|
Royal Academy Of Performing Arts
The Royal Academy of Performing Arts (RAPA) is a Bhutanese government body within the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Department of Culture, that supports the preservation of traditional Bhutanese culture. It was founded in 1954 under the initiative of the Third Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. In 1967, it was institutionalised as an academy and the Royal Dance troupe was its creation. The Academy is located in Thimphu, along Chhophel Lam. Activities The Academy trains young dancers and musicians in both religious and secular folk music and dance. The Academy also documents and performs live songs and dances from Bhutan's many diverse regions – from modern rigsar to centuries-old genres – and publishes its collections. The professional dancers of the Academy hold performances during the annual Thimphu Tsechu dance festival held at Tashichho Dzong. Throughout the year, its members give one-hour performances for guests and tour groups on request. The Academy also hosts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thimphu
Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city of Punakha was replaced by Thimphu as capital in 1955, and in 1961 Thimphu was declared as the capital of the Kingdom of Bhutan by the 3rd Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. The city extends in a north–south direction on the west bank of the valley formed by the Wang Chhu, which flows out into India as the Raidāk River. Thimphu is the List of capital cities by altitude, fifth highest capital in the world by altitude and ranges in altitude from to .Brown, p. 97Palin, p. 245 Unusually for a capital city, Thimphu does not have its own airport, instead relying on the Paro Airport (connected by road some away). Thimphu, as the political and Economy of Bhutan, economic center of Bhutan, has a dominant agriculture and livestoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rigsar
Rigsar (Dzongkha རིག་གསར་; Wylie: ''rig-gsar''; "new idea") is a music genre, the dominant type of popular music of Bhutan. It was originally played on a dranyen (a kind of string instrument), and dates back to the late 1960s. The first rigsar song, ''Zhendi Migo'' was a copy of the popular Bollywood filmi song ''"Sayonara"'' from the film ''Love in Tokyo''. Rigsar songs can be in several languages, including the Tshangla ( Sharchopkha) language. The traditional dranyen, a kind of folk guitar, has been updated into the rigsar dranyen for use in popular music. The rigsar dranyen has 15 strings, two bridges and an extra set of tuning keys. History Rigsar's popularity grew steadily in the 1970s, when the genre's modern form developed; Dasho Thinley, a schoolteacher and composer, performed a song called ''Dorozam'' which was very influential. Rigsar became very popular by 1981, when Shera Lhendup became a pop icon with the song ''Nga khatsa jo si lam kha lu''; his 1986 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Of Bhutan
The music of Bhutan is an integral part of its culture and plays a leading role in transmitting social values. Traditional Bhutanese music includes a spectrum of subgenres, ranging from folk to religious song and music. Some genres of traditional Bhutanese music intertwine vocals, instrumentation, and theatre and dance, while others are mainly vocal or instrumental. The much older traditional genres are distinguished from modern popular music such as rigsar. Instruments Instruments used in both traditional and modern genres of Bhutanese music include the lingm (six-holed flute), the chiwang (Tibetan two-stringed fiddle), and the dramnyen (similar to a large three-stringed rebec); modern musicians often update these instruments for use in rigsar. Other traditional instruments include tangtang namborong (four-holed bamboo bass flute), kongkha (bamboo mouth harp), and gombu (bull or buffalo horn). Newer instruments include the yangchen, brought from Tibet in the 1960s. While Bhu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Texas At El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American student population (about 80%) after the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity." The university's School of Engineering is the nation's top producer of Hispanic engineers with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees. UTEP is home to the Sun Bowl stadium, which hosts the annual college football competition the Sun Bowl every winter. The campus is one of the few places in the world outside of Bhutan or Tibet to have buildings created with the Dzong architectural style. It sits on hillsides overlooking the Rio Grande river, with Ciudad Juárez in view across the Mexico–United States border. History Early history On April 16, 1913, SB 183 was signed by the Texas governor al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhutan Observer
The ''Bhutan Observer'' was Bhutan's first private bilingual newspaper. It was launched as a private limited company by parent company Bhutan Media Services (BMS), and began publishing on June 2, 2006, in Thimphu. Its Dzongkha edition was called ''Druk Nelug'', and the newspaper maintained an online service in English until 2013. The newspaper employed about 60 people in editorial, commercial, administrative, and managerial departments. The editorial department won several national journalism awards for the best editorial, best Dzongkha issue, best editorial cartoon, and the most valuable story on Gross National Happiness. The former Executive Editor, Sonam Kinga, was one of several relatively young individuals to make an early entry into newly democratic Bhutanese politics in 2007, winning a seat and leadership position in the kingdom's first National Council elections. As Bhutan began developing its private media sector, fledgling media outlets including the ''Bhutan Observe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wedding Of Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck And Jetsun Pema
The wedding of Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, King of Bhutan, and Jetsun Pema took place on 13 October 2011 at the Punakha Dzong in Punakha, Bhutan. The current King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, married Jetsun Pema, who became Queen ''Ashi'' Jetsun Pema Wangchuck. Both are descendants of the 48th Druk Desi of Bhutan and 10th Penlop of Trongsa, Jigme Namgyal. Engagement Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck announced his engagement to 20-year-old Jetsun Pema at the ''gopaly'''s marriage opening of the Parliament of Bhutan on 20 May 2011. Ceremony The royal wedding ceremony (Dzongkha: ) combined coronation and nuptials. Ahead of the ceremony, the betrothed received the blessings of the '' machhen'' (holy relic) of ''Zhabdrung'' Ngawang Namgyal. The traditional Buddhist ceremony began around 8:20 am, the time set by royal astrologers - when the king, wearing the royal yellow sash, walked into the courtyard of the 17th-century monastery in the old capital of Punakha and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tashichho Dzong
Tashichho Dzong ( dz, ) is a Buddhist monastery and fortress on the northern edge of the city of Thimphu in Bhutan, on the western bank of the Wang Chu. It has traditionally been the seat of the Druk Desi (or "Deb Raja"), the head of Bhutan's civil government, an office which has been combined with the kingship since the creation of the monarchy in 1907, and summer capital of the country. In old British documents, it is known as Tassisudon. The main structure of the whitewashed building is two-storied with three-storied towers at each of the four corners topped by triple-tiered golden roofs. There is also a large central tower or ''utse''. History The original Thimphu dzong (the Do-Ngön Dzong, or Blue Stone Dzong) was built in 1216 by Lama Gyalwa Lhanapa (1164–1224), founder of the Lhapa branch of the Drikung Kagyu, at the place where Dechen Phodrang Monastery now stands on a ridge above the present Tashichö-dzong. In 1641 ''Shabdrung'' Ngawang Namgyal took over that Dzo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsechu
A tshechu ( dz, ཚེས་བཅུ།, literally "day ten") is any of the annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district or dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the lunar Tibetan calendar. The month depends on the place. Tshechus are religious festivals of the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Tshechus are large social gatherings, which perform the function of social bonding among people of remote and spread-out villages. Large markets also congregate at the fair locations, leading to brisk commerce.Dancing on the demon's back: the dramnyen dance and song of Bhutan by Elaine Dobson, John Blacking Symposium: Music Culture and Society, Callaway Centre, University of Western Australia, July 2003 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked on an overland trip through Europe and Asia to Australia, following the route of the Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition. The company name originates from the misheard "lovely planet" in a song written by Matthew Moore. Lonely Planet's first book, ''Across Asia on the Cheap'', had 94 pages; it was written by the couple in their home. The original 1973 print run consisted of stapled booklets with pale blue cardboard covers. Tony returned to Asia to write ''Across Asia on the Cheap: A Complete Guide to Making the Overland Trip'', published in 1975. Expansion The Lonely Planet guide book series initially expanded to cover other countries in Asia, with the India guide book in 1981, and expanded to rest of the world later on. G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous country, Bhutan is known as "Druk Yul," or "Land of the Thunder Dragon". Nepal and Bangladesh are located near Bhutan but do not share a land border. The country has a population of over 727,145 and territory of and ranks 133rd in terms of land area and 160th in population. Bhutan is a Constitutional Democratic Monarchy with King as head of state and Prime Minister as head of government. Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism is the state religion and the Je Khenpo is the head of state religion. The subalpine Himalayan mountains in the north rise from the country's lush subtropical plains in the south. In the Bhutanese Himalayas, there are peaks higher than above sea level. Gangkhar Puensum is Bhutan's highest peak and is the highest uncl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck ( dz, འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་པོ་ འཇིགས་མེད་རྡོ་རྗེ་དབང་ཕྱུག་མཆོག་, ; 2 May 1928 – 21 July 1972) was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan. He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first step towards democratization. Early life Jigme Dorji Wangchuck was born in 1928 in Thruepang Palace in Trongsa. At a young age, he was apprenticed in etiquette and leadership at the royal court of his father the King. Wangchuck was educated in a British manner in Kalimpong and went on study tours and stay to many foreign countries such as Scotland and Switzerland from where he drew inspiration to develop Bhutan with suitable adaptations. In 1943, he was appointed Trongsa '' Dronyer'' and then elevated as the 25th Paro ''Penlop'' in 1950, upon the death of the 24th Paro ''Penlop'', Tshering Penjor (1902–1949). Wangchuck married ''Ashi'' Kesang Choden Wangchuc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Druk Gyalpo
The Druk Gyalpo (; 'Dragon King') is the head of state of the Bhutan, Kingdom of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha, Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as ''Drukyul'' which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus, while kings of Bhutan are known as ''Druk Gyalpo'' ("Dragon King"), the Bhutanese people call themselves the ''Drukpa'', meaning "people of Druk (Bhutan)". The current sovereign of Bhutan is Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the fifth ''Druk Gyalpo''. He wears the Raven Crown, which is the official crown worn by the kings of Bhutan. He is correctly styled "''Mi'wang 'Ngada Rinpoche''" ("His Majesty") and addressed "''Ngada Rimboche''" ("Your Majesty"). King Jigme Khesar was the second-youngest reigning monarch in the world when he ascended the throne on 1 November 2008 after his father, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, abdicated the throne in his favour. Duties and powers The Constitution confirms the institution of monarchy. The Druk Gyalpo (King of Bhutan) is the head of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
