Sudurpaschim’s popular Gaura Festival concludes

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Sept 4 : Gaura Festival, the major festival of the Sudurpaschim Province, concluded on Saturday as it was marked in the province and Kathmandu with fanfare. The festival is celebrated mainly by women of the region who observe fasting for the prosperity of husbands and children.

The Gaura festival is marked in the Sudurpaschim by organizing different religious functions from Bhadra Shukla Shashti to Ashtami. According to our correspondents, the festival is marked in Kailali, Kanchanpur, and Bajura.

Likewise, people from Sudurpaschim residing in Kathmandu also gathered at Tundikhel to celebrate the festival. Those people marked the festival by singing songs and dancing according to their culture.

Bhejraj Pandit, the local of Badimalika Municipality of Bajura, said the Gaura festival is being marked especially even in this district. 

It is believed that Gauri Devi or Parbati got married to Lord Shiva Maheshwar as she observed fasting for the same. Since then, this festival is being observed in memory of the marriage of Gauri Devi and Lord Shiva Maheshwar, Dr. TN Joshi, the cultural expert, said.

On the first day of the festival, the married women marked the beginning of the festival by soaking five types of grains in water in a copper pot. The collection of the five grains including wheat, peas, and black gram is known as Biruda in the local dialect. And, Biruda is received as Prasad.

As per the tradition, the second day is a day of fasting when the women prepare the portraits of Gaura Devi or goddess at the sources of water or well by washing the Biruda collectively, Joshi informed.

Married women worship Lord Shiva and Parbati during the festival where males are also involved in different activities to coordinate with women.

After the completion of the main prayer of the Gaura festival, there is a tradition to perform the Deuda dance for a week. Joshi further said Gaura is the festival of songs. But, Deuda performance is the tradition of the region which is performed in every celebration and happiness, he said.

Earlier, giving a message of best wishes on the occasion of the Gaura festival, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba wished peace, prosperity, and happiness to Nepali sisters and brothers living in the country and abroad.

PM Deuba said this festival helps to promote love, faith, and harmony in the family and society. PM Deuba also stressed the need for recognizing the Gaura Festival as a national festival by making huge publicity of its cultural and religious values.