Phub Dem  | Paro 

With the completion of the Royal Taktsang Project that involved lighting, rewiring and beautification of monastery and monuments on July 12, the tiger’s nest now appears more radiant than ever before.

The project was initiated under the patronage of Her Majesty the Royal Grandmother Kesang Choeden Wangchuck and was funded by Emanuel Fluckiger from Switzerland.

When Emanuel Fluckiger first visited Bhutan as a Swiss tourist in 2006, he hiked to Taktsang. Since then, Taktsang has been his favourite destination.

He said the sacred temple was aesthetic and unique. But being an electrical engineer and a specialist in the field of light and sound, he said that the electrical wires dangling over the temple was a mess.

With genuine respect for Bhutanese culture, he said that the project aimed at highlighting the greatness of the monument. “It is a gift to Bhutan and its people for preserving the ancient culture and monuments.”

Taktsang monastery

Taktsang Lam Phub Dorji along with other monks can now sleep peacefully. With two fire incidences in the monastery, he said that everyone was cautious.

“We always remain alert because we cannot afford to lose the monastery to yet another fire incident.”

With the completion of the project, he said that there was a sense of security and contentment.

Besides infrastructure development, the project also emphasised on building skills.

Paro Dzongkhag Culture officer Sangay Dorji said that the local technicians were given hands-on training at the project site so that they could implement it while working on other projects.

There were 14 technicians involved in the project.

Considering the importance of the national heritage, a volunteer from Bhutan Sound and Light, Tandin said that the new development was focused on safety and aesthetics.

He said that there was a designated heater point, and if appliances of higher voltage were charged in that particular socket, the system would automatically shut down.

“We have specific charging points for mobiles and other electrical things.”

One of the challenges facing the technicians while carrying out re-electrification was the absence of electrical drawing.

Addressing such issues, the Department of Culture (DoC) documented the electrical drawing of the monastery.

Electrical engineer of DoC, Pema Khandu said that the drawing would trace the source, quality and types of material used and also help in identifying faults.

He said that majority of the cultural heritages lacked such documentation.

The DoC, Bhutan Power Corporation, Paro dzongkhag, Bhutan Sounds and Light and private individuals supported the project.

Meanwhile, Emanuel Fluckiger said that he was planning to carry out a similar project in Punakha dzong.

Kesang Choden T Wangchuck and Yonten Lopen Trulku Thinley attended the completion of the Royal Taktsang project that began on June 30.