D r. Hemant Jha's book on the Hindu-Buddhist Festivals of Nepal has refreshed my memories. In his simple and lucid language, Dr. Jha has briefly described nineteen main festivals of Nepal. In this book, Dr. Jha has said that in the whole kingdom of Nepal some five thousand festivals are celebrated annually. Many other historians and travelers have also mentioned in their works that not a single day passes in the Kathmandu Valley without observing a festival in one of the villages or towns.
Nepalese festivals are the best examples of religious syncretism. In Nepal, particularly in the Kathmandu Valley, almost all the festivals are celebrated by the Hindus and the Buddhists with equal jubilation and gaiety. Nepalese festivals of national character have been a unifying force for centuries. The richness of Nepalese culture is reflected in these colorful festivals. The Nepalese being basically agrarian people, their festivals are based on different seasons and annual harvest. Agricultural surplus has enriched them to observe these festivals in full spirit and joy.
Except the Chhatha festival, a festival celebrated in Nepal Terai, majority of the festivals expounded in the book are celebrated in the Kathmandu Valley. For example, Ghodhe Jatra, Machchendra Nath Jatra, Ghantakarna, Gai Jatra, and Indra Jatra, Shree Panchami, Shivratri, Holi, Chaite Dashain, The Nepalese New Year, Mata Tirtha day, Buddha Jayanti, Nag Panchami, Janai Purnima, Teej, Vijaya Dashami and Tihar are the national festivals observed all over the kingdom. Festivals are accompanied by fasting and feasting feas in Nepal. In each festival special dishes are cooked, and shared among the family members. In the Kathmandu Valley generally meat and liquor are served during a festival.
Dr. Jha has made an effort to present colorful portraits of Nepalese festivals. His descriptions are interesting, romantic and mainly based on his own observations. Dr. Jha has written this book keeping in mind that the young generation of our country should be imparted with the knowledge of our culture and cultural heritage. The book is full of mythological tales and legendary stories that could attract everybody irrespective of age, sex and profession.
Last but not the least, I would like to congratulate Dr. Jha for presenting a very valuable book on Nepalese festivals. I wish him all the best in future. I hope that he will contribute more of such precious works to the Nepalese culture.
Lying amidst the lush green and snowcapped Himalayan hills, Nepal is a rich storehouse of myths, legends and lores. Every year hundreds of festivals are observed, and pujas are performed by the Nepalese people. Since time immemorial, festivals have turned to be an inseparable part of the Nepalese way of life. It is during the festivals, the Nepalese folk get an opportunity to steal some brief respite from the drudgery of their daily life. Festivals need money (a hard fact of life), but the simple Nepalese folk are not ready to compromise themselves even in this age of high inflation. They take loan, sell some of their precious possessions, and are able to kindle the flame of festivity burning in their hearts.
Most of the Nepalese festivals are based on the cycle of nature. The important festivals that people enjoy and celebrate are in spring, monsoon and autumn. Since winter is a difficult and tormenting part of the year, people are not found in a mood to enjoy and celebrate. Spring, which begins with the end of winter season, revitalizes the life of the people. With monsoon rain, life-giving autumn transforms the Himalayan Kingdom into an earthly paradise. During these seasons, the rural folk are also found in a hilarious mood. So the festivals are enjoyed at a grand scale. People forget their troubles and tensions, and the participation and involvement of the Nepalese people make the onlookers believe that religion still holds an important place in the heart of mankind.
The festivals which fall in the lusty spring are Shree Panchami, Shivaratri, Fagu etc; in the rainy season when the honey drops moisten the earth, the people observe Gai Jatra, Janai Purnima, Nag Panchmi, Indra Jatra etc, and festivals like Dashain, Tihar and Chhatha fall in the dewy autumn. Unlike Christian festivals which are based on a scientific English calendar, and come actually after a complete round of a year, the Nepalese festivals are based on the movement of the sun and the moon.
The book was first written in the early years of the 1990s when most of the festivals in Nepal were celebrated in their original form. In the last more than twenty years, much water has flown in the Bagmati, a sacred river that flows through the heart of the Kathmandu valley. Many new things have been added, and many old things have disappeared. The most important and visible change that has come to Nepal is its new political structure. The Kingdom of Nepal has now become the Republic of Nepal. In the place of his Majesty, the King, the President is the formal head of this tiny nation. Previously, the tradition was that the reigning monarch in his full regalia used to participate in all the festivals, but now after the end of the royal regime, the President of Nepal participates in all the festivals and performs the formal and traditional roles. The new political structure has transformed Nepal, and this transformation has enlightened the Nepalese folk. There are new dreams and new aspirations. The King and his seat of power has gone to the annals of history. The Narayanhiti Royal Palace, the seat of the erstwhile powerful Shah kings which remained shrouded in mystery since time immemorial, has been converted into a public museum. The massive gate of this historical palace has been opened for the public. For centuries, the Naryanhiti Palace has been the store house of the lore and legends for the common people.
Today, Nepal is a full-fledged republic with its newly carved constitution. Now Nepal is a democratic country not only in form but also in substance. With democracy, the new responsibilities have come to the shoulder of the Nepalese people. There are new challenges and there are new threats. However, more things change, more they remain the same. I am pretty sure, that the hardworking and enterprising Nepalese will wade through the tough waters as they have always braved the odds in the past, and will write a new chapter for themselves and their country, In order to preserve the originality of the book I have not modified the true essence of the book. The book, even in its second edition, has been left almost untouched. It is same, as it was, when it was published for the first time in the year 1996.
Culture and festivals are the soul of a society. It is the duty of the people to preserve the original fabric of their culture manifested in its age old rituals and festivals.
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