DASHAIN- a time to celebrate
Perhaps, it is the best time of the year. Summer has gone and winter is yet to come. This interlude of time is exciting and bountiful. Beauty of this time is not just because it is endowed with rich colors and flowers but also because it brings in festivals and celebrations.
Two of our main festivals – Dashain and Tihar are now at the threshold of door. These festivals are widely celebrated in Bhutanese community. Of course, these festivals have religious and spiritual connections; for ages, they have gone beyond these limitations embracing community values of sharing love, joy and togetherness.
Back in home, Dashain used to come with lot of excitement and delight. Flowers blooming at the courtyard of house, fleshly cleaned and tidied walk-trails, newly colored house-walls, paddy and marigold garland up upon the door and aroma of zesty food traversing the hills. For those who were away from home it was time think of home and family. For those who wouldn’t visit the family, it was time to write letters and be nostalgic.
The way we celebrate might change with time and space, but the very essence of festivals doesn’t. We have always lived in close community. Following the resettlement, this geographical close connection and interdependence in the community has shrunken. But, thanks to the internet and modern technology for providing easy means of instant communication. Never in history, our lives were busier and routinized than what we are witnessing today. The entire Bhutanese community in diaspora is experiencing taste of western world – miraculous, mechanized and routinized life.
Dashain! Isn’t it the time to take few days off, of your schedule? And of course, a good pretax, right? A great occasion to meet and greet families and friends. A great moment to eat together and share happiness. A great time to see elders, receive their blessings and wish them better health and well-being.
Celebrations are always good. They have power to change your mood and energy level. They have power to imbibe your exhaustion, revitalize spirit and evoke positive emotions.
In the post resettlement scenario, when our cultural identity has become a concern, it is time for us to teach our kids about the values and significance of these festivals. Dashain is celebrated to mark the victory of God Ram over the demon king Ravann in ‘Treta Yug’. During Dashain, Goddess Durga is worshiped in different manifestations for nine days. The tenth day is observed as Vijaya Dashami-meaning the day of victory.
Dashain embodies victory of good over evil and light over darkness.
Let Goddess Durga bolster energy and power in you.
Have a Great Dashain!