On Oct. 2, Wright State University’s Nepalese Student Association hosted a festival for Nepal’s biggest cultural celebration of the year, which is a holiday called Dashain. It is celebrated over the course of 15 days, with the biggest day of celebration being the tenth day of the festival. On this day, WSU’s NSA hosted its largest event of the year.
Celebration at WSU
When attendees arrived in the Student Union lobby, they were greeted by a buzzing of conversation from the diverse group of attendees at the Dashain Celebration.
The entirety of the Apollo Room was dressed with string lights, kites and other decorations, such as balloons. Tables were set with red tablecloths and golden table runners, transforming the space into a true festival hall.
Posted around the space were informational boards, informing attendees who were not familiar with Dashain about the basics of the holiday and why it is such an important part of Nepali culture.
Anusuya Sijapati is the President of NSA, and a student pursuing her Master of Science in computer science. She is also a teaching assistant and a graduate ambassador for the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
“This was a perfect opportunity to share our culture, tradition and food with our friends, colleagues and the entire campus. We want everyone to know how beautiful Nepal is in terms of culture, ethnicity and geography,” Sijapati said.
Throughout the event, there were many cultural displays put on by NSA. From the many diverse subcultures, pairs of people dressed up and did a cultural walk in their traditional, cultural clothing. There were dance performances and even singing performances as well, all of which gave attendees an insight into the richness of Nepali culture.
About Dashain
Posters surrounding the event’s perimeter held pictures of essential Dashain symbols and described the importance of its celebration. There was also more basic information, like that the festival lasts for 15 days.
“Dashain is the most significant and widely celebrated Hindu festival in Nepal. It is not only a religious occasion but also a cultural celebration that brings families, relatives and communities together. Dashain is celebrated with great enthusiasm, joy and devotion all over Nepal and among Nepali communities worldwide,” one of NSA’s posters reads.
In honor of the cultural celebration of the occasion, some posterboards featured descriptions of the many diverse subcultures that live and thrive within Nepal. And, since Dashain is often associated with families, the Nepali student community at WSU especially needed to come together for their most important celebration.
“Our focus was to make sure that people who can’t travel to their loved ones can come and celebrate Dashain with us here on campus,” Sijapati said.
With the posters making the event accessible to all attendees, there were lots of chances for education on the culture, especially for those who had never heard of Dashain.
“Dashain is celebrated to honor Goddess Durga and her victory over the demon king Mahishasura,” the poster says. “Goddess Durga fought against him for nine days and nights and finally defeated him on the tenth day. This symbolizes the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. People believe that with Dashain, Goddess Durga blesses her devotees.”
Some symbols of Dashain that are commonly used on the posters include kites, which were widely featured in decorations throughout the event, and images of both tika and jamara, which are traditional to the occasion.
According to Dashain Blessing Mantras, “One of the key moments of Dashain is the tika ceremony, where elders apply tika (a red mixture of rice, yogurt, and vermillion) on the foreheads of the younger family members, along with reciting powerful Sanskrit mantras.”
Jamara is sown on the first day of the Dashain festival. It is a yellow barley grass, and is similarly given as a blessing by one’s elders. At the celebration, many students wore them clipped in their hair or tucked behind their ears.
Between the decorations, performances and posterboards which were handmade by NSA members, attendees learned a great amount about the country of Nepal and its many cultures.
Voices from NSA
Sindhu Aryal is in her second semester of majoring in computer science at WSU. She serves as the secretary for the NSA, which involves conducting monthly meetings.
“So this means a lot to me because, during this time, maybe everyone will meet our families, and it's not possible to go back and come back, because we have big things going on and we have a lot going on. That's why this means a lot, because being far away from home, this provided us the environment to come together and celebrate what we have in hand right now,” Aryal said.
Aryal compared Dashain to the Christmas holiday in Christian and American culture. She described the traditions of flying kites and playing cards.
“We are a big, big community like this and we are very grateful that [attending] college has provided us space, and we could gather here and do this event and connect all of us together in this [big] festival,” Aryal said.
Shristi Rai is set to graduate in the Spring with her marketing analytics degree. She is the marketing director for NSA and worked to spread the word across campus about the event, resulting in its large turnout.
“What we did was let all the people know, not only our community, but American, Asian [and] all of them to know what our culture means to us. So this time, we have a photo booth for it,” Rai said, pointing out one of the many picturesque setups in the festival space.
It was clear from all the decorations and detailed scheduling of performances that a lot of preparation and thought went into this event.
“We had been planning for Dashain since March this year. Since most of us are graduating soon, we wanted this to be a memorable event for all of us,” Sijapati said.
The event will be memorable for the majority in attendance, as there were many opportunities to engage with Nepal’s culture, from food to music.
“I hope people know about Dashain and come to this event next year. My biggest hope is that one day they plan to travel to Nepal to see for themselves how beautiful and precious this small country is,” Sijapati said.
Dashain is an annual celebration, which is observed in Nepal from September to October. It will be celebrated at WSU again next year by Nepali students, and all those who choose to join them in their joyous celebration and learn about their rich and diverse culture.
