Simply told stories about lives of women in Bhutan. ( )

This book is a series of short stories about the changing roles of women in Bhutan, the challenges they face, and their fears and strengths. Kunzang Choden is a natural storyteller and I very much enjoyed learning a bit about the cultural change occurring in Bhutan through reading these stories.

The first one is about an elder of a village. She practices the old Bon religion and acts as a spiritual medium. Her services are still sought after even though modern Buddhism has largely replaced Bon thoughout Bhutan.

Another story finds 18 year old Yeshima yearning for schooling. She watches her friend and neighbor go off to work each day and dreams what it would be like to travel to the city, work in an office and use computers. Even though the world is changing rapidly, culture and tradition dictate that she stay home to attend her ailing mother while her brothers receive the benefit of a good education. Her whole life is spent subservient to her parents and brothers until one day she hears about adult literacy classes and makes the decision to attend .

The title of the book is taken from the last story about an expert wool dyer, Tsheringmo, who teaches her grand niece the craft, art and folklore that she has accumulated over her lifetime as a master dyer. She was as well known for her stories as for the wonderfully colored wool she produced. There is a wonderful one explaining how sheep had wool of every color. A Tibetan minister had stolen a Chinese king's herd and the Empress in her anger issued a curse and all the sheep drowned except the black and white ones. And so today dyes have to be used to get the other colors. As Tsheringmo ages and becomes more feeble, the villagers reflect on what they are losing:
"But nobody could ever deny that just as Tsheringmo had colored the fabrics the people used to clothe themselves with, she had also brightened their lives with the tales she told them. Not simple tales but tales in colour." ( )

C'est une charmante série d'histoires qui racontent la vie au village dans le Bhoutan. Avec beaucoup de simplicité, des descriptions précises et mises en situation typiques, Choden nous parle de la vie dans un pays mi-moderne mi-traditionnel. Elle fait le tour de différents villageois, ceux qui ont adopté une vie traditionnelle, ceux qui ont réussi dans la ville tout en mettant l'accent sur les femmes et leur lot de filles, de mères, de sœurs et d'épouses. De jeunes aux vieux, on parcourt toute la gamme des sentiments humains transposés dans un décor unique et révélateur. ( )