CACTI: THE NATURAL BULWARKS

Oral literature supports that the succulent plant "opuntia cacti'' around the hillside of Wangdue Dzong were not native to the place but imported from India around the time Wangdue Dzong was built. Its ability to survive on arid soil and ubiquity to proliferate had protected the Dzong against the enemies in the past. Ap Künley from Gaselo says "as much as Wangdue Dzong is historic to Bhutan, the prickly cacti hedgehogs are part of the sacred monument." He calls it "རང་བཞིན་གྱི་སྲུང་སྐྱོབ" or "natural bulwarks". 

As a child, I remember rummaging through cacti plants looking for its fruits. They are edible and taste a little similar to 'dragon fruit'. But only hard work and the ability to endure pains from prickles pays off. It is also a favourite feed for pigs and cattle. I had seen women collecting cacti around Wangdue Dzong in those days.

This time around, spring brought seasonal elegance to the Dzong with the flowering of trãbtû (in Dzongkha) shrubs mixed through cacti plants. Blossoms put a purple pink necklace around the neck of the beautifully reconstructed monument once razed to ground by an inferno. But spectators must realize, enchanting sights are to be enjoyed from afar and not to be intruded—there awaits natural guards "cacti spikes".