Parties have their own importance but they are different from puja and must never exclude observance of traditional festivals that hold the nation together.

Every nation has its own types of festivals; they define a country’s culture and tradition. Festivals are a way of uniting people and they stand for prosperity, morality and unity. Joint family bonding is losing it’s meaning though as the concept of single-family system is emerging fast. Traditions likewise are diminishing so is compassion and kindness. Modernisation has made paved way for an aggressive attitude, hence to eliminate all these, festivals should be celebrated, enjoyed together as this could be they way to bring us together united.

Gopal Dhoj Rana, Balaju

Nepal has innumerable temples. The people of Nepal perform pujas to celebrate festivals like Dashain and Tihar. Dashain is a festival, which is celebrated as a victory of good over evil, it is a festival celebrated in honour of Mother Goddess. Tihar is a festival of lights, celebrated for the victory of light over darkness. Besides Dashain and Tihar, there are other festivals too when respective Gods and Goddesses are worshipped. Festivals encourage fellow bonding besides they are a good way of having fun and partying for some.

Swastik Bajracharya, Kalanki

Parties allow people to make introductions and interact with each other. Parties are organized

for occasions. People celebrate festivals like Dashain and Tihar, with their family friends and relatives and they party as well. Parties for specific occasions are different though, it could be a small get together or something organized by youngsters even a family, they are a way of enjoying and having a good time.

Binay Rai, Ghattekulo

A party may be considered a social event, often in a person’s home, where people are invited to enjoy themselves eating, drinking, dancing etc. Pujas and festivals are good times to party, there is a participation of relatives in these that’s why it becomes enjoyable and they have a touch of sanctity to it. But a party for an occasion is different; it is basically for fun and enjoyment.

Nabin Kandel, Minbhavan

Festivals are a way of denoting that we are from a nation. Festivals, pujas have defined us as Nepalis. It is during the time of festivals that we can organise parties but at the same time keep the sanctity of the festivals alive.

Bishnu Pradad Tripathi, (Piprabhita) Sarlahi

Parties, festivals and pujas are a time of coming together. They bring families and friends together and keep the bond healthy, they are also a good way to party and socialise.

Ashok Banjade, Carnation Centre

‘Festivals, pujas and parties go together.’ I agree festivals and the parties go together but not parties. As we know, Nepal is the poorest country in the world and about 37% of people living here fall under the line of poverty that’s why I think it is not fair having parties during festivals and pujas. Organising parties costs much and it is besides the point that festivals, parties and pujas go together. Festivals and pujas are important things as they define a country’s diversity in culture and show our lineal succession also. Nowadays the Nepalese squander more money than they’ve earned in the name of the parties with festivals and pujas being the occasion. This should not be the attitude though, but festivals and pujas should be celebrated with a spirit of reverence and worship to the Gods.

Prakash Hang Wonem Limbu, Dharan

Pujas and parties have gone hand in hand these days. The so-called young and modern guns think that parties mean drinking, dancing and having a whole lot of fun. However, pujas are very sacred if considered but nowadays, even pujas could be a way of partying. The rituals have taken a different meaning and there is only one bottom line to this, partying and fun, we should not adopt this attitude, festivals are purely a celebration for some sacred cause.

Samir Jha

Our cultures and traditions have tremendous value and it is our prime duty to preserve them. Rituals and the narrowness existing in our cultures should be eradicated. Parties should have a boundary to them however. Family members, friends and relatives can join in the pujas and festivals like Dashain and Diwali and it could be a party in itself. In my opinion we can have parties during festivals and pujas as long as they don’t surpass the boundary of sanctity in which the festivals and pujas stand.

Sanjeev Niroula, Minbhawan

We Nepalis live in the age of Diwali and Dashain parties. Festivals are actually observed in memory of great predecessors who fought for the nation by sacrificing their own lives and we pay homage to those people by doing Pujas. On that occasion all our family members get together and express our reverence to them through worship. This is how festivals, pujas and parties are complementary to each other.

Mohan Narshingh Shrestha, Kupondol

In this 21st century, of course pujas and parties go together but there is difference between the parties we have been celebrating in occasions of various festivals and the ones we organise on our own. We can enjoy parties with families and friends. Party is for entertaining and could be a time of meeting up with relatives and friends and pujas is performed for paying homage to the Gods. Hence parties and pujas have their own respective importance.

Shankar Bhatt, CDPS TU, Kirtipur

Definitely festivals, pujas and parties can go together. Festivals and pujas are celebrations of any thing doing with the divine whereas parties mean gatherings of friends and relatives for some occasions. The purpose is to take a break from our regular lifestyle and be entertained accordingly. The good point of having parties is that it could be a break from our hectic lives. There could be meeting of people of different kinds so I see no harm in having parties in festivals and pujas. However one thing we should not forget is, we have to respect the theme and the sanctity of the festivals and pujas, so let’s celebrate our festivals, pujas in harmony.

Kaushal Timila, New Baneshwor

We have been celebrating festivals and parties since ancient times. Definitely people of different nations have their own cultures and traditions. We Nepalis also have great

festivals like Dashain, Tihar, New Year and so on to celebrate with family and friends. We celebrate festivals having delicious foods and wearing new clothes but Nepali youngsters have been influenced by western culture and traditions, they celebrate by drinking and having lots of fun. We should remember that festivals are a time to get together basically and bonding.

Arjun Prasad Bhandari, Chitwan, Chowkbazar.

Holding parties has been a common thing these days. In the past people would organize parties during festivals and religious ceremonies like wedding and other occasions. But with the change of time the concept regarding parties has also changed. Especially the youngsters influenced by the western culture believe in celebrating parties on different occasions like Valentine’s Day, New Year and others with which many of the parents and guardians are not acquainted. And while celebrating such occasions smoking and drinking become necessary components whereas our social customs do not allow the same. Young people prefer holding parties only with friends so that they can enjoy to the maximum.

Thus, the trend of holding parties excluding families has developed in the urban areas in particular. So far as the festivals like Dashain, Tihar and pujas are concerned, on such occasions elderly people always prefer high participation of all family members to bring the real charm of the celebration. However, on such occasions also, holding parties separately and spending much of the time with friends excluding families has become a fashion that I feel is a wrong trend. Festivals and pujas have been a part of our lives and identity too and play a vital role in maintaining social and family bonding. The significance of such occasions should not be undermined. One should not forget that our identity is associated with our family and to maintain the bond with the family, we observe festivals and pujas. In the end, it is up to young people to decide whether to let go off parties together by maintaining social and family norms or let all their values go down in the quest of personal satisfaction and merrymaking.

Ambika Pandey, Chitwan.

I disagree that parties or informal family gatherings like those falling in the month of Baisakh have similar impact on participants, as do the festivities of Dashain and Diwali. They are incomparable. To me, the parties in Baisakh and other informal, non-traditional settings are the occasions for expression of love. This, in turn, provides us relief and rest from our hectic schedules and motivates our future participation. On the other hand, due to the compulsive and unwilling participation of both the guests and the hosts, the traditional parties of Dashain and Diwali are monotonous.

They hardly provide relief and release from other humdrum activities. Rather, the biased, irrational assumptions attached to these occasions put pressure on us to come up with the goods as and when the situation demands, undermining our personalities and leaving us paralysed. They are a complete wastage of time and money. Above all, by subverting individualism and curtailing freedom, they lead to the death of creativity and imagination.

Their failing to motivate people only highlights their futility and vanity. I am sure that most people, as they move on in their lives, realise the worthlessness of such parties, whereas they tend to get more involved in informal parties like the ones for New Year.

Priti Adhikari, Bansbari