Four youngsters -- Sangam Shilpakar, 22, Devyani Shiwakoti, 21, Saurav Rajbhandari, 20 and Koshish Kharel, 20 -- discuss what Dashain means to them and how they see it in comparison to the Dashain they celebrated as kids. They even discuss the kind of Dashain they think is lying in wait in the distant future. [break]
“Dashain for me is celebration time,” said Sangam. Koshish seconded him saying Dashain is time for family and friends, while Saurav opined that the festival holds religious and cultural significance. For Devyani, it is a custom and also an excuse for break from the routine.
The word custom in Devyani’s statement acted as the discussion igniter when Saurav said, “Exactly, Dashain is our custom.” He, however, said he gets disheartened as more and more people are finding some kind of an excuse to not celebrate it.
“I don’t really see the kites in the sky this season. There is a steady decline of kite flying every single year,” he bemoaned. But Koshish ruled that estimate out and said laughingly, “It may be because my neighborhood has many kids.”
The girls, however, agreed to the fact that Dashain is slowly but definitely losing the essence it boasted once. “Our generation looks far more excited to be celebrating Valentine’s Day or Christmas,” said Devyani. This time Koshish spoke in affirmative note saying that while in the past, the thought of Dashain nearing was enough to give him goose bumps, now it’s more of a duty that has to be performed. “Dashain will always be Dashain, although not as much big as it used to be,” he said.
Having debated on the appeal of Dashain, the group then focused their discussion on who exactly could be held responsible for ignoring the once greatest festival of all Hindus.
“Isn’t it mass media?” asked Sangam. Others in the group nodded their head, albeit reluctantly and held the political parties as accountable for the loss of popular appeal of Dashain. Argued Saurav, “Go to any office or organization and you’ll always find a sharp division, if not in terms of religious beliefs, on the question of political ideologies.”
“What we Nepalis do not realize is that all these divisions are based on caste, class and ethnicity, and are merely games being played by a selfish few,” admits Devyani, who is of the view that all Nepalis need to stay united instead of divided into different ideological groups.
“Why can’t we all celebrate each others’ festivals and stay together harmoniously? ” asked Saurav. They all agreed that indeed Nepal was once known as world’s one of the most peaceful countries with religious tolerance.
When asked what exactly they think about the future of these festivals, Divyani replied, “I am going to teach my kids to love their country and be proud of our culture.” To this, Saurav added that it was never too late to bring back the charm and past glory of Dashain. “After all we are the backbone of the nation and must strive towards that end,” he added. Koshish too echoed the same concern and said he truly believes that revival is possible. “It requires contribution from each individual but it is definitely possible,” he adds.
To Sangam, the first thing that the present generation need to do is to bring back the faith the youngsters have lost in the festivals and the country and the future it holds to them.
“I think being positive is the key to all our problems -- right from political crisis to the lost festivity,” pointed out Saurav. All of them echoed that they would not like to see the essence of Dashain getting any lesser. After all, they said Dashain is that one festival which brings families together and forms a symbol of good over evil.
“I don’t want to think of a time when we would not celebrate Dashain,” said Koshish adding, “Dashain leaves wonderful memories in its wake every single year and is too precious to abandon celebrations.”
Each of these youths has one specific moment to share about Dashain. Koshish shared how he had the best Dashain around eight years ago when all his family members, including his cousins, were together for the festival. Sangam remembers her grandmother’s blessings -- the tika and the jamara she received -- while she was a fifth grader. Devyani said she remembers a time when none of her siblings had left the country during one Dashain.
For Saurav, Dashain reminds him of a small incident -- the beautiful ray of light and songs passing through his kitchen door. “I think it could be called halo, it was beautiful and was on the day of Dashain,” he adds.
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