Celebration of dashain.

Dashain is one of the most important and significant festival for the Hindu communities in and around the world. It is a day which marks the victory of truth over evil. It has indeed two stories. One of them covers the fact, that it is celebrated with regard to Lord Rama’s victory over Ravana. The fact says that, it is celebrated for the best season.

“The festival falls in Autumn/sarad ritu which is the season of harvest. All the crops are harvested, grains are stored in the house, fruits are ripped and, flowers bloom in the garden. There is favorable weather condition and temperature is marine”, said Mrs. Sumi Gurung, 32 years old.

 Dashain is also known as Dasahara. Dasa means, “obstacles or misfortune”, Hara means, “remove or disappear”. Thus, younger ones receive blessings from the elders to remove obstacles and to make their bright future.

“The festival is charged with lot of enthusiasm, jest, and happiness. During dashain family members from all over the world and different parts of the country come together. The festivals usually last for ten days. On this day, younger children receive tika and blessings from the elder parents and grandparents”, said Mr. Bom Bahadur Chhetri, 74years old, lives in Dantak Camp.

Many people worship goddess Durga Bhavani and visit temples to pray the goddess. This is called the Nauatha visit.

“Despite being far from my parents, the day was as memorable as the one which I have spent with my family. Early in the morning, I went to Hindu mandir to get blessings and went to senior brother’s house to put tika and get blessing. Although I missed my home and parents, I complemented the tika ceremony I had to that of village. I am indeed blessed to be here where every ceremony is made memorable with best interest of time. To conclude, the day was very enjoyable, not less than that of home”, said Mr. Hari Narayan Timsina, 1st semester, A English Dzongkha.

Dashain is celebrated as a common festival of rich and poor and as a symbol of power. People observe Tika receiving ceremony as an opportunity to resume past broken relations with their relatives and friends. Dashain is an immense opportunity for the relatives living abroad to come together. This was 2071 years of dashain celebration in Hindu calendar.