History, hagiocracy and happiness in Bhutan

The authors were helped to write the road-building story by discussions with Hardy Pradhan, an Australian engineer who worked on the first roads in Bhutan. The roads were built with the help of Indian expertise, but the labourwas largely a national Bhutanese effort, with all citizens apparently expected to work on the project for 33 days.

Tshering has a remarkable chapter about strange creatures: yetis, blue bears, wild yak, snow leopards and blue sheep. He suggests that these creatures 'may exist or they may be either extinct or just a figment of the imagination'. He notes that while Bhutanese believe that these animals exist in the mountains, they make 'no effort to explain or prove their existence to the world', choosing to let them 'live in peace'.

Another highlight is Tshering's account of his meeting with Tsham Penjor, whom he describes as the great hermit. I know little about hermits, but was not surprised that Tsham would have little attachment to material things. The part of the story that surprised me is that despite his solitary life, Tsham is apparently a warm, hospitable and happy person.

Tshering argues that the pursuit of materialism and the desire to be admired, respected and noticed brings with it a great deal of uncertainty. He suggests that 'it is in the simplicity of people like Tsham Penjor that the truth and greatness really live'. Through the example of his life Tsham 'reminds us that the mountains have the power to liberate humans from this uncertainty'.

Is that why Bhutan beckons? Is it the challenge to spend more time on mountains – geographical or metaphorical - aiming to live in harmony with nature and our neighbours and to seek goodness and enlightenment? That seems to me to be an important part of the story.

Tim suggests that Bhutan acts as a magnet because its culture, customs and traditions survive to this day in a careful blend with modernity, including democratic institutions. He urges people to visit Bhutan to 'soak up all that Bhutan has to offer'.

For those unable to visit Bhutan, Tim offers eleven 'levers of life' to help 'capture the essence of Bhutan from a distance'. Tim's first and most important point is 'to be at all times positive and sensibly optimistic'. The main messages in the other points seem to be: to develop habits of mindfulness, to accept responsibility for managing your own life, and to 'give something back to those you owe'. I'm not sure whether Tim's list ticks all the GNH boxes, but he seems to me to offer a sensible recipe for a living a happy life.

Bhutan faces some major economic challenges in the future, even though its GNH policy has not prevented it from maintaining a fairly high rate of economic growth. As noted in the book, Bhutan relies heavily on foreign aid, with India the biggest donor. Bhutan's economy also relies heavily on exporting hydro power to India. The government fears that the consequences of climate change may limit income from this source in future.

However, since Bhutan's unique culture and environment are major tourist attractions, there is greater potential in Bhutan than in most other parts of the world for economic development to take place without compromising environmental or cultural values. The government's strategy of encouraging 'high value, low impact' tourism seems broadly appropriate. Tshering provides evidence that 64 per cent of tourists believe that Bhutan represents good value for money despite regulations designed to ensure that tourists spend more than a minimal amount per day. It seems likely, however, that current regulations would tend to deter substantial numbers of potential 'low impact' tourists.

The big question that is difficult for anyone to answer at this stage is whether Bhutan will succeed in obtaining the benefits of modernity without ending up with the social problems experienced by many modern societies. Most importantly, there is a risk that traditional values and support systems will be weakened as larger numbers migrate from rural areas in search of a better life in the cities. In that context, much will depend on the way government policies evolve in pursuit of GNH objectives. If the government seeks to regulate individual behaviour to a greater extent in an attempt to make people happier it may end up with a high proportion of the population depending on public employment and welfare benefits. In my view, outcomes are likely to be much better if policies evolve to encourage individuals to maintain responsibility for their own happiness.

There are still strong grounds for the optimism about Bhutan that is displayed by the authors of this book. I strongly endorse the authors' view of Bhutan as a land of 'kindly people', 'grand vistas' and 'contentedness' that is 'cleansing of body, mind and soul'.