Guwahati, July 28 -- "I cycle every night from Paro to Thimphu. I find it meditative." I was sitting across the Fourth King (K4) of Bhutan, listening in awe as the Druk Gyalpo or the "Dragon King" of the Himalayan kingdom narrated tales about his tryst with quiet contemplation. In 2013, when I met him, the ruler had, of course, passed on his reign to his son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. But the "relinquishing" of power was perhaps more by way of grooming his son for the higher duties of a monarch. In more ways than one, the K4 decreed over the realm and was perhaps one of the most revered personalities in South Asia. In Bhutan, he was a celestial being whose word was divinely ordained without question.

I had been warned that I had to...