JAJARKOT, Oct 14: One thing that hurts elderly Sher Bahadur Khatri of Khagenkot VDC-6 here is the gradual decline of traditional folk culture and practices during the Dashain festivities in the district.
He is greatly concerned as the cultural practices that used to be held with much fanfare in the past are gradually disappearing as modernization makes inroads. "The ferry-wheel swings and other type of swings that used to be propped up during Dasain festival in village after village have disappeared. So has the Sigaru folk dance that was the hallmark of the festival disappeared," Khatri bemoaned.
He recounts how they used to construct the swings out of ropes spun from the babiyo grass (a long grass) on tree branches at the vantage points in the village when he was a young man. "But all this has faded away these days as the youths now seem to be disinterested in tradition and culture," Khatri said, expressing concern over the gradual loss of culture that was started by the forefathers.
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According to him, different types of folk dances as Singaru, Saringey, Maruni, Sorathi and Khando among others used to reverberate the villages during the Dashain in the past, but all this is nowhere to be seen these days.
The cassette player and modern songs have replaced these traditional songs and dance now-a-days, he added.
Eighty-three years old Nadi Khatri agrees with Sher Bahadur. "The cultural practices that were handed down by the ancestors have started to disappear due to the technological advancement and the growing influence of Western culture," she said and stressed the need of preserving our unique culture and tradition for the future generation.
"The houses also used to be daubed with the white kamero (a special white clay limestone) in the upper portion and with ochre clay in the lower parts on the outside. Now this has been replaced by different types of industrial paints. The local folk musical instruments used to be played back then, but now the audio decks have taken their place," she said. RSS
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