The Ground Floor is quite crowded but welcoming.

A Reader using the Library. The shrine is on the wall at the back.

Inside the National Library of Bhutan

The pictures open in the largest book in the world are showing scenes from Bhutanes festival dancing. On the left is a mythical deity, while on the right is a whirling dancer.

National Library of Bhutan

The first picture shows the current National Library building in the background. The building in the foreground is the archives and it is likely the National Library will move into it in the near future to enable renovations.

The second picture shows some of the decorative detail on the building, which is typical of Bhutanese architecture.

The public entrance to the Library.

Druk in colour

Here is a picture of the Druk (pronounced as in 'look'). It is the symbol of Bhutan and the image on the left shows it as it appears on the national flag of Bhutan.

What's in a name?

Naming this blog was a challenge - e.g. does the name give readers a mental picture of the person creating it? And if it does, is the picture they imagine acceptable or counter-productive? ... for this blog, I guess only time will tell.

There is no mistake in the name of this blog. There is no 'n' missing between the u and the k. Instead, the name comes from the name given by the Bhutanese to their country - Druk Yul - or Land of the Thunder Dragon. I selected it hoping that it had not already been used by someone ... luckily it was available.

Tomorrow when I add some pictures to the blog, I hope to be able to show you a druk (in glorious colour).

Has anyone been to Bhutan? I was very fortunate and visited the country in April. The National Library of Bhutan contains the biggest book in the world - but it is behind glass in a special area of the Reading Room. I think they turn a page every now and again.

Drukfan.