Gross National Happiness

By timpatterson On February 5, 2009 · 2 Comments

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I remember an angry cowherd in Bhutan, striding up a Himalayan
path on a golden October evening.

His cows were fat and the rice stalks in the valley were heavy with grain. Prayer flags snapped in the
clean mountain air.

“We need industry!” said the cowherd.

He was a tall and handsome young man who
spoke English well and carried a copy of The
Tempest in the folds of his traditional gho.

“We need electricity and jobs. There is nothing for me in this country.”

Tim Patterson said on February 10, 2009

Hey, thanks for the note. Bhutan is a lovely place, but wealthy tourists and TV tell a vision of a Western lifestyle that the people there aspire to achieve themselves, and it doesn’t involve clean rivers or herding cows. I’m looking forward to more of your writing, Darrin.
Darrin DuFord said on February 10, 2009

Ha! At the NYTimes Travel Show this weekend, Bhutan was indeed pimping itself with that very slogan, “Gross National Happiness.” I guess the cowherd would have not been the best person to hand out 4-color brochures at travel shows.