DHIRENDRA NEWAR
Along with other communities the Gorkha community or more specifically the Nepali community in North East India and specifically in Assam, celebrates Diwali, the ‘festival of light and illumination’. There are around 6 lakh Gorkha people in Assam, according to census 2011. Diwali is one of the several other festivals that the Gorkha community celebrates with much vigour and enthusiasm. They prepare for the festival by cleaning and adorning the houses with colourful lights, installation of ‘kolgos’ (banana tree) in front of the house to place earthen lamp, etc. Among many others, the local market places are also filled with all sorts of colourful lights, crackers, as well as beautiful dresses and garments. Other than Durga Puja, this is Diwali when people are seen in crowds in the market places to buy new clothes, household apparatuses and other items etc.
Gorkha community has a very unique way of celebrating the Diwali festival. Other than crackers and lights, there are several other components that can be witnessed in a ‘Diwali’ being celebrated by Gorkha. One remarkable component of this festival is the celebration of ‘Deusi’ and ‘Bhailo’ song and dance being played by the members of the Gorkha community in their traditional dresses, apparel and ornaments. Showing off ‘khukuri’ with a ‘dhaka topi’ in the head adorns the charm. With all members of the group singing and dancing in the tune of ‘Deusi’ and ‘Bhailo’ song, it peaks the excitement among the people. Just like Bihu, the Gorkha people visit each and every member of the community and play this song and dance. I still remember childhood days when our maternal uncle and other relatives visiting our homes just to play this dance. With this came the much needed lights, illuminations, sweets, etc. The excitement was real.
Another important component of Diwali is that this marks the beginning of Nepali traditional festival ‘Tihar’. Not only the human, but also animals, birds, etc are also an important component of this ‘Tihar’. The first day is celebrated as ‘Kowa Tihar’ where the crows are fed with all sorts of edibles and sweets. It is believed that crows purify the locality by consuming the wastes and therefore are considered sacred and an integral part of society. ‘Kukur Tihar’ is the next day celebrated festival where dogs, being the most faithful animal, are worshipped and are fed. The third day is celebrated as ‘Gai Tihar’ where cows are worshipped. The fourth day is ‘Govardhan Puja’. The next day marks the main festival which is popularly known as ‘Bhai Dooj’ or ‘Bhai Phuta’ among others in Assam. This is the most pious festival among the Nepali community with sisters celebrating the strong bond with brothers.
Nonetheless, the point that I am trying to make here is that this Diwali festival is an inclusive festival among the Gorkha community. This is inclusive of man, animal as well as birds among others. Also, the lights that are used to adorn the house are earthen lamps, candles, etc. This marks the celebration of ‘Green Diwali’ among the Gorkhas. I remember our parents always insisting to avoid high decibel crackers, not to disturb the animals and also to be careful not to litter the locality in the name of celebrating Diwali. Therefore one can’t find trashes and littering in any Nepali locality post Diwali celebration.
Today there are lots of debates and discussions during Diwali regarding the celebration of this festival. People even try to malign it with communal and religious colours. However, the real issue is while celebrating Diwali we should be mindful that this Diwali is not only for humans but also for animals, birds, environment that we live in, as well as the next generation that is about to come in this world. Due to our unmindful activities, not only animals or birds that have to suffer, but the environment is also deeply injured. Every time after ‘Diwali’ we witness how the air quality of our capital city Delhi and the whole country for that matter worsen and become an unhealthy atmosphere to breathe in and breathe out, leading to several respiratory diseases post Diwali. Some reports suggest that as many as 75,475 cases relating to acute respiratory infections were reported last year post Diwali in Guwahati alone. Also, report of several animals as well as birds getting killed is really saddening. Not only air pollution, noise pollution, water pollution, etc all are common during Diwali as well as post Diwali season. Guwahati saw an ‘alarming’ level rise of air pollution last year during Diwali season after pm2.5 level shot upto 240 microgram.
Another concern during every Diwali season is the overflow of Chinese as well as outside products including crackers, sparklers, plastic lamps, fancy lights as well as other lucrative toys. These are not only cheap but also very fancy and decorative, attracting the eyes of every passerby. However, other than these, the inflow of foreign products is slowly ruining the handmade small scale industries in Assam. Poor people find it hard to earn extra money to survive by selling local products. These outside products are not only cheap but at the same time hazardous to health. Reports of several deaths and injuries post Diwali corroborate this fact.
Realizing all these, the central government is also trying their bit to make it an environment friendly or at least less hazardous this year. The central government, with the help of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) labs, has launched some eco friendly firecrackers, sound emitting crackers, flowerpots, pencils, chakkars, etc. Apart from these, many state governments like Delhi, etc are also doing their best to discourage people to degrade the environment. Like every year this year too, Assam government has taken several precautionary measures including prior permission for selling fire crackers, spotting designated places for selling firecrackers, limiting the quantity to sell crackers, etc are laudable. However, apart from these, the government should focus more on restricting the inflow of outside cheap products and help our handmade and local small scale businessmen to from.
Diwali is a festival that illuminates everyone’s heart, they say. Let this Diwali be an inclusive Diwali, a Diwali for all. The individuals should also realize that only relying on the government is not going to fetch us a sustainable future. We should learn to live and celebrate in environment friendly and sustainable manners. Keeping the locality clean and safe is not the sole responsibility of authorities. Let this Diwali be a Diwali that sets the benchmark for future Diwali, an inclusive Diwali, a green Diwali and an illuminating Diwali.
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the article belong solely to the author, and do not represent the opinions of Northeast Today.