How Bhutan Tourism Reflects Japan: A Tale of Nature, Spirituality, and Conservation

This year, our vacation was a tale of two magical places - starting in Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, and culminating in Bhutan, the Land of the Thunder Dragon. What struck me most was how both nations seem to have cracked the code for living in harmony with nature. It’s no wonder they both rank high on the global ‘Green Index’. Yet, they approach their love for nature in ways that are unique, yet surprisingly similar at their core.

In Japan, the relationship with nature is deeply rooted in the concept of ‘Shinrin-yoku’, or forest bathing. It’s more than just a walk in the woods - it’s a mindful immersion into the sights, sounds, and smells of the forest, believed to rejuvenate the body and mind. During my visit, I joined a guided forest bathing session in the serene woodlands of Arashiyama Bamboo Groove in Kyoto. The experience was meditative, a gentle reminder of the healing power of nature and how it’s seamlessly woven into Japanese culture.

Bhutan Tourism: Sacred Peaks and Divine Conservation

When we landed in Bhutan, I discovered a different yet equally profound reverence for nature - one that elevates it to the divine. Here, nature isn’t just a source of well-being; it’s sacred. For instance, Bhutan is home to the awe-inspiring Gangkhar Puensum, the world’s highest unclimbed mountain peak, standing tall at over 7,500 meters. During a breathtaking heli ride over the Shangri-La-like wilderness of southern Paro Valley, the peak towered majestically over the landscape, commanding respect and awe (below). It’s not unclimbed because of a lack of interest or courage - far from it. The Bhutanese revere the mountain as a deity, and climbing it is strictly forbidden. To them, the act of scaling such a sacred place would be a transgression against their gods.

This spiritual ethos extends beyond their mountains. Bhutan is the only country in the world where it is mandated by law that 60% of the land must remain forested. As I traveled through lush valleys, dense forests, and the crystal-clear rivulets flowing through their intersections, I saw firsthand how this policy plays out - not just as a number on paper, but as an integral part of their identity. Every breath of fresh air and every shade of green seemed to reflect their unwavering commitment to conservation.

Mandala Displays in Bhutan Tourism: Cosmic Connection to Nature

But Bhutan’s reverence for nature goes even further, blending seamlessly with its spiritual and mythological traditions. This connection comes to life in the intricate mandala displays found in its zhongs and temples. Mandalas in Bhutan are not merely artistic creations; they are cosmic diagrams that represent the spiritual journey from ignorance to enlightenment. These circular patterns, rich with symbolism, mirror the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

At the heart of these mandalas are often depictions of Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padma Sambhava. His various forms - serene, meditative, and wrathful - take center stage, representing his role as a guiding force leading practitioners toward liberation. Surrounding him, mythological figures like wrathful deities and dragons serve as spiritual protectors, symbolizing the transformative power of overcoming inner and outer demons.

The mandalas, much like the untouched forests and sacred peaks, reflect Bhutan’s deep understanding of interconnectedness. They are a visual reminder that harmony between the spiritual, natural, and human realms is not just an ideal but a way of life.

What’s fascinating is how these philosophies echo one another. In Japan, spending time in nature is healing; in Bhutan, it’s worship. Both cultures understand the need to protect what sustains them, whether through the quiet communion of forest bathing or the reverent preservation of sacred landscapes and cosmic art forms.

As our journey came to an end, I found myself inspired by how both countries balance modernity with a deep respect for the environment and the cosmos. It’s a lesson that the rest of the world could learn from - one that reminds us that the green heart of our planet and the spiritual essence of our existence are worth every effort to protect.

Global Warming and COP21 situation

So global warming alarm bells finally got over 190 countries at the COP21 table to agree on targets less than 2 degree centigrade. In my earlier blog article in 2009 I had argued that the climate elasticity is not something that people can put a finger on. And therefore the ecological rubber band is much less than the magical figure of 2 degree that was touted upon. 

Finally there is some realization to that end, and the target is an 'ambitious' 1.5*C though no one is clear how its going to be achieved. There is a grand vision on containing global warming but there is no actionable road map with responsibilities fixed in the operative part of the COP21 agreement. It is not legally binding either. Developed countries have got away with murder (literally), a bit like the big boys partied hard throughout the night and left some change on the table in the morning for the clean up. And yes, they are now clutching on to phrases like sustainable consumption like some toilet paper 

Golden Blooms Amidst Concrete: The Vanishing Splendor of Bangalore's 'Tree of Gold'

The Spectacular Yellow Blossoms: A Morning Drive through Bangalore's Streets

Imagine cruising along Queens Road or gliding over the Windsor Manor Bridge towards Mekhri Circle on a serene morning. Nowadays, you simply can't overlook the enchanting spectacle unfolding around you. There's a mesmerizing explosion of bright yellow, as the 'Tree of Gold', known in the realms of botany as 'Tabebuia argentea', originally hailing from the lush landscapes of South America, puts on a breathtaking show. These trees, almost naked of leaves – perhaps shed during the winter's embrace – are now adorned with vibrant yellow blossoms that stand out in a spectacular fashion. Each morning, these golden blooms present a sight so spectacular, it feels like a dream. I've managed to capture a few glimpses with my mobile camera while navigating these roads, but let me tell you, the actual scene is infinitely more majestic.

The flowering season of these trees, I've learned, is quite brief, adding to their allure. It's a natural extravaganza that one should endeavor not to miss, especially considering the ongoing challenges faced by our city's green warriors. In the name of progress – road widening, and metro constructions – we are slowly losing not just our rich green tapestry but also these crowning jewels of nature.

Urban Development vs. Natural Beauty: The Struggle of Bangalore's Greenery

A response to a recent RTI filing revealed a startling fact: since 2007, the BBMP has cut down 2,123 trees for road widening and the Metro Project, and these are just the official numbers. S Sivasailam, MD of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd, indicated that the elevated section of the metro, spanning 32 kilometers, would result in the felling of around 2,000 trees, while the underground section of 9 kilometers might consume about 1,100 trees.

Amidst these developments, a poignant question lingers – how many of these mesmerizing flowering trees have we lost in this pursuit? It's a thought that tugs at the heartstrings of anyone who has witnessed the golden bloom of these trees, a reminder of the delicate balance between urban development and the preservation of nature's masterpieces.

Environment protection, Western Ghats and ecological rubberband < 1.5 degrees elastic

Environment protection, Western Ghats and Ecological threshold (rubber band) form three Venn diagram rings that woefully overlap very little. The Copenhagen summit that concluded recently gives little hope on that front, it came out with an agenda to save its face rather than that of the planet. Its final text or draft resolution, as it stands today appears to be more misleading than convincing , every nation wanted to protect its turf and emerge from the summit atleast with status quo if not gains on its political and economic agenda. The temperature cap commitments vacillated between 2.5 and 1.5 degree and as usual there was talk of back room maneuvering and the never ending chasm between developed & developing nations. But then nothing better was expected, the only positive coming out of it was the attention span, albeit a brief one that it brought to the pressing problem.


Will Copenhagen summit arrest the global rise in temperature or has the problem gotten out of hand already? Will Environment protection take a back seat in Western Ghats? Some of the answers ironically lay in the interaction I had with a senior forest official this week . Who better to give a testament on the issue than an official concerned with preservation, conservation and management of the green cover (of whatever little is left of it) that is so vital in absorbing the CO2 and arrest the temperature rise?


The DFO (District Forest Officer) in question is in charge of Environment protection in the southern parts of the Western ghats in south coastal Karnataka which in a rare instance provides as much as 79% coverage to the district area and is ecological hotspot. This official worked extensively in the area , first as a student undertaking field studies and later as an official doing field surveys and collecting data on forest management. A well respected  and upright officer he spoke with conviction tinged with despondency. The transcripts of my interaction with him in his office went as follows


Me: the forest cover is substantial in this area


Forest Official: On record it is 79.2%


Me: (Laugh) on records sir?


Forest Official: I have to admit that actually...(pause)... a lot of encroachments are there... a lot of development projects are eating away the forest area......almost 99% of the schools in this area are in forest area. Environment protection has become a big challenge in western ghats because there are human vested interests at play here


Me: But sir coverage of more than 75% is quite substantial


Forest Official: there are different ways of looking at forests, the way forest officer looks is totally different from the way others look at it. The mere existence of trees is not a forest unless the ecological processes are taking place in it. We call something called fragmentation happening, there’s a canopy like this (joins the palm tip of his two hands to make an inverted V). We are fragmenting it (separates the palms to leave a gap between them), its only a matter of time before the forests are getting destroyed ...it may take 100, 200 or 300 years ...unfortunately the span in which we are working is only short, we wont be able to know the changes in a span of 17-18 years but people here know. Some of the elders around here have a different tale to tell of the surroundings here 50 -60 years ago and that points to a drastic change in the ecology. If environment protection was a security alert, it would be at level 6 here now


Me: hmm....I see


Forest Official: the moment you are opening this canopy then there is a road coming up in the forest area splitting it into 2 areas....this brings in infiltration and more importantly stops the exchange of green between these two patches of forest. So now all these has stopped (ecological process) ....there is no green exchange, there is no exchange of animals and the temperature that was usually 16-18 degree centigrade under the canopy has gone upto 22-23 with this opening. And whatever rain is falling is also draining away rapidly through this encroachment. So the changes are taking are at a small level but over a period of time if you club everything you get the picture. All these talk of environmental protection is at a superficial level, Western Ghats is changing and expert committee are helping little to arrest this.


Me: So you are saying that the fragmenting is destroying the forest


Forest Official: the networking of roads making fragments of the forest cuts short their life... the longevity of that forest patch is shorter than that of the forest that is completely covered. So you end up having an isolated part of the forest where Plants & Animal species find difficult to migrate. For them also there is a limit of migration....for example the giant squirrel can jump 10 or 20 feet but it cannot jump 60-100 feet , the inroads in Western ghats we are making creates a gap of something like 100 to 200 feet . so their population gets isolated in different pockets, there is no interaction between these two population and with inbreeding their population disappears over a period of time. And along with them we don’t know how many other species both plant and; animals are disappearing, its only a matter of time.


Me: Very interesting perspective sir....


Forest Official: But there are no takers for it, we find it very difficult to convince people and we are waging a losing battle. Crores of rupees come and; they think it is 'development'...for example more than 5% of forest area is acacia plantation, only for the benefits of local population but that is not the forest we consider as....deduct all things like that and we are left with nothing. Then there is this rapid soil erosion where tonnes of top soil with vital nutrients is getting eroded fast. I have seen some isolated waterfalls deep in the western Ghats during mansoon....they are supposed to be clean water but they are getting muddy since tonnes of soil is getting eroded.


Me: So you are saying there is a continuous drain of forest resources


Forest Official: Its a matter of time as I told you , the system is like you know....a rubberband you are pulling, pulling, and pulling and all of a sudden you may just break it. But till then you feel its fine and you really don’t know when its going to break. So the 79 percent I told you is not ecologically 79 percent in Western Ghats


I hope the Copenhagen leaders are tuned into this fact, it may not be even 1.5 degree elastic as some would like to believe. As far as Western Ghats and its environment protection is concerned, it remains to be seen what happens with the Kasturirangan report implementation

Ba Ba Black Sheep

Ba Ba Black Sheep,Have you any Methane? ...is how the new jingle goes and it seems to be rhyming pretty serious paeans towards Global warming . Climate change through green houses gases emanating all the way down to a sheep’s stomach?  UN believes it is . Livestock like Sheep, Cows, Goats process the grass in their stomach with microbes known as Methanogens and in the process convert Hydrogen to methane. This gets released either through Belching or flatulence. Methane is among the most potent green house gasses and can far outdo the damage caused by CO₂ emissions by cars to Climate change. Much ado about all that ‘hot air’ ?  

Maybe not but consider this, some serious threat to Human habitation is looming from the livestock industry. It started with Avian flu among chickens, then mad cow disease among cattle and now Swine Flu among Pigs. Every time it rings a global pandemic and the last one went to level 4. Is it high time to go Vegetarian, just for survival sake?

The new Blue Gold?

Around the same time last year (20th march 2008 to be precise) I visited the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi to inquire about the Conferencing facilities for an International Business event planned by Milagrow. What surprised me most was the apparent ease with which I and my excolleague & friend (Anurag Vijaywat) slipped in without being frisked or checked in this heavily guarded complex. ‘Water’ was the main theme of the event that day, I guess they were celebrating World water day 2008 in the main conference hall and that brings me to this blog piece.

It is a known fact that 97% of our planet is salt water, 3% is pure water which is sufficient for all species on earth if you factor in Annual rainfall. It also sustains a $35 Billion a year market for global bottled water market. Blame it partly on the major commodity bull run that we witnessed recently and some to the growing scarcity in some parts of the globe especially major cities, the new questions being asked are; Is water the new oil (Knowledge@wharton)? Is it what speculators now call it- the new blue gold?

A trend has started in USA where water speculators have started to buy large tracts of land to gain control over aquifers. A report in Business week some time back talked of T Boons Pickens (a former corporate raider) buying 68000 acres of Texas land that holds substantial underground water reserve. The article goes on to say how Pickens could be the single largest individual water owner in USA. Call him the ‘water baron’ or ‘commodity raider’ or whatever but he surely has plans to sell lots of it especially to Dallas by transporting almost 65 billion gallons a year over 250 miles. It may soon happen in India too , Anil Ambani & his new found penchant for Natural resources (RNRL) may soon find out that India too has large tracts of wasteland & plenty of water below it . Actually ONGC is already on it, billed as “ONGC Project Saraswati” , the company as a part of its CSR is aiming to find deep acquifers in Rajasthan. The project is Aptly named after the mythical river , that some believe vanished after the desertification of Thar Area.

Water is also becoming a main issue in the geopolitical relations not only within the country but surrounding it too. So not only are states like Karnataka-Tamil Nadu, Haryana-Punjab,TN-Kerala are warring over this issue but also India-Pakistan (Indus barrage),India –Bangladesh (Ganges), India –Nepal and recently China has come into purview. China’s growing interest in Arunachal Pradesh & its annexation of Tibet is being linked to the acute water shortage it’s facing in the mainland. Unlike India which has 9.56% of its surface area covered with water china has just 2.8%. With rapid urbanization it requires humongous amounts of water which it partly got by controlling 1700 Km of the Yangbo river which is the Tibetian part of the Brahmaputra. The remaining 2900Km of this river flows into India through Arunachal Pradesh which experts believe it’s now eying through territorial dispute.

In India water supply is sadly a state subject and therefore grossly mismanaged. The water pricing like any state utility is heavily subsidized & therefore results in under recovery of operating & capital outlay costs. Water like electricity also faces distribution losses upto 70% due to faulty supply pipes & leakages but yet nothing spurs the system for efficiency & conservation. It is another known fact that in major cities in India, the tanker mafia who are hand in gloves with local municipal authorities influence water supply in certain areas and create water shortages to enable their trade to flourish. As I am writing this we are already grappling with this shortage in my Apartment & summer has just begun.

Why not CGR Index for Nations?

We have often read & heard of Corporate Social responsibility, a form of mandate set by companies to make a difference to its surroundings. Its basically a clarion call of their conscience emphasizing that they deserve to give back something to the society in which they operate. It is generally seen that companies that are well known, having respected brands and quality managements generally emphasize their CSR activities well & document their contributions in their Annual reports. Why don’t countries take a leaf from here & develop such yardsticks of their own? After all they are also entities operating in a larger microcosm of global society and responsible towards it. Indian scriptures have always emphasized this thinking in the timeless verses Vasudaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family) & Sarve Janaha Sukhino Bhavantu (well being of Human race). So why not a Country Global responsibility (CGR)?

The urgency of such a thought stems from the turmoil that the world is facing today due to the enormous fissures created by Economic, Social & Political turmoil in a truly globalised world. Lets take the classic case of Kyoto protocol, a global call on reducing emissions that is impacting global warming. It called for countries to show responsibility (of a global kind) and to take steps & measures to reduce their carbon footprint. But alas, many countries bickered and eventually dithered on their commitments blaming each other eventually displaying just an ordinary human trait (“Most species are individually stupid but collectively smart. Humans are the opposite, they are collectively stupid but individually smart” -Edward Wilson). Even the US of A, supposed to be a lone superpower and Global leader made vain attempts to block & impede progress at the event prompting a small nation representative to remark “ If you cant be a leader (and set example) then step aside”

A country that has been a trendsetter in this respect & that i admire has been Norway , the "Land of the Midnight Sun", a small Scandinavian country of 4.7 Million people that displays remarkable alacrity and collective conscience in this respect. It is the only nation in the world that gives away 1% of its GDP as foreign aid and spends substantially on the protection of rain forests. The country has resolved towards making its Oil & Gas sector as efficient & environmentally friendly as possible. It is also probably the only country whose emissaries are respected for their apolitical & neutral standing and are generally in the forefront of arbitration/mediation in conflict ridden zones. It is also a remarkable coincidence that this country ranked highest of all countries in human development index from 2001 to 2006, and was ranked second as of 2008 (behind Iceland). It was also rated the most peaceful country in the world in a 2007 survey by Global Peace Index

How Green is my Internet

A recent NEWS bit on how much the ubiquitous Google search- a query click, which has become contemporary internet ritual, effected the environment came as a shocker. What apparently came into the picture was the carbon footprint it created in basic exchange of information in this digital age. And in an extended way, it also raised questions about organization’s communication infrastructure & its carbon impact arising out of the emissions from running their network.

The “ I am feeling Lucky” convictions that I got out of my regular Google searches turned into a moral baggage & burden of a thought that it was not being so lucky for the environment. Because as per recent NEWS reports; performing two Google searches from a desktop computer can generate the same amount of harmful carbon dioxide as boiling an electric kettle for a cup of tea. I presume this was computed on energy consumption equivalents and therefore hydrocarbon usage , and as per the Harvard university physicist who made the calculations, a typical search generates about seven grammes of CO2! To put this in a broader perspective, available data suggests that computing industry contributes 2 percent of global carbon emissions, similar to the global aviation industry, and this will increase its carbon emissions by 6 percent per year, due to unparalleled demand for computing hardware, software and services.

The underlying driver for all these is the lucrative Internet search market. Google leads this with its engine processing nearly two-thirds of the Web’s queries but there are hundreds of smaller search engines. The economics behind this is quite simple, in the US alone, companies spend $17 billion (Rs.69,700 crore) a year on online advertising, and 40% of that is spent on search engine sites. And the mad scramble to embrace e-commerce has resulted in companies hiring specialists to drive their websites higher in search results on popular search engines to drive traffic to their sites. This in turn is propelling the Internet search industry, not only are the algorithms that drive the search engines are getting better but the search output itself is evolving from traditional text links to unified search results that offer Web sites, news, pictures and video on one page. The searchable index is also increasing exponentially while companies like Google are also building huge repositories of data to support this information binge. The next generation of voice based search has already been lined up. All this frenzy is a build up to feed 4 billion information hungry PCs by 2020.

Meanwhile the browser war has intensified with Google coming up with chrome to take on Internet Explorer version8 to make the internet even better but the big question is how much of an impact will all these have in increasing the network of search engines in this world wide web & its fallout on the environment?

The case of missing sparrows

Last week I drove down to Mysore on a Business visit in the the company of my friend & business colleague Madhu Shetty (owner of Indigoform), who I must say kept me in humored conversation throughout the 5 Hour to & fro drive with his unique perspectives & insights on many mundane things like Palaces, Politics, Business etc., As we stopped by the Deputy Commissioners (DC) office for a scheduled business meeting with the DC , my attention drew to 2 large black Siberian cranes strolling in the vast open lawns surrounding the DC’s office. I turned to Madhu & wondered how such exotic birds wandered in the open & that too in the middle of the city? He was quick to remind me that the birds were from the nearby Rangantittu bird sanctuary and as he lit one of his countless cigarettes asked me a rather innocuous question; have you seen any Sparrows in the open now a days?

As I set myself wondering & recollecting my flash Grey memory as to the last time I saw a sparrow in the open, it suddenly struck me that HE WAS RIGHT! It has been ages since I heard the relentless chirping of house Sparrows and their common sight that I had been used to in my childhood days. Now making up a case for a missing small common bird may be insignificant compared to issues like Global warming & other larger environmental issues we face today but is a definite pointer to the relentless pressure that rapid urbanization & development is exerting on the Habitat of such Birds. Madhu went on to say that the proliferation of low frequency electromagnetic waves that we use in today’s ICT (information & communication technology) applications may have driven this birds away. That may well be true but there could be other reasons as well - Fewer trees, polluted air, rising temperature and dipping water tables.

Take the case of Bangalore, a study done by Indian Institute of Science (IISc) points that urban development has taken away 65% of the vegetation during the last 2 decades. Now that means far lesser greenery that is so vital for the birds feeding & nesting habits. Rapid concrete cover is effecting a twin blow, it is reducing greenery & at the same time depleting ground water table since bore wells spring up simultaneously. Tress can sustain ground water table that in turn sustains greenery and the birds but all this is getting destroyed in a vicious cycle of urban side effects. There is another angle to this issue, trees like Gulmohur , a native of Madagascar & an icon of Bangalore greenery is not suited as nesting tree for birds . So are Eucalyptus and Acadia , that are used to provide artificial green cover are not native trees and neither to they provide natural habitat for the birds and insects nor do good for the soil. A small silver lining to this problem is that of late many Pvt Cos and Social groups have come together to bring back the Green cover to the city . The former funding the social initiatives of the latter as a part of their Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) programmes.

Yeh Taara Woh Taara...

Sometime in Nov last year I was on my way to Mangalore to attend a relative’s wedding & as usual I took one of the several bus operators who ply on this busy route. It so happened that then the main Blr-Mlr road, a NH48 which passes through Shiradi ghats was so dilapidated due to monsoon (which has become a regular feature) that the bus operator told us that he was talking us through another lesser known Sampaje route which also passed through the Western ghats down to the coastal plains.

In the dead of the night, around 2 am or so, the bus came to an halt and i woke up to realize that it might have stopped to help some passengers attend  nature call. Sensing that this was an unusual route & not knowing where it would stop next, i quickly got out of the bus to seize the opportunity. 

Coming out into the chill night i realized that we must be in the middle of the ghats as i was greeted by the dense forest around and the relentless chatter of night life in the wilderness. As i was standing there, going through the motions, i was awestruck by a rather unusual sight . A crystal clear nightsky!!, accentuated by blinding darkness around revealed an amazing tapestry of stars & heavenly bodies across the horizon just above the canopy of thick dark trees. 

What was unusual was the clarity of the night sky, highlighted by pitch dark firmament that i could see the reddish pink tinge of the nearby planet & the whitest white glow of distant stars & constellations. This fleeting experience became a vivid memory because of the circumstances in which i saw the natural wonder. Now a days it is a rare experience for a city slicker like me to just step out to my top floor terrace & get a clear view of the sky in Bangalore on any given night, leave alone seeing the stars. Bangalore like countless other cities around the world, is so polluted with smoke & dust that all you can is view is a thinly placid sky filled with smog scattering the bright glare of the cityscape below.

The amount of light pollution that any city generates can be gauged from a simple observation from a window seat of an aircraft that is about to land in clear dark night. All you can see from several thousand feet up in sky is a swathe of bright yellow & white lights not to mention neon colours interspersed here & there. In fact coming from a late evening Delhi flight recently, an hour or so into the flight, I just kept peering out of a window seat to see whether I could catch a glimpse of a perfectly dark landscape on the ground. Small patches of light kept appearing on the ground almost endlessly & my patience ran out after some time . 

Satellites images of the world captured in the dark, as recent studies show, reveal that the artificial light emanating from cities around the world is 3 times more now than it was in the 1970s. Studies by Royal astronomical society have also revealed that the stars that Humanity is seeing in a clear dark night sky is steadily decreasing with time. Observatories around the world, despite their high resolution telescopes are unable to pinpoint fixed & moving heavenly bodies for astronomical calculations due to this poor visibility. Prompting scientists to put the Hubble telescope into space. And it has not disappointed, seeing into the far reaches of the universe like never seen before.

One of my most vivid childhood memories has been of my mother feeding me with the lullaby & tales of a bright moon (chandamama) & dangling stars under the clear night sky of a far away town in North Karnataka where she was a Govt Medical officer. Whether this simple yet extra ordinarily wonderful natural experience can be had by my son in Bangalore? Nah, may not.