Celebrations away from home

The biggest Hindu festival Dashain is already here and as people across the nation get ready for Vijaya Dashami, we immediately think of our family and friends who are far away.

Missing everyone back home, they get together and organize a Dashain party with friends to recreate the festive ambience even though they're far away from their loved ones. But sometimes, they miss out on celebrations because of work pressure, college timings, or for the lack of friends to celebrate with. They make do with calls back home.

When we spoke to a few Nepalis living abroad, they talked about the festive buzz in the air, the hustle and bustle of the entire home and the meetings with relatives as what they remember the most from Dashain in Nepal.

Akendra Joshi
Trainee, Chartered Accountancy
Mumbai, India

These days, every time I call home, my mom never misses to ask, "Are you coming home for Dashain?" Having lived in Mumbai for a year and a half, this shall be the third Dashain I won't be celebrating with my family. I missed the first one because I had to stay over in Kathmandu for my exams. And if you ask me what I miss about Dashain, I wouldn't know where to begin...

Starting from booking tickets from Kathmandu to go back home for Dashain, I miss the hour-long queue, the unjust and biased distribution system which were overpowered by the joy of finally getting a ticket for Dashain! I miss the over 20-hour long journey before stopping at beautiful Dhangadi, my hometown. That smell of soil, I still remember so vividly. I miss my mom yelling at us to keep the windows shut because the sunlight will affect the color of jamara. My mouth waters every time I think of 'Kachwali' (raw meat with masala) my dad so enthusiastically prepared. Putting on new clothes on the day of tika, the hustle and bustle in the house, eating delicious food and counting dakshina, oh I miss it all. I can't wait to go through all of that.

Samiksha Bhujel
Student
Tokyo, Japan

This is my second Dashain in Japan. The first one was really disappointing. The Nepali community here had organized a party to celebrate the festival but the boys started a fight while we were on the way. Since we were in the train, all of us just returned to our respective places and missed the party. I don't have any concrete plans for this year, either. I'll be working so I cannot attend any party, but perhaps I'll cook some Nepali dishes and celebrate by myself. Something meat and yummy—that's the theme of Dashain, isn't it?

What I miss the most about Dashain is eating sel-roti with my family while playing cards the whole day. I can just imagine how festive everything will be back in Pokhara, my hometown. I yearn to be home, and receive tika and dakshina from my elders. I always miss my mom's food but this time of the year really makes me miss her and her cooking even more. After all, what is Dashain without delicious food prepared by a loving pair of hands!

Chakra Maden Limbu
Engineer
Qatar

I spent last Dashain with my sister and her family, and some friends. Though we didn't do much except put tika, it was still special as it was my first Dashain away from my family and I at least got to celebrate the festival. A couple of us got together and prepared some Nepali dishes to remind us of the festivities taking place back home. I hope we can all get together this year, too. We don't get holidays here, but luckily we had the weekend during which we had a party. I haven't seen the schedule for this year but fingers crossed we all get lucky this year, too.

Priya Rai
Student, IFA Paris
Tours, France

My last Dashain celebration was five years ago when I was still in Nepal. I came to France right after the Dashain of 2010. I didn't meet a lot of Nepalis here so I couldn't celebrate with anyone. Every year, when Dashain comes around, I start thinking of the festive environment back home and how we would all be excited simply because Dashain was around the corner. The never-ending family gatherings, the pleasure of shopping for Dashain clothes and receiving the koseli brought by guests are foremost on my mind when October comes around. I also miss getting dakshina from the elders. Since I don't know any Nepali here, I never bothered to go to the events organized by the embassy, but I'm thinking of attending one next year when I'm back in Paris.

Liza Maharjan
Student, Smith College
Massachusetts, USA

Dashain is very close to my heart. I grew up in a Newar Buddhist family where we celebrated Dashain every year together with our large extended family. When I was younger, my favorite part of Dashain was wearing new clothes, visiting my relatives' houses for yummy treats and dakshina. But now I've come to see Dashain more as an opportunity to rejuvenate personal and social relationships, and most importantly, to come together as a country to celebrate our culture, history, and each other.

The one thing about Dashain I miss the most after coming to the US is the festive environment of Nepal during this season. Although we do celebrate Dashain in my college with other Nepali students, the atmosphere here is not the same as it is in Nepal, which is infused with so much vibrancy and happiness. At Smith, during Dashain, all Nepali students (six to 10 of us) go to the Chapel where there is a small Hindu prayer space. We offer our prayers to the gods, and the older students put tika and give dakshina to the younger students. We then prepare Nepali food, listen and sing along to Nepali songs, and try to have a wonderful time together. We have a wonderful Nepali community here, but I really miss my country and miss being there during Dashain.

Babins Shrestha
PhD Candidate, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB),
Alabama, USA

This is my fourth Dashain away from home, and more than anything else, I miss going to my hometown, Hetauda, and the excitement of seeing my relatives, especially cousins. We used to go to Churiya Mai Temple and blow some firecrackers inside the tunnel every Dashain. I miss going there, doing that. It goes without saying that I miss the special Dashain swing, gambling over langur burja, and whiling away the leisure playing cards. I miss that sense of collectively being immersed in holiday mood. Everyone is happy and there's that energy in the air, which I terribly miss.

I don't know why, but I've realized that work load is always at its peak here during Dashain. However, we do manage to organize a small Dashain event every year. Some of our friends even manage to get jamara and khasiko maasu, and on the day of Vijaya Dashami, the oldest among us puts tika and offers blessings to the rest of us. We indulge in some card games too, but it's never the same as celebrating Dashain in Nepal.