Dashain is Nepal's biggest festival but it isn't essentially celebrated by everyone in the country. There are people for whom the Dashain holiday is just like any other vacation except for the closed shops, empty streets and kites flying in the sky. WAVE talked to three young people who don't celebrate Dashain from a religious standpoint but know how to enjoy this time nonetheless.
Samuel Chhetri, 24
Dashain for me is an extra vacation that I always look forward to even though I don't celebrate it. The best part of this festival is that I can be free the whole time and thus do whatever I want to.
Most of my friends remain very busy with the different celebrations and so there is no chance to hang-out with them like I do the rest of the year. So, I spend this time with my family and relatives. Now that I am in college, my younger brother and I set out on my bike to explore Nepal during the Dashain vacation. Dashain for me is all about having fun the way I know the best. As I am a Christian I don't celebrate Dashain as other Nepalis do but I do play music with a Christian band and organize solo concerts for other friends who don't celebrate this festival either.
Nabila Banu, 22
This is the only time of the year that my friends are busy at their homes doing pujas, savoring delicacies and travelling around for tika. So, I stay at home mostly to be around my parents. My mother and I work in the kitchen and try a new recipe every day. We usually go for a movie or plan a family picnic. At other times, I play computer games with my father and brother. Being with the whole family, without any work or college to attend to, is a lot of fun and the days fly by. But that's not all to Dashain, for a Muslim family like ours; the best part of Dashain for us is when my parents' friends bring us yummy sel-roti as 'Dashain Bhet'.
For me Dashain-Tihar is the best time to go for evening walks because the streets are almost empty. But it is the worst time for shopping since the shops are overcrowded just before the festival starts but are closed once the festival is underway. It is amazing to see how people disappear suddenly from Kathmandu once the festival starts. I find it kind of spooky actually.
However, during Tihar, like everyone else, my family and I enjoy the glittering lights everywhere in Kathmandu. The houses and shops are decorated so beautifully with such colorful flowers and lights that I wish it would remain like that all year round.
Tashi Choetso, 22
Dashain to me is the perfect vacation. Kathmandu becomes less chaotic which makes it enjoyable to walk around the empty streets. Cycling is a good way to spend Dashain for my friends and me. Also, it is the perfect time to go on short road trips. Pokhara is my favourite destination for Tihar. I have been going there in the past and this Tihar too; I hope to be there for what better way to spend the festival than by being in a serene place. Besides these, what I love about Dashain is getting invited by friends to share the festivities with them. I love, love eating sel-roti and the different delicacies that my friends prepare at their homes, and receiving tika and money always make me happy.
