Kami is back but the gompa is gone.

[Bill Martino]

The good news is the weather cleared for a couple of days up in the Solu, Kami was able to get a flight and is back at work in shop 2.

I hope he finds a way to increase production. For the first couple of months six kamis working six days per week have been able to produce a total of about 50 knives -- and 15 or so of these lost in shipment. I think we may have to hire a couple of helpers to do small stuff like bolsters and buttcaps and do some polishing to free up the master kamis so they can concentrate on blade production only. Our kami who came over from the production shop will have no problem with this but the others will resist. They do not like the idea of other people working on "their" khukuris. We will have to play it by ear.

The bad news is the gompa had to come down -- too much structural damage. Taking the gompa down was a serious affair and a half dozen Buddhist lamas came to do the proper prayer and ritual for such an occasion. All the thankas, statues, paintings and icons were removed and placed in grandparent's home with proper blessing.

And so it goes....

Uncle Bill

 

[Howard Wallace]

Even the solid Gompas are like the prayer flags. They tatter in the winds of change and dissappear.

*****************

Those recalcitrant kamis may have a point. There are some things that should not be sacrificed for efficiency. Give serious thought to their objections and make sure what is gained is more valuable than what is given up.

 

[Bill Martino]

Right you are, Howard, on both counts. There are times when you are simply better off to let the kamis do it their way. And, the gompa was not used today as it once was. It is the loss of memories housed in the old gompa, not the gompa itself, that causes the sadness.

Uncle Bill