Borderlands organized a program to mark Buddha Jayanti on May 27- 28, 2010 at the Borderlands Eco Adventure Resort. Around 15 participants including guests, media personnel and travel agents were at the Resort to observe the festival. Apart from prayers and chanting by monks (Lamas) for World Peace, the 1 night 2 day’s event also included Yoga classes and rafting on the Bhote Koshi River. The peaceful ambience at the riverside resort and soothing music were some of the highlights of the program.

1. Ghode Jatra- A grand horse parade will take place at Tundikhel on March 15, 2010 on the occasion of Ghode Jatra. Horse athletics and racing contest is the main highlight of this festival and people from far and wide come to witness this amazing spectacle.
2. Chaite Dasain- Chaite Dasain, which falls on March 23, 2010, used to be the original day of the grand Dasain festival, one of the most important festivals of the Nepalese. Because people got their stomachs upset after feasting on spicy food during the warm month, the festival was shifted to six months later. However, Chaite Dasain still maintains its religious fervor and is celebrated with much zest.
3. Ram Navami- Ram Navami is primarily the birthday of Lord Ram and falls on March 24, 2010. Hindus celebrate this with much pomp at the Janaki temple in Janakpur. Pilgrims from various parts of the country as well as India to take a holy dip in the sacred and historical Gangasagar and Dhanushsagar and pay homage at Ram Mandir and Janaki Mandir on this day.

Holi at Borderlands

“Every other building is a temple and every other day is a festival’, this is a famous saying about Nepal that goes very well with the numerous festivals that are observed in Nepal. Nepal will be celebrating one of its important festivals, Holi (Fagu Purnima) or the Festival of Colors, on February 28, 2010 and the people of Terai will celebrate the festival on March 1, 2010. This is one of the most colorful and playful festivals of Nepal. Groups of people, young and old alike are seen drenched with water and covered in different colors from head to toe. This spring time celebration sees an outburst of youthful exuberance in which throwing colors, water and water-balloons (Lolas) on onlookers is also acceptable. People from all walks of life celebrate this festival with a lot of merry making.

Holi at Borderlands

This festival, that takes place on the full moon day in the month of Falgun, has an ancient origin and celebrates the triumph of the ‘good’ over the ‘bad’. The festival is allegedly named after the mythical demon Holika. Legend has it that there once lived a devil and a powerful king, Hiranyakashyap, who considered himself a god and wanted everyone to worship him. When he found out that his own son Prahlad worshipped Lord Vishnu, Hiranyakashyap started making plans to get rid of Prahlad. He asked his sister, Holika, who had the boon to enter the fire unscathed, to assist him in his endeavor. Holika supposedly entered a blazing fire with Prahlad on her lap in order to destroy Prahlad, however, in a turn of events, Holika lost her life due to her sinister desire and Prahlad was saved for his extreme devotion for Lord Vishnu.

This festival officially starts with the erection of the ceremonial pole called the ‘Chir pole’ at Basantapur Durbar square in Kathmandu. The bamboo pole, fringed with strips of cloth representing good luck charms, is decorated with colorful flags. After the pole is put up in the street at Basantapur, the festivities and worship commences for the week, at the end of which, the bamboo pole is taken to a bonfire.

Holi is also celebrated in India with a lot of enthusiasm and zeal.

Expat Celebrating Nepali Holi

The religious ‘Maha Shivaratri’ Festival, one of the most important festivals of the Hindus, falls on February 12, 2010. ‘Maha Shivaratri’ marks the night when Lord Shiva performed the divine art form known as ‘Tandava’, a dance performed by Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It is also believed that Lord Shiva was married to Goddess Parvati on this day. According to Hindu mythology, Shiva’s Tandava is a vigorous dance signifying the cosmic cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution. Devotees from as far as India come to Nepal for this festival and line up with other devotees in front of Shiva temples throughout the nation, particularly the famous Pashupatinath temple, to pay their homage to Lord Shiva, the God of Destruction. Even tourists can be seen in the vicinity of the temples reveling in the celebrations. This day is also very popular among the young and old alike. ‘Sadhus’, ‘Babas’, the locals as well as tourists are seen smoking marijuana on this day.

Lord Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva Linga, and on the auspicious occasion of ‘Shiva Ratri’, devotees worship it by offering bael leaves, milk, curd, honey, flowers, fruits etc. Most of the devotees hold an all-night vigil and austerely fast all-day, some without even drinking water. The devotees also chant hyms like ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ and other Vedic Stotras dedicated to Lord Shiva throughout the day.

It is believed that this festival summons the summer and supposedly after this day, the weather becomes warmer, heralding the summer season!