Initiatives taken to preserve centuries-old Narainapur fair

By Our Correspondent

Butwal, Feb 21 : Works to preserve the centuries-old Narainapur fair of Rupandehi district have begun.

The fair, which takes places in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City-16, is believed to be the oldest fair of the district.  The fair is held on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri festival every year. 

But the fair recently started losing charm to pull people from far and wide, leaving it on the edge of disappearing. So, in an effort to mitigate that risk, initiatives have been taken to revive it. 

This year, a festival is being organised in a grand manner from Saturday by Nareshwor Bolbom Mahadev Dham Committee on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri. 

Purna Bahadur Poudel, president of the committee, said that although it is unclear when the practice of orgainsing the Narainapur festival began, it is believed to be centuries-old.   

Senior citizens of the villages have also no knowledge about the beginning time of the festival, he said. 

President Poudel also urged locals to visit the eight-day festival which started on February 18 and will continue till February 25. Food stalls, children park, varieties of sweet with cultural programme are the attractions of the fair, he said. 

In recent years, organising the fair has been a challenge for lack of sufficient land. Because of the growing urbanisation in the area where the festival is organised, the festival is now held in a congested space. The fair was pushed on the verge of disappearing after fragmentation of that land and construction of houses there intensified, said Ramlakhan Chaudary, who has been observing the festival for 50 years. 

The weak management of the fair has also led to the fall in number of fair visitors. 

There is a tradition to offer holy water to the Nareshwor Bolbom Dham with a belief that doing so will fulfil one’s wishes.  

According to Sarju Chaudhary, a local, thousands of people from neighbouring districts used to visit the fair, but now the number of visitors has fallen sharply. 

The festival is now limited to narrow space, but the sweets of the Narainapur festival is still famous. Many visitors throng the place to eat sweets. 

Ram Prasad Regmi, former ward chair of Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City-15, said the festival carries a historical importance and Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City has been taking initiatives to preserve it.