Bhutan's `Gross National Happiness' index

Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom the size of Switzerland with no McDonalds, no ATM machines, no traffic lights, and until five years ago no TV, is for many people a species of Shangri-La. It's as spiritual as Tibet, but without its political problems. The only hurdle for prospective travelers is the relatively high price of a visit -- a deliberate tactic set in place to limit tourism and preserve the nation's culture.

The Blessings of Bhutan is the modest work of an American couple from the banks of the McKenzie River in Oregon (which they claim resembles Bhutan, if only scenically) who have been going there since 1996, latterly to help set up a desk-top publishing company. It looks at many aspects of the country, from archery to -- rather surprisingly -- sexuality.

Bhutan is ranked 130th in the UN Development Program's ratings, close to Haiti and Bangladesh. Most visitors rate it almost infinitely higher, however, and the measure they use is one let fall by the country's king in 1987 -- "Gross National Happiness." This is no joking contrast with Gross National Product, but a serious measure of how any place might be assessed -- not by per capita income, the number of concrete roads, dams and parking lots, but by the simple quality of life. This most observers believe Bhutan's is enviably high.

Gross National Happiness -- and it's an official criterion of the Bhutanese government -- is measured by the levels of environmental protection, cultural promotion, good governance and -- the only item shared with the UN's criteria -- economic development. Clearly this last is not encouraged if it results in a decline of any of the other three.

Despite a burgeoning interest in Tantric Buddhism in the US and elsewhere, Bhutanese sexual norms are markedly different from those in the West, both more modest and more extrovert. At the country's only college, for instance, dating is forbidden, yet genital images are painted on the walls of many houses in what these authors dub sacred paint. The country appears to combine a culture of marriage and mischievous sexual play. But the former is easily dissolved by either partner, a simple fine may be payable for marital infidelity, and having more than one wife or husband is legal. Rape, however, can result in a prison sentence.

What is so attractive about this system, at least as described in this book, is that it lacks any over-reaction to sexual events, any pent-up anger, or culture of jealousy and consequent punishment -- both elements that have grown up in the West as part of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Instead, it's relaxed and practical. Erotic joking is common, seemingly, with no sense of such things being "obscene." As has often been remarked, puritanism and pornography are two faces of the same coin. Bhutan has neither -- though it does nowadays have the Internet.

Archery is more than the national sport -- it's the focus for a great part of the country's social life. While the strong men draw the bow, parties of observers gather round to sing love songs, dance the local dances, and light-heartedly insult their opponents. The target is tiny, a mere 1m-tall and 28cm wide, and placed at a distance of an astonishing 140m. To hit it at all is a cause for celebration. When Russ Carpenter, clearly not in his first youth, hit it both times on his first two attempts, his feat quickly became legendary.