New Year Greetings And Wishes

Yug Bahadur

A brand new year greets us today (Friday). This is indeed a joyous occasion and most individuals wish well for each other and now also for the welfare of the nation as a whole. This year is the Nepali year of 2080 of the Bikram Sambat (era).

It is more joy for them that spring is also here amongst us and really many people are happy to see the chilly winter days gone now, and they can see deep blue skies, hear chirping birds and feel the warm conditions, a welcome development. But before we say anything else, let us all pray that the year 2080 B.S. will bring political stability and more importantly, economic growth for all the people so that they can make their lifestyle better and overall. And there will be growth, development, stability and an environment of peace in the country.

Beautiful season

Now coming back to the weather once more, many people have also realised, that with the arrival of this beautiful season, though it gets hot during the day times, they also worry about the diseases that come along with this season, not only high spreading viruses, but also individual ailments that makes many people sick, especially the elderly, weak and the vulnerable children. Look at our own President, he too contacted a stomach ailment and had to be hospitalised, but happily he got better and is back to work.

We have already seen an influx of diseases, especially the deadly coronavirus , due to the flow of people regularly through the open borders and also the plague of dengue which hardly can be controlled. The government has already asked the people to wear masks, keep a distance between themselves and also take a booster dose injection against of COVID if they have not had the full course.

But while these threats are already there, whether one in welcoming the New Year or are celebrating other good times, there is more to add by numerous festivals that take place specially in Kathmandu over the coming months. Several festivals have already started and one unique festival is the Bisket Jatra, observed by the Newar community in Bhaktapur district which adjoins Kathmandu. Many other smaller festivals or ‘jatras; come before the main ‘Bisket Jatra’, one among them is a jatra where a person pierces his tongue with a spear like object. People from all over come to see this astounding accomplishment, and the present tongue piercing person is a new one. But there has been another brave fellow who has accomplished this feat more than a dozen times and he is recognised by many.

Anyway, what these festivals suggests at this period, is not only the welcoming of a new season for which the farmers have to prepare again to plant mostly paddies, but this time is also taken as a time to mix with cousins and neighbours and enjoy the free period in which they can celebrate with the harvest of the past year. One must remember that Kathmandu Valley, which includes Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur districts, all had ample fertile land where paddy, grains and all sorts of vegetables could be grown and the resident of this valley had more than enough to consume for their daily living.

But sadly this has become a thing of the past. The valley has turned into a concrete jungle and daily needs of the kitchen which were taken for granted in the past, now have to be imported, that also with apprehension that they are not safe for consumption, especially in the quick cooking style of most Nepalis.

Now there will be more than a month long season of festivities and in the old Kathmandu, whole communities had to be invited by some sort of a social club called the ‘Guthi’, which helped members of the community in times of festivities and also sorrow. Due to the trend of people of one small community living in different places and also the space and other logistics involved the tradition of ‘Guthi’ has slowly dwindled and people in this modern era feel it much easier to use the commercial outlets which provide similar services.

But now that there are almost all modern needs and services easily available, the people while worrying what such foreign imports, especially in habits, may do, they are also equally worried about the fragile and confusing state of politics and the constantly downturn of the country’s economy, yet the ever rising demands for imported goods and habits while there is a dwindling away of traditional values. However, it was heartening to hear the currently new Finance Minister say at a programme recently, that the economy was not so bad as the experts are saying. All the Nepalis hope that this is true and the trade as well as the market prices for the common people will come back to normal.

Firm commitment

It is a good thing that the government has realised that the rising inflation and other shortcoming in the markets are troubling the people to a great extent. Here, it must be emphasised that Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachana has made a firm commitment to first uplift the living standard of the people and make living a day-to-day life easier for him and also do other works hand-in-hand. Prachanda has also promised that he will make this period while he is the Prime Minister, a different and fruitful one. This is what the people expect from a sincere person who is really willing to work hard to make a difference and a difference for the better for the general public.

There is no doubt the people, in whatever capacity, enjoy and celebrate the New Year, but deep inside, they also pray to God and follow ancient traditions which all have marked for all their lives. This year, the people surely are praying for a peaceful Nepal, with it having stable politics and a strong economy which will benefit all the people, especially those who are living in hard times.

(Yug Bahadur is freelancer)