The intricacies of learning laws

Nothing seems as easy as sitting on the cozy sofa and sipping a cup of coffee so comfortably. Other than the task of putting hand to mouth everything is challenging. Studying, who finds easy actually? I’m sure irrespective of kind of course that the students opt to pursue, every student would lament thier hardships, difficulties and challenges of studying it. Ask engineering and architecture students, doubtlessly they would definitely reply “sucks with designs”. Medical students would also have something to lament. Same may be applied to other courses across the board, no matter technical course or general course. The law students are no exception for lamenting and roaring of hardships and intricacies of learning the laws. What I consider challenges to me may not be other law students. So what I would narrate through this article is not in any way generalization of intricacies of all law students across the world over, it is just the reflection of my challenges as a law student. I’m of the belief that challenges that the law students face may vary from College to College for different college has different syllabus and question models.

Way back in 2007 I decided to study law without even knowing the expansion of the abbreviation, LL.B. I knew Law is completely theoretical course and I have to deal with hell lot of theories and principles but I did not have had realized the realities of law students completely especially Bhutanese Students as foreigners in India. When I joined to University for the first time, for few classes I was lost to different legal jargons and basic fundamentals of law .It was alien to me but not same to my Indian mates. All of them had already studied law before for their entrance exam for years or at least six months to one year .While I had to begin with ABC of law they had to begin with beyond the ABC of law. I had all reason to crack my head in the beginning for few classes. I remember I even cursed myself many times, why the hell I have chosen this course. I was perturbed how I would manage to get through even the first semester if I go on cracking my head nonstop. But with time, after a month I got adapted with the class environment, the way of teaching, few of legal jargons, and so on. That was my biggest relief at the threshold of the journey of learning the laws which was an inspiration and encouragement to pursue the journey further with all endeavours.  I did it, I got through the first semester successfully without any backlogs despite I had tough time to get adapted with the course.

Succeeding the first semester until fourth semester (II Year) I should say it was okay as the course is alloy of law subjects as well as social science like History, Political, Economics, and Sociology. The realities of the law students in the University where I study now begin from III year, VI Semester. I say realities of the law students because from third year onwards no social science, completely law subjects. Besides other areas of learning the laws, one of the most important inevitable subjects included is case laws. This is must which is the backbone of learning the laws. Through the studying of cases legal intellectuals of the law students can be augmented. Knowing the principles and reading the bare Act alone is not sufficient in learning the laws .Law students should also know how  and when to apply the legal principles .This is achieved through reading the judgments/cases.  The case laws include cases of different facts, whether national, or international, or foreign. Completely law starting from third year means we have to study more laws. More laws mean more case laws. More case laws mean more burdensome and cumbersome for students. Even if there are five cases for each subject, in toto it will come 20 cases for five law subjects . In each case there will be facts, issues, law involved, arguments of both the parties, and decision/judgment. If we are required to know the particular number of cases then we should know all aforementioned details of  each case.  Some cases are as long as 300-400 pages. The length of cases is not a problem Professors summarize for us or we dig out summary from Google. Even remembering the decisions or ruling in the cases  is also not a big problem. But when the cases are turned to huge number involving different subjects under different laws of all five Subjects, everything becomes problematic and laborious. That has been the days I got pissed of many times.

As far as my experience goes beauty of learning laws also resides in case laws only and intricacies and challenges also  in case laws . Beauty in  case laws in the sense that cases are of different facts. Some facts are interesting especially criminal, Law of Torts, and IPRs cases while some are simply funny. Some judgments are drafted so interestingly and articulately like a literature. Reading judgments sometimes feel like reading the novel or the literary articles, so interesting with different facts involved of all kinds. Like reviewing the book after finish reading it, so is in learning laws, we get assignments to read judgments and review it.

Of all other intricacies that I have come across in last four and half years of learning the laws the most challenging one has been remembering the names of the cases. To me it has been really hard and torturing to by heart and remember different case names. Forget about getting into my tiny brain easily some Indian names, hardly I can pronounce it. If case names resembled either of the Bhutanese names that would have been far better to remember it but hardly there has been  any case names of such kind but all are in Indian Names .Just for exam we have to  mug up all case names as many as hundred sometimes. Though in the case what and why was held in the case are important not the names of the case but we cannot simply refer judicial decision without its name. Case names are authorities for all judicial decisions which we must cite when ever we refer judicial decisions. Referring judicial decisions without citing the proper authority is something like providing all details of the person for processing Identity card but forgot to give his name. Without providing name, providing all the details is useless, cannot process the Identity Card. So is the case with referring the decisions without citing the authority, the case names. No recognition at all. We cannot fetch even pass mark merely by referring plain decisions without citing the proper authority. Referring  the decisions without authority is presumed to be concocted decision. Supporting the reasons with citing proper authority is only the means to manage pass mark. If  we fail to mug up those case names then we are gone.

No Professor is kind enough to give marks simply on plain statements and reasons. We are bond to know all names no matter how hard it is to remember. No way  we can escape from mugging up those fucking names as long as we are law students. Some names are too long to remember fully. No matter short or long names, mugging up  and remembering two names for every case, for scores of  cases really sucks!! When some Professors allot unreasonable portions for exams sometimes I wish there is also a system in placed to rate Professors performance not based on how good they teach but based on examination so that we can see their capacity to remember the  cases, whether they are able to remember as many as they wanted us to remember. It seems some of them forget to think that our brains are also human brains only, not the computer brains.

See this time one of Professors has given 95 cases for one subject alone excluding the cases for other three subjects . Some Professors are really crazy or rather acting senseless sometimes . But I took risk and studied selectively around twenty cases.  That too was not easy knowing  every details of the case. But this time  luck favoured my selection. My selection  worked,  all questions were from amongst the cases I have studied selectively. I think I had my enough share. In last four and half years I must have studied at least three thousand cases. I’m really really sick of, of all, mugging up of those fucking case names. It is really hard to remember all kinds of Indian names.

But the best part at times that keeps me moving further in every difficult times of learning laws is that I’m left with only a semester now to complete the course. At the most I’ll have to study 100 cases in four months for three subjects starting from January-April 2012 then I’m done .After that no more  I  have to break my head mugging up  Indian names which has been my most hated part in learning the laws.

For now, since my exam is already over it’s time to go to Bhutan for my last internship and come back happily for the last semester…!!!

Walking in the Moonlight

All dressed with the best of their attires,

While guys with fancy outfit

The girls with skimpy and funky outfit

From different colleges, together

We all gathered, though in foreign land

Yet for Bhutanese special cause,

The celebration of Royal Wedding.

With gamut of activities, the celebration

Ended, it was already past midnight then

All dispersed for their respective homes

Alas! Like an abandoned children,

We were all alone left out,

Neither our girls nor Autos turned on us.

Autos, despite number of calls

And reminders refuted to come

 Their wealth- In emergencies or

When we are  terriblly in need,

We become their puppet,

That drove us nuts,

None of us wanted this,

Rather as guys, wanted to use

 Our inherent wealth too,

The strength and boldness.

Despite, a few of us almost plastered,

Whilst some just tipsy, but

All of our legs were fatigued for having

The day football match for one,

And evening jam of beating the cemented

 Floor so hardly, as hard as to groove

The floor, for another. Nevertheless,

We decided to walk all the way to college

Of course with all zest and zing

Up in the sky all stars seemed already dozed off.

Despite repeatedly we tried gazing

We could hardly see any twinkling star

The moon was all alone we could see

Lighting the whole Universe so brightly

Down the earth we were all alone walking

On the highway along with the

Few speeding vehicles,

While vehicles with their light

We were with the moon light so tediously.

As we walked on and on, to the tune of 

Nonchalant night and sound

 Of movement of vehicles, 

We cherished and chatted about

The memorable and interesting moments

We have had in the gathering,

As an entertainment for us to

 Forget the tiredness and

Keep moving further.

On the culverts along the road,

We stopped by couple of times to rest and

To regain the strength to walk further.

After walking one and a half hour

Finally we returned to college,

With , dead thirsty, completely tired,

Exhausted, and acute pain in our legs.

Yet with lots of contentment and enjoyment,

That the awesome  day planted within us,

 For we managed to come together and celebrate

 The very special day, in whatever little way we could,

Of all, in the foreign soil!!!!!!!!!!

Tashi Delek Your Majesties!!!!!!!!

My Royal Wedding Prayers

Peoples’ most awaited moment ever,

Peoples’ most favorite moment ever,

Peoples’ most desired moment ever,

Peoples’ happiest moment ever,

Peoples’ happiest news ever,

Country’s most historic moment ever,

THE ROYAL WEDDING has come….

Your majesties, our beloved king and the angelic queen,

May thy wedding be a seed

 Of growing happiness, peace,

 Sovereignty, independence,

Security, and unprecedented

Development, in the country

Ever higher and higher.

May thy wedding be a seed of

Lengthening your life ever longer.

May thy wedding be a seed of

Growing your security ever stronger.

May thy weeding be a seed of protectecting

Your body and mind ever stronger .

May thy weeding be a seed

Of growing your speech everlasting. 

May thy wedding be a seed

of flourishing, your kind, eminent,

And compassionate, and unprecedented

Deeds, ever higher and higher.

May thy weeding be a seed of growging

Peoples’ commitment to Tsa-wa- sum

Ever higher and higher.

I, miles and miles away, from foreign land,

Yet with true prayers and wishes,

With my head over your heel,

With utmost heartfelt happiness

And jubilation, wholeheartedly

Wishing your Majesties,

A very very Happy Wedding.

Pelden Drukpa Gye lo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stone Grinder (Sleep eater) to Grinding Machine( sleep saver)

Stone grinder(source:google images)

Rangthang(stone grinder) , as we call it in our language(Tsanglow-Sharchop) which is still used in the far flung villages for  grinding  all kinds of grains like wheat, buckwheat, and maize the most. This is a solid hard rock which is curved out from the huge rock. Every rock cannot work for curving out this grinder. There is special rock for this which will be found only along the big river banks. In my village we have to walk around 3-4 hours to search this rock. While curving it should be done in such a way that the palm of each curved stone should be sharp enough to crush it any hard grain properly. Alike we used our two palms to crush pepper when we are in dearth of proper grinder in stone grinder also two curved stones are used for grinding. Two equal curved stones are arranged one above another. Lower one is fixed to its stand permanently without any chance of movement when upper rotates on its top for grinding.

The stand to which lower half is fixed will be usually a wooden tub with a flat base so that whatever grain is grinded will be get collected in the tube wholly. On the top of the upper half there will a wooden handle long enough to accommodate two to three hands for rotating and next to this handle there will be a small round flat area to receive the grains handful by handful through which there is a small hole to pass through the grains down in between two stones for grinding. Depending on the size and heaviness of the grinder, for rotation it requires minimum of one person and maximum of three persons. But in any way both the hands cannot hold the handle in tandem and rotate it. It should be held by one hand at the time and can change the hand as and when it gets tired. If there is more than one person then one of them can pour out the grains handful by handful with whichever hand is not engaged in rotating the grinder.

As long as there is no grinding machine the stone grinder is the only means to make the grains consumable. There is no alternative for this other than grinding machine. It renders remarkable service for sustaining their livelihood. It’s part and parcel for sustenance of their livelihood. However, as much as they hate to be into this business of grinding they will not hate other tiresome works no matter however hard it may be in sweltering heat or in an incessant rain, for grinding happens always late night after dinner or in the early morning before breakfast sacrificing their sleep. No matter it happens late night or in the morning, one thing is common, it eats away the sleep which is the sole rationale why all hate it. After toiling round the clock for whole day in the field again they have to stay late night or they have to wake up early the next day for grinding. It’s not as easy as machine does it. Even for grinding few kilograms it takes so much time. If they schedule to grind in the morning they have to get over before dawn. So, they have to wake up as early as 4am. The aged ones, as they keep on rotating the grinder, they would chant prayers to the music of grinding sound which resembles the roaring of tiger, while the young ones, as they keep on rotating the grinder , they would sing to the music of grinding sound.

Whoever has rooted their life from village might have had their share of holding this handle as long as they were in village. I’m no different. As much as I hate to hold the pen and write exam today, I also hated to hold that grinder’s handle and grind it. But when I used to see my mother alone drenched with sweat trying hard with all her effort to rotate despite too heavy to rotate with one person, I used to sacrifice my sleep and help to my mother which is why she used to say very often after dinner, “Tomorrow get up as soon as I wake you, help me to rotate the grinder, it’s too heavy to rotate myself”. Even if I refuse to wake up she would not stop it she would go on all alone sweating. As a mother she was worried and did it whatever she could for welfare of our tummy. When one of the villagers brought the grinding machine all people in the village were happy. My mother was no different, she too was happy. I thought at least she would be freed from grinding which most of time she had to grind alone with her hands blistered. But cruel fate did not allow to continuing her comfortable life.

Grinding machine(source:google images)

It’s been 8-9 years since they got grinding machine. Ever Since they got that grinding machine their sleep has been saving more and more. They don’t have to worry about waking up early. When it’s dawn they have to simply carry the grains to the place where the grinding machine is located. Machine is machine; it grinds quickly unlike stone grinder. Though they have to spare few kilograms (2kgs/20kgs)as a cost for using the machine but their life with this  is far better today. Nobody cares the cost as long as there is grinding machine andtheir grains get grinded properly. Whenever I’m at home on vacation I could see people have walked 2-3 hours carrying loads of grains to my village for grinding. Life in the village is far better today. Year by year, It’s developing more and more with myriad infrastructural facilities…………………