The old man of the house wakes way before everyone in the
house.
As the rooster coo-coo, Aum Kinzang is awakened, she then
makes her way to the kitchen leaving ApLanga
Daza snoring.
The two daughters when done
with washing up accompany their mother who in the kitchen is preparing the breakfast
for the family. It’s Saturday, a day they had arranged for beating maize that
would produce a local snack known as tengma (beaten maize). The oldest and the
youngest work together. The preparation
for this day was planned weeks ago. The stored maize from the season is soaked
in water then boiled. Next comes the drying, the whole process takes two days
before it is roasted and grinded in the mill.
This family owns the only mill of the village. When Mr.
Thinley Tobgay one among the two sons-in-law of the house was questioned about
how the idea of installation of mill occurred to his mind, he answered with a
grin “Well! The distance we had to travel and the money we had to pay just to
grind our rice or to even make some local snacks struck me that we and my
village needed a mill here, in the village itself.” “It benefits the village as
well our family,” he added.
Since the installation of mill in the village, it has been
three years. A lot of people come to grind their rice or any kind of pulses.
They pay according to the villagers’ traditional way of weighing known as khaw.
In 40kg of tengma they have been receiving approximately Nu 3200 worth of profit.
They take their tengma packets to Tashigang and it even reaches Thimphu if
relatives come by. Again extra income comes from the sales of the vegetables
they grown in their fields.
When they start their work, all the family members gather around
and start roasting the maize on the big pans. Children playing alongside. Some young
ones helping them roast, and even a number of people from the village come to
help.
Tashi Dhendup, 12 shares,” its fun to roast the maize grains
while talking to your elders.”
“It’s a time to connect and learn more about every
generation it seems, “shared a 19 year old Tshering Dorji.
Every generation in this family lives learning and working
together. A perfect harmony.
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