at the back there will be many good authors. There will be many wonderful artists. There will be many wonderful performers.”
Her Majesty also highlighted the need for the festival to go international.
“Bhutan Echoes has to go international because I want to showcase the talent of our youth, of all of ours who believe in the arts, who believe in music, who believe in the power of words. I want that. I want Bhutan to echo to the rest of the world.”
After the address, Her Majesty engaged in a conversation revolving around Echoes of the Soul: Exploring the Mysteries of Rebirth with Meru Gokhale. Meru Gokhale is from India and the founder of ‘Editorially’ with an experience of almost two decades in publishing.
The festival also featured Nepali billionaire, Binod Chaudhary, the founder of Chaudhary Group who launched his book, “Making it Big’.
This year’s festival showcases 70 speakers and participants from 14 different countries, with 34 simultaneous sessions and 14 interactive workshops.
“For this year, our theme is “enlighten, evolve and evoke”. The reason that we have chosen that as our theme is so that we have a deeper understanding and appreciation of our Bhutanese artists and literature as well but also while fostering global connections. I think you can see that in the speakers that we have for this year as well. So, we have literary talents and thought leaders from around the world,” said Kunzang P.C Tshering, Media Representative of Bhutan Echoes.
As part of the festival, there will be a screening of an international selection of films tomorrow, including La Tresse from France, The Chhello Show from India, and Silent Walls from Bhutan at Lugar Theatre.
On the other end, art sessions and children’s workshops will be hosted at the Royal Textile Academy.
Kunzang P.C Tshering said “So, over the years, over the past 14 years, the festival has undergone many changes and evolutions and the most recent one is that we have added arts to the title. So, now we are “Bhutan Echoes: Drukyul’s Literature and Arts Festival’. We have done this to show our deep commitment to embracing a richer tapestry of artistic expression.”
Her Majesty Queen Mother Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck co-founded Bhutan Echoes in 2010 as an Indian Bhutan initiative.
Devika Pradhan
Edited by Tshering Zam
