 |
Kathmandu Thursday October 05, 2000 Aswin 19, 2057.
|
Dashain greetings
A very happy Bijaya Dashami to all our
valued readers and subscribers. This year, Dashain has come in a mixed sort of way. If on
the one hand, the symbolic significance of the festival as manifested in the myths is
assuring, then on the other, the hard realities of the day are depressing indeed.
Dashain traditionally celebrates the
victory of good over evil. Each of the ten days is an epoch in itself in the annals of a
theogony that culminates on the tenth day. During Navaratha, the nine-day run-up to the
occasion of Bada Dashami, female deities representing the various forms of female power or
Shakti are worshipped. The feminine principle that nurtures (Durga) as well as the
feminine principle in reverse, which manifests itself in as the terrible and destructive
form (Kali), is venerated. This practice is obviously indicative of how Vedic religion
understood and respected women. According to the myth, in the course of this period, the
demons, or the forces of darkness were destroyed and on the day of Bada Dashami, the
ultimate in evil the king of the rakshasha Ravan was killed. Thus, we can see how deeply
the beliefs of Vedic religion are ingrained in the celebrations.
Apart from its religious significance,
Dashain is also a cultural event. Although the auspicious occasion of Dashara is observed
all over the world where Hinduism thrives, the Nepalese people have their own very unique
way of celebrating the festival. Although the Nepali tradition of receiving tika from
elders is still strong, the content of the festivity has undergone quite a drastic change.
For many, Dashain has become an excellent excuse for indulgence. Gambling and drinking for
the husbands and shopping sprees for the wives and children - everybody's happy. This is
certainly something the people of a poor country like Nepal can ill afford to do even
though the bonus from the pay hike may have helped to some extent.
A more sobering thought; what will Dashain
be for the people of Dunai or for the families of the massacred policemen. It is indeed
ironic that the Maoist insurgents should be the ones to announce a time-out for Dashain.
Though these thoughts may seem so very inappropriate on such an auspicious occasion, they
happen to be the hard realities of the day. Nonetheless, we once again wish our readers a
very Happy Bijaya greeting. We close from today till Monday. But stay with us, we'll be
back after the break on Wednesday, October 11.
Other Stories
|
