When on a visit to the city of Hyderabad, His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel
Ugyen Wangchuck of Bhutan, talks to TOI about life as royalty
in one of the world's happiest countries
Being a good human being;
surrounding yourself with positive energy; being honest to yourself — these are
not things you expect your average 29-year-old to harp on when you ask him
about his life. But then again, His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck
is not just any 29-year-old. Popularly referred to as the crown prince and heir
presumptive to the throne of Bhutan, Jigyel Ugyen, is a scion of royal stock,
living the life of true blue royalty in the 21st century world. But the young
prince, though fiercely patriotic about his country and proud of his lineage, dismisses
these 'titles' given by "the Western media" as misnomers.
"I am aware that on Wikipedia and in many articles in the media, I
am referred to as the crown prince of Bhutan.
That's something I find very disturbing. It's a very western concept; I never
look at it that way. I happen to be second eldest son, and by that logic, I may
be the next one eligible to become king. But we Bhutanese are a very traditional people. Our
King is supreme, so this idea of 'crown prince' is not something that even
crosses my mind," says the soft-spoken prince, as he sets the tone for a
candid conversation punctuated with funny anecdotes and insightful revelations
of his life as royalty in his quaint country.
Bhutan's
reverence for the throne and the crown
is reflected in the way Prince Jigyel says, 'His Majesty, the Fifth King of
Bhutan', every time he mentions his elder brother, Jigme Khesar Namgyel
Wangchuck, the ruling monarch of the Himalayan Kingdom. Ask him if his
relationship with the King, his brother, is always this formal, and the Prince
takes a moment to collect his thoughts. "I will try to explain this the
best way I can...," he begins.
"I am a very patriotic, traditional person. For me, His Majesty, is
my King first and then brother. So if he walks in right now, I will stand up. I
will bow when I speak to him... That said, His Majesty is humble and down to
earth, and that makes it possible for me to share a joke with him, or perhaps,
enjoy a game of basketball or football. It's another thing that he is very busy
since he takes care of the whole country... We do not get to spend too much
time together."
So what is it like to be a
prince in the last Himalayan Kingdom? On one hand, he admits he is a young
modern man who "loves sports, plays the guitar" and "doesn't
like protocol too much" while on the other, he tours the world as a
representative of His Majesty, the King of Bhutan, and President of the Bhutan Olympic Committee. "It can get
challenging at times because you are always under the microscope. Whatever you
do, whatever you say is being looked upon very closely and judged. But if you
be yourself, be a good human being and have positive energy around you, I think
everything just falls into place. It's only when you try too hard that it
becomes harder," he says, in a Zen-like manner, that almost belies his
age. Ask him if it has anything to do with the Bhutanese way of life and its
Buddhist principles, and he laughs. "I get that a lot," he quips.
He may have been born a prince, but he likes to believe he's had a
pretty normal upbringing as a child. "His Majesty, the fourth King of
Bhutan, my father, always taught us that the King is the servant of the people,
and not the other way round. In fact, we went to private school only upto a
certain age, after which all of us siblings were put in the public school where
we studied like any other child in Bhutan. There have been times I got ragged
and bullied around by other boys. Why, I even had to fight with guys over the
same girls. I was a chubby child, so I never had too much luck in that department,"
he says, flashing an affable smile.
As a teenager too, Prince
Jigyel has had experiences that were life changing by his own admission. At 19,
he abandoned his politics and history degree in Oxford to
fly back to Bhutan and join the militia for military operations against
separatists, without the knowledge of his parents. "I was just out of high
school, so I was very idealistic and patriotic. When I realised the situation
at home, I did what I did, not as a prince, but as a patriot of Bhutan. I knew
if I asked my parents' permission, the answer would be big 'no'. So I joined
the militia without their knowledge initially. In retrospect, that's one of the
best decisions I made because what I saw and the experiences I went through
made me a very different person," says Prince Jigyel, before excusing
himself from elaborating any further. He went back to Oxford after that and
completed his education before returning home to resume royal duties.
Though his stint in the
military operations made international headlines, Bhutan's royal family has
maintained a rather low profile until recently when Bhutan got noticed and
placed on the global map, admits Prince Jigyel. Curiously, he has met many
people around the world who've had no clue about Bhutan until they got a chance
to interact with him. "It's funny sometimes. When I was in high school in
the USA, I'd tell people I am from 'Bhutan', and they'd ask me, 'Where is that?
Is it somewhere in Africa.' And I'd
say, 'Do I look like an African to you? (laughs). Even in Oxford, my political
science professor, didn't know where Bhutan was."
Back home though, that kind of anonymity is something that he cannot
even dream of. "It has always been my childhood fantasy to be able to walk
on the streets of Bhutan like a common man, without being recognised," he
says. And has he ever played out this fantasy? "Oh, several times! I tried
many disguises — Japanese tourist, a military soldier, a Buddhist monk. But
unfortunately, I've gotten caught every single time! And once that happens,
it's embarrassing. First, people are shocked. But then they start looking and pointing
at you, and I have to run,' he quips.
Internationally too, things
are fast changing for Bhutan, which is no longer an isolated little nation in
the Himalayas. A colourful coronation ceremony in 2008 which crowned the
28-year-old Oxford graduate Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk as the King of
Bhutan, made global headlines. Later in 2011, the royal wedding of the King to
Pema Jetsun, a commoner, captured the imagination of the whole world and was
touted to be largest media event in the history of the country. And Bhutan's
inclusion in the Olympic family too has turned things around, says Prince
Jigyel. "Now, everywhere I go, people recognise me. Especially when I'm
dressed in the national attire, wearing the traditional colourful shoes, people
just want to walk up to me and talk about my culture. And now, after joining
the Olympic family, there is so much more exposure. Members of representative
countries from all over the world are so curious and so interested in our kingdom, our people,
the whole idea of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, the
concept of Gross National Happiness...," he says.
Elaborating on the very fascinating 'Gross National Happiness' concept
that Bhutan uses to measure national prosperity, Prince Jigyel says, "I
believe that measuring the happiness index of people is a more sensible,
wholesome way of deciding how prosperous a country is. Happiness is a relative
term, and it's not like we have cracked a code as such, to remain happy
forever. But there are four pillars of happiness that we work on and constant
research is being done to figure out if there is a way we can present this
whole concept mathematically. But I can tell you from experience that it's not
monetary welfare alone that matters. I have met poor farmers on my regular
visits to the countrysides of rural Bhutan, where material wealth may not be
much. Yet, I have found that some of them are far more happier than some of the
billionaires I have met across the world."
And where does he figure on the happiness scale? "Well, I'd like to
think I am a relatively happy person," he quips. "Every day is not
the same, and emotions are varied in human beings. But on the whole, I am happy
when I can be myself. And as long as you are true to yourself, that's not too
hard to achieve."
When he is not pursuing and
perfecting the art of happiness, which seems like a national obsession with the
Bhutanese, Prince Jigyel is busy putting Bhutan on the global map — be it by
his numerous visits to nations around the world, or his active participation in
sports; even as he enthusiastically paves a way for Bhutan to better its
representation in sports internationally. In fact, it's his skill in
competitive shooting, that got him all the way to Hyderabad as the Chief Guest
at the 56th National Shooting Championship organised by the National Rifle Association.
"I was fortunate to have been invited here not just as the Chief Guest,
but more importantly as a participant, because that's when you really get to
see and experience the real action. That's more important that what you do
sitting in the back-end office, " says the modest Prince, who believes in
leading by example. "I got to meet to a lot of wonderful people, not just
the athletes, but also the coaches and the various members of the AP Rifle
Association. It was wonderfully organised and many ideas came to me during this
stint in Hyderabad. I will be taking back many of them. In fact, it was here in
Hyderabad that we hit upon the idea of having an annual shooting competition
between India and Bhutan. It will be open to Armed Forces and there will be an
open category as well. We are thinking of taking this sport very seriously in
Bhutan because I personally think it is a sport we can excel in," he says.
