Tayamcha dance competition to be held in Kaski

By Our Correspondent,Kaski, Aug.30: The Newar community has been continuing the Tayamcha dance for years on the occasion of the Gaijatra festival.  The community has been organising Tayamcha dance as a competition for 35 years. Newa: Khala of Kaski has been managing and organising the dance competition since 1999.

This competition, which is conducted as a festival, was limited to the Newar community in the past, but now artists from different castes also participate in it, so it has been developed as a cultural heritage of Pokhara. The annual Gaijari is called Tayamcha here.

Ashok Palikhe, president of Newa: Khala of Kaski, said that the programme has succeeded in sending a positive message to other parts of the country. "In the past only five or six groups used to perform the dance, but now 33 groups are going to participate in Pokhara. 

“At a time when the stay days of tourists are getting shorter, competitions like Newari Jatra and Tayamacha will play an important role in prolonging their stay," he said. This competition, which is held every year at different places in Pokhara, will be held in Ranipauwa this year on  September 2. 

Ranipauwa Tayamcha Dance Committee has managed to stage the competition on the premises of the local Shree Ganesh Shree Bhimsen Temple. A total of 30 dance groups from different municipalities of Kaski will take part in the competition.  

From this year, three brothers Ramkaji Shrestha, Ravindra Shrestha and Shankar Shrestha, residents of Pokhara have sponsored Rs. 1 million in memory of their father Hemkumar and mother Bal Kumari as prize for the competition.

The winning male group will bag  Rs. 300,000 as the first prize while the female group will get Rs. 40,000.  Likewise, the team of male standing second will get Rs. 200,000 but the women group securing the second spot will get only Rs. 20,000, the third prize for the male team is Rs. 100,000 and the consolation prize is Rs. 30,000. 

The organisers said that the number of teams has also increased due to the large prize money. This competition, which started on the call of Newa: Khala Kaski, was held earlier in 2004 in Ranipauwa.  The locals are also excited that it will be held again after 20 years. Stalls of various materials and snacks will be kept to make the programme interesting.