Some royals crafted humanitarian images for themselves simply by attending a few charitable cocktail parties and looking good in Versace. Her Royal Highness Princess Ashi Kesang Choden T. Wangchuck of Bhutan is different. The scholar and devout Buddhist practitioner works directly with monks and art restoration experts to preserve her nation’s heritage as the executive director of the Thangke Conservation Center.
Art restoration is a job the princess is well qualified for, but it does not leave her any time for preening PR campaigns. Fortunately, her efforts and those of her colleague and teacher, Ephraim “Eddie” Jose are documented in Tobias Reeuwijk’s “1000 Hands of the Guru,” which screens during the 2016 Asian American International Film Festival in New York.
