Bini Dahal

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only hindered our economic activities but also deprived us of an opportunity to run our day-to-day social life. Even when Dashain, the biggest Hindu festival, is now at hand, the whole country is in a dilemma of whether to continue with the age-old tradition or discard it in view of the existing contagion.
There is no doubt that Dashain has been an important part of every Nepali considering its role in strengthening family and social bonds. It is not just about receiving dakshina and blessings from elders.
But now, people are changing and so is their outlook towards festivals. Increasing workload may be one reason. Another factor could be the little interest young people show in our culture and traditions. However, there has been an increasing tendency among people to travel within the country or abroad during the festivals.
But this year, staying at home seems to be the most perfect thing to do for our own health and wellbeing. The practice of working from home is gaining ground due to the fear of the coronavirus. This new approach in some way has made people more social and family-oriented now.
You may take it as a blessing in disguise, but many people now are showing more enthusiasm in celebrating festivals and preserving their traditions and culture. But not everything goes in a planned manner. While the situation has given us the time and opportunity to celebrate the festivals in leisure, it has created a new barrier to social distancing. Mobility has been reduced by half and the virus cases in the country have increased drastically, the celebration will not be the same as it used to be. So, while giving us an opportunity to celebrate our festivals, the pandemic is taking away from us our ability to connect with kith and kin. A big dilemma indeed!
To cope with such a quandary, we need to understand this first. There are some groups of people who feel they are going against God by not properly following the traditions and not celebrating the festivals. Such groups of people who consider themselves the most religious in the world are so ignorant that they forget the current situation to be a hint from above to stay at home and follow traditions without affecting or harming anyone.
But will they understand? Obviously no. Even if God comes to the earth, their insistence may not end. Between the group of people who really want to celebrate the festival by going against health safety rules and another group of people who do not really enjoy celebrating any festival, the festival is going through a Jatra-like situation.
Preservation of age-old culture and traditions are very important because they shape our values. Without them, our identity is questionable and there is no denial of this. The Ministry of Health and Population has appealed to the citizens to stay wherever they are and celebrate the festivals as they can. And this needs to be complied with. Going against the safety rules to celebrate a festival is not going to preserve the culture as the virus may infect the same group of people who are hell-bent on preserving the culture. It is, therefore, important to strike a balance between celebrations and health safety.