It was Dashain few years back; I was in Bangkok then. As in every parts of Nepal, Dashain was always eagerly awaited
there. But unlike in Nepal, we
celebrated Dashain for one day,
mostly the nearest Saturday from Tika,
for the convenience of the office goers. It was always a day long program full
of fun and frolic. The morning started with Puja
followed by games and music. Evening was enlightened with Nepali cultural
program and finally a Nepali style dinner was served, with what else “Khassi ko massuâ€, which otherwise was
rare in that part of the world. Dashain
was one of the days, when we felt so much at home, even though we were
thousands of miles away.
Well, coming back to my story - it was Ghattasthapana, and I happened to wish Happy Dashain to one of a Nepali kid residing in Bangkok. This kid had been staying abroad for
most of her life with her parents. All that she could remember about Nepal was an
elephant back riding at Chitwan and watching the sunrise at Nagarkot during her
summer vacation few years back. In spite
of all this, she could speak Nepali flawlessly and when she dances to the tunes
of Nepali folk music you will not believe that she had been to Nepal only few
times in her entire life. Kudos to her parents who kept her aware of Nepalese
culture and values amidst alien environment.
But this Ghattasthapana,
when I wished her Happy Dashain, she
was very puzzled and she replied “Dashain
is on coming Saturday, why are you in so haste to wish!â€. I was taken aback with her
innocent reply. Well, yes for her, Dashain
was only on the coming Saturday when we would have the cultural programs, games
and fun. This was what she had been seeing for Dashain all her life. I tried to make her understand that Dashain is celebrated for ten days in
total and Ghattasthapana is the first
day of Dashain when we plant Jamara. I do not know if she took my
words seriously, but her innocent reply did touch me deeply.
In the perception of all the kids growing up there, perhaps Dashain was exactly like what she described
- a day long celebration with Nepali music and Nepali food. These kids were
lucky to be so close with Nepali culture even staying on a foreign land; but on
other hand, they were missing the real fun of Dashain – flying kites, going to Durga temples at wee hours during Navaratree, having series of feasts and
most importantly going places for tika. The story might be
same for all the second generation Nepalese who are growing up outside Nepal.
Dashain is a mere example. For most of them, even Nepal as a whole might be
just like a fairy tale – a mythical place, a dream land. Growing
up in the alien environment is not as easy as it might seem. Most of the time,
these kids have to keep pace with more fortunate natives who have obvious
advantage of growing up in the local surroundings. As they grow up, they will
be confronting cultural crossroads at many occasions. With depleting
educational standards and safety issues in Nepal, surely these kids are
luckier than their contemporaries back home. But amidst all the luxuries of the
foreign land, aren’t these kids missing something? I always find parents trying
their best to keep their kids aware of Nepalese cultures, but they always have
hard time making the young minds understand the essence behind Nepali cultures,
for those cultures simply do not carry any meanings in the alien land.
And this makes me ponder: If any home, away from home, can ever be
like home!
