Against the spirit

Bhaskar Sharma

Though Dashain and Tihar find a special place in the Hindu heart, and its essence is understood by most, the way in which it is celebrated these days is marked by what one might say as ‘going against its basic spirit’.

Falling within September to November mostly, these two festivals are, without doubt, the greatest of all Hindu festivals. Exchanging tikas and gifts with near and dear ones during Dashain, and amusing ourselves with Deusi-re at Tihar with brothers and sisters reciprocating blessings upon one another is something that we really enjoy.

The celebrations can be seen not only in Nepal, but also in India and other parts of the world wherever Hindus reside. What makes the festival intriguing is the fact that families tend to gather under a single roof and meet near and dear ones at least once in a year.

However, exchanging gifts and shopping for one’s own self has increased simultaneously with higher spending on alcohol and gambling, which is going against the spirit of the festival with each passing year.

Importantly, apart from those people who intend to purely make the best out of the festive occasion through jubilant celebrations, there are others who would like to benefit from it unethically. Occurrences of looting and killings during festivities is not uncommon. One must surely have heard a number of theft and robbery cases especially during this period, and the victims are usually the ones who are carrying home their hard earned and well deserved income and bonus.

If one roamed through the streets before the onset of the festival this year, he must have seen a lot of hustle and bustle in the capital city. People of all shapes and sizes, of all classes and of almost all castes, busy browsing and shopping. Even the city streets that usually bear a deserted look at other times are thronged with people during this period. However, this is not the whole part of the story.

Preceding the festivals, even those who do not wish to freak around at other times of the year can be seen in the markets, busy browsing and anticipating to catch the attention of the few pretty faces around. Though the packed restaurants with people in festive mood add to the rapture, going through alcohol and gambling, though the festival itself allows it to some extent, has increased, which is a matter of utmost concern to parents of growing children. The increase in violence as a result of disputes arising in gambles and over tables while boozing is leading the younger generation towards a dangerous trend.

"The core concept of Dashain and Tihar has changed in the past few years. It is no more as it used to be, shifting towards more alcoholism and gambling, which is having an adverse impact even upon those who would like to stay away from these vices", says Bina Sharma, mother of college going children and a resident of Sanepa.

"Now the days have changed, perhaps to take, what they say, a more ‘modern’ turn. Instead of asking for tea or coffee as we did in the past to any visitor, now we ask: What would you like to have—Whisky, brandy, beer or rum", she adds.

Similarly, Sushma Rai, a resident of Godavari and a teacher by profession, says, "Children exposed to cards and gambling, even alcohol consumption at home, at an early age would certainly be open to very negative impacts on their cognitive development. There is also a greater chance that such children themselves consume alcohol or cigarettes".

Excessive gambling and alcoholism have brought radical changes in the mode of celebrating the two great Hindu festivals, which we have been commemorating down through the generations. The entertainment aspect of Dashain and Tihar is heading towards a direction contradictory to the very theology upon which the concept of the festivals is based.

Instead of considering Dashain and Tihar as an opportunity to rejoice at the meeting of family members and relatives after a year’s span, the essence has gradually become debased. Forgetting the basic nature of the celebrations, today Dashain and Tihar have become more of a fad to drink, gamble and spend excessively. However, there is no denying that youths out of track have not brought down the respect of most elderly people who continue to place high importance and emotional attachment to Dashain and Tihar.

"If excessive drinking and gambling are done away with, and the mode of celebrating Dashain and Tihar turned into what used to be in the good old days, perhaps then our zeal to celebrate the festivals in a more jubilant manner could be revived. Though Dashain this year has come to an end with the usual boozing, let’s hope that the upcoming Tihar is celebrated with the spirit in which it actually evolved", say both parents.

Dashain and Tihar has a special significance in Hindu religion. While Dashain marks the victory of Rama over Ravana, Tihar symbolizes the time when Rama came back to Ayodhya with the whole city lit up with lamps welcoming their favourite son back after a span of over 14 years away from home. In addition, legend holds that Dashain is also celebrated to mark the death of Mahisasura, a demon, at the hands of Goddess Durga, and Tihar, to celebrate the meeting of Yama, the God of death, with his sister Yamuna, who wished for his long life by applying tika on his forehead, and the tradition is believed to have continued.

Eco tourism in Nepal
destination unlimited

Gajendra Bahadur Jung Chettri

For long since the inception of tourism in Nepal, Nepal started off by evoking on the image of "Shangri-La", a land where everything was "cool". From the simple innocent people, to the weather and to the mountains, culture and heritage. But through the passage of time things have changed, the innocent people have changed and the mountains have changed too.

Tourism the proverbial "goose" that would lay the golden eggs for Nepal does not seem to exist any more in its glossy form as foreseen. But everything is not lost as yet. Because, the natural legacy and wealth of Nepal unparalleled in the world, given its geographical size and difficult location can be turned into a natural magnet for naturalists, researchers, explorers and travellers for that fascinating alternative and an ultimate environmental trip. A trip that will rekindle the past and make you ponder for the future.

Today eco-tourism is the fastest growing segment of tourism industry and is attracting between 40 to 60 percent of all international tourists and travellers. But it is very important to understand that every environment related tourism activity is not eco-tourism, as every tourist taking a trip to the national park to observe wildlife and ride an elephant is definitely not an eco-tourist. Eco-tourism and eco-tourist are in fact, purposeful travel to natural areas to understand the culture and history of environment, taking care not to alter the integrity of the eco-system while producing economic opportunities that make conservation of natural resources beneficial to the local and indigenous people. Thus, besides providing a basis for the protection not only to the eco-system and those dependent on it, it also focuses on the economic upliftment of all the interacting factors and players without disturbing the centuries old symbiotic relation between man and his surroundings i.e nature.

It is a known fact that tropical Asia houses the richest diversity of the forms on the face of our planet and so Nepal, along with the Indian subcontinent, could very aptly be termed as a gate-way to this ecological heaven. Though, Nepal only covers 0.1% of the total land on this planet, it houses 656 species of butterflies, about 5052 species of insects, 847 species of birds, 181 species of mammals, 14 species of spiders, 2 species of crocodiles, 60 species of snakes and 14 species of lizards to name a few. This varied species is due to the 118 eco systems identified in Nepal within her five physio-graphic zones. While it harbours 2 percent of flowering plants, 3 and 6 percent of pteridophytes and bryophytes respectively of the existing identified world flora. As, not much exploration and research work has been done on Nepal’s flora and fauna, it is literally the "Garden of Eden" for the socially appropriate traveller of the 21st century or in the more commonly used term the "Eco-tourist".

This unique diversity within the span of 170 km breath to 800 km length has resulted in 8 National Parks, 4 wildlife reserves, 3 conservation areas and 1 hunting reserve from the tropical southern Nepal to the highest mountain top in the world of the Himalayan range and the supporting heritage and culture in the areas will amaze you.

There is a stark difference between the national parks in Nepal and their counter parks in Africa. The forest in Nepal are thick and as such animals living in such closed environments are generally shy and retiring, living mostly in small scattered groups or as solitary individuals. So, one has to go into the jungles and seek these animals which are mostly nocturnal, as such it is imperative to know their movements, likely spots where they can be spotted and the area they reside to be able to see them. Heat is a deterrent and they seek shade. So perhaps the best time is either dawn or dusk. Though night safaris are not allowed in the National Parks of Nepal, it is the adrenaline soaring trip if one can manage to view the nocturnal animals in nature’s own creation.

Thus, given the centuries old bond between man and nature, man and plants and trees, man and birds and animals and man with the universe, I think in Nepal, we have a headlong start and if cultivated with a positive approach, as foreseen by our ancestors, Nepal can definitely become the "Eden" for eco-tourists not only in this region but an example unparalleled on this planet where man and nature can still live respecting each others age old dependence on each others existence as created by God.

- Suman Subba

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