‘Vital Signs with Dr. Sanjay Gupta’ unearths the connection between happiness and well-being in Bhutan

MUMBAI: High in the Himalayas is Bhutan — a country unlike any other, where tradition reigns supreme, and where their leader is letting medicine be his guide.

Dr. Lotay Tshering is a practicing surgeon, who also happens to be the country's third democratically-elected prime minister. He has put healthcare at the centre of a government best known for measuring its wealth in terms of happiness, not money.

Bhutan prioritizes what many researchers now recognize as a key element to wellness and longevity – happiness. In fact, the country’s central values centre on compassion, kindness and happiness.

This month in a special 30-minute episode ‘Vital Signs with Dr. Sanjay Gupta’ spends a week with Dr. Lotay in one of the most stunning countries on earth, for a special look at a place long hidden from view and now in the steady hands of a surgeon.