Cultural Identity in Kunzang Choden’s Dawa: The Story of a Stray Dog in Bhutan

Abstract

This paper discusses the theme of migration as depicted in Kunzang Choden’s novelette, Dawa: The Story of a Stray Dog in Bhutan. The protagonist, Dawa, a stray dog, goes on a journey to the search for true knowledge and enlightenment from the epitomes of wisdom, a monk. What he finds is disturbing to him because the monks he admires not only do not speak Dzongkha, the native language of Bhutan, but instead speak Esperanto, an invented international language. This discovery thwarts Dawa’s expectations and, through the story, provides poignant commentary on cultural identity in the eternal race for authenticity in a rapidly changing world. Migration to neighbouring countries such as India, Thailand, and Australia for studies means that students come back home with new insights and new cultures. When these people shift back into their native country, they bring with themselves an assimilated culture and identity. Sometimes such cultural fusion imposes and causes a disturbance to the conventional values and beliefs in Bhutan, thus making the cultural terrain very dynamic yet lopsided in this landlocked country. Such cultural change and tendency toward Westernization may have a devastating effect on the environment. Urbanization and globalization have opened the doors to pollution that destabilizes the pristine beauty of the Himalayan valley. Newer lifestyles and consumption patterns add to environmental degradation and disturb the ecological balance in the region. This forms the basis of the narrative through which contemporary readers may seek knowledge about, and understand better, the multifarious challenges Bhutan faces.