Karma Tshering
Karma Tshering of Gaselô was born at Thimphu in 1968. Orphaned in 1971, Karma spent his youth in Dagana, Gaselô and Thimphu and graduated from the Simtokha Rikzhung School in 1989. After completing his Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) examinations in April 1989, Karma joined the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS), where he became a Dzongkha news reader for radio until 1993. He also edited, wrote, translated and conducted interviews for the BBS. From 1993 to 1996, Karma was Deputy Managing Director for Gasep Construction, and in 1996 he served as Deputy Managing Director for Radak Co. Ltd. (Shâ Slate Mines).
In 1997, he worked in Leiden for the Himalayan Languages Project and helped organise the 1997 Himalayan Languages Colloquium, at which he presented a paper on Dzongkha phonology. Karma is co-author of the Dzongkha grammar.
Since 1997, Karma has worked as a licenced tourist guide for culture and adventure travels. He specialises in birding and is one of Bhutan's most adept and knowledgeable birding guides. He also conducts trekking tours and since 1994 Karma is the sole Bhutanese agent for paragliding in the kingdom. Karma is also an avid archer.
In 2003, Karma worked as coordinator and logistics expert for the Genetic Survey of Bhutan, a programme of the Royal Government of Bhutan and the ESF team Languages and Genes of the Greater Himalayan Region. In 2006, Karma worked at the Leiden University Medical Centre as a research assistant for the programme Languages and Genes of the Greater Himalayan Region.
Selected publications
Karma Tshering and George van Driem. 1998. Dzongkha. Leiden: Research School of Asian, African and Amerindian Studies [language textbook, xvi + 489 = 505 pp., with three audio compact disks].