Bhutan goes Bollywood

The coronation of Bhutan's new King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk next month will feature a surprisingly varied cast from India.

Led by chief guest President Pratibha Patil, a power-packed delegation comprising not merely top political honchos but also Shah Rukh Khan will travel to Thimpu. The Indian delegation will manage a double act of cementing ties with Bhutan and entertaining the new king.

The crowning of Wangchuk, 29, who is world's youngest king, will be a special affair with lots of colour and fanfare. While UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi is a special invitee, Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi is also expected to be there along with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Despite the pageantry and the presence of political heavyweights, the show stealer may well turn out to be a performance by Khan and Bollywood's newest heart-throb Katrina Kaif at Thimpu's new soccer stadium. The king is an avid movie watcher and the performance has been planned at his royal request.

Bhutan is the only country in the world that measures its prosperity by what is known as the gross national happiness. In March, the tiny country of 7,00,000, which acts as a strategic buffer for India, took a giant leap to voluntary democracy, a rare feat for a country ruled by a monarch. The present king's father Jigme Singye Wangchuck spearheaded the change.

The Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party led by Jigme Y. Thinley swept the polls by a landslide margin. While the king is the head of state, the Parliament holds the right to remove him by a two-thirds majority. Also, a retirement age of 60 has been fixed for the monarch, something a not-so-young prince in London has been waiting for long.

—Saurabh Shukla

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