A fifteen-year-old Bangladeshi boy sings Bhutan’s National Anthem ‘Druk Tsenden’

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He can sing 120 national anthems, and attempt for Guinness World Record 
Priungshu Roy Chowdhury, a fifteen-year-old Bangladeshi teenager is able to sing the national anthem of 120 countries including Bhutan’s national anthem ‘Druk Tsenden’
Without a single Bhutanese friend in his contact list, he self-taught himself and learned to sing the national anthem of Bhutan. He said, the anthem has a beautiful meaning and I got inspired to learn it by heart.”
“The last line of Bhutan’s national anthem; ‘Bang Dekyi Nyiama Shawarsho’ is truly heart-touching. I understand why Bhutan is called a land of happiness,” added the Bangladeshi boy.
The national anthem of Bhutan was adopted in 1953. It is supposedly written by Dorji Lopen Droep (former Dorji Lopen) Namgay and translated to English by Dasho Gyalduen Thinley, the father of the former prime minister of Bhutan, Jigme Yoezer Thinley. Wherein Aku Tongmi composed the music and tune of the national anthem.
The 15-year-old claimed that he shifted his attention towards Bhutan when the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyonchen Dr Lotay Tshering visited Bangladesh in 2019. He said that his interest in Bhutan only amplified and spent maximum time researching Bhutanese culture and songs.
Priungshu studies in class X in Chattagram Government High School, Bangladesh. He claimed that he usually learns national anthems of various countries during his leisure time.
He said, “Since I was a little boy, I wanted to do something exceptional. I like to research on different countries and their culture. Moreover, I am a huge cricket fan and while watching the matches I realized that the cricketers sing their national anthem at the start of the match. That grasped my attention in an intriguing way that I have decided to try and learn the national anthems of different countries across the globe.”
The Bangladeshi teenager began his journey of singing national anthems when the Bangladeshi government declared a nationwide lockdown in 2020 to combat Covid-19. He streamlined his time productively instead of digitally draining his energy by playing some online games. He said, “It took me eight months to learn the national anthem of 120 countries.”
He also appreciates the young Bhutanese singers after listening to their songs. He claimed that Bhutanese youth are packed with a natural talent for music. He said, “As a musical artist, I wish to share a musical experience and compose a milestone song reflecting 50 years of Bhutan-Bangladesh friendship.”
“Bhutanese songs attract me more. Songs like choe gi ming, tsompapo, choelu tah dhi are added to my favorite listening list,” said the young boy.
Priungshu listens to his favorite Bhutanese singers namely Tshering Yangdon Pinky and Sonam Wangchen most of the time. He claimed that he can also sing a few Bhutanese songs.
He believes that if he would connect with Bhutan’s first young UNICEF ambassador and also a musical artist, Sonam Wangchen, together they can come up with a youth development plan.
He said, “I think it’s not tough to develop the youth and solve their obstacles. If I get a chance to worth with Bhutanese youth, I am positive that it will develop a better communication platform for the youths in both countries. I tried connecting to Sonam Wangchen earlier but I hope that I will get this opportunity.”
The teenager also stated that apart from looking for the meaning and significance of the national anthems, he also spends time learning the national emblem, national animals, and names of the countries. “I am also keen on collecting the national flags of the different countries,” added Priungshu.
Apart from Bhutan and Bangladesh’s national anthems, the boy also loves the national anthems of India, New Zealand, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Africa, and more.
Priungshu also said that he’s patriotic in nature. “Patriotism means the feelings and love for one’s country. As a citizen, we are filled with emotions and love for one’s motherland and the people in one’s country. I believe the world is a big motherland.”
“The Prime Minister of Bhutan in his statement told that he lived and studied in my country; Bangladesh and later went to Australia for further study. But he returned to Bhutan to serve the Bhutanese people. I think this is also another form of Patriotism that he shows to the country and people,” added the singer.
Priungshu is luring his parents and families into traveling to Bhutan by next year. He said, “I will be the luckiest if His Majesty, The Great King of Bhutan, and the Prime Minister, Dr Lotay Tshering grant me an audience.” The teenager also plans to discuss strengthening Bhutan-Bangladesh friendship and people-to-people connection.
He said, “We usually desire to look up to a huge and developed country most of the time. When I analyzed, Bhutan has more room for development. I would love to work in at least three sectors such as youth development, education department concerning English and social sciences and music industry.”
While the 15-year-old, Priungshu Roy Chowdhury is preparing to enter the Guinness Record Book of the World for his ability to sing 120 or more national anthems, he said that’s optional for him. “My main objective and goal are to keep learning national anthems of various countries.”
He shared how determined and serious he is with his attempt to learn national anthems to the extent that his father once doubted if he could balance his studies. He said, “At first my father thought that I am just passing my time, later he got worried thinking of its impact on my studies. However, when they heard me sing and practice seriously, they built up confidence in me.”
In order to balance his study life, Priungshu Roy resorted to using his leisure time to learn music and the national anthem. He ended his interview with a remark, “Long live Bhutan-Bangladesh friendship!”