Dashain: Nepal in Rome

Ignition of the candle. Lungotevere Testaccio. Rome, 9 October 2022

I know little or nothing about Nepal, except for what I have seen in many years of photographic passion, especially in the splendid images of McCurry but above all of Olivier  Föllmi, who has dedicated two powerful photographic books to the Himalayas.

It has always been a country seen by the eyes of others, not surprisingly, in my fundamental guide to Asian photography, “Photography in Southeast Asia – A Survey” by Zhuang Wubin, mentioned several times here, Nepal does not appear at all. If not in a curious little book published by Exorma in 2010 by Martino Nicoletti, “Chaturman Rai – Himalayan Peasant Photographer”, which tells the story of a farmer from the Kulange ethnic group who is passionate about photography and portrays his village and its inhabitants.

Then there are the classic travel books and those who loved Tibet like the scholar Giuseppe Tucci.

For those who want to have a more particular and extreme look, I recommend the series of short stories “Stick out your tongue” by the Chinese writer Ma Jian, a book banned in China since 1987 and which forced the writer into exile.

However, personally, in many years dedicated to Asia and its people, I never had the opportunity to meet Nepalese, except when I lived in Malaysia: in Penang, there were many Nepalese who worked in the restaurants I went to, I remember only it was very difficult to remember their names, but the faces were very interesting.

Least of all I have met in Rome, if not sporadic cases.

Therefore it was a great joy for me to meet some of them during the Durga Puja festival in the Hindu temple in Tor Pignattara.

In time to be invited to attend one of their holidays: Dashain, or the last day of their Durga Puja.

 

Dashain or Bada'dashain, also known as Vijaya Dashami in Sanskrit, is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal. The festival is also called Nauratha, derived from the Sanskrit word for the same Navaratri festival which translates to Nine Nights, which is celebrated by Hindus in India and Bangladesh.

The word Vaḍādaśain̐ (वडादशैँ) is a Nepali sandhi, where "baḍā" (बडा) means "important" and "daśa͠i" (दशैं) means "tenth", implying the most-significant final day of the festival of Durga Puja, celebrating the dawn after the end of Nauratha (nine nights). The word Dashain is ultimately derived from the Sanskrit word daśamī, denoting the 10th day of the Kaula (month) in this context.

It is the longest and most auspicious festival in the Bikram Sambat and Nepal Sambat annual calendars, celebrated by Nepalese Hindus, along with their diaspora around the world. In Nepal, it is also known as the largest festival in the country and is the longest national holiday – 5 days to be exact. It is the most anticipated festival in Nepal. All government offices, educational institutions, and other offices remain closed during the festival period. The festival falls in September or October, starting with the shukla paksha (bright lunar night) of the month of Ashwin and ending at Purnima, the full moon. Among the fifteen days in which it is celebrated, the most important days are the first, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and fifteenth.

I attended their festival, warmly welcomed by the organizers, Nepali Samaj Rome, the Nepalese Association in Rome-Italy.

Speaking with one of them, I learned that there are only 150 Nepalese in Rome, most of them live in northern Europe, while in Italy the largest community is in Pisa.

 

The program started in the afternoon with the traditional Puja Path Tika and Pra officiated by Shri Damodar Neupane.

Each Nepalese was marked on the forehead in red – Tika – with a mixture of white rice, red color and yogurt mixed together, and barley seed twigs (jamara) were placed on the ears.

After offering Nepalese special foods the guests were officially welcomed by the executive member of the Association, Ms. Ilu Bhattchan and Ms. Gyanu Poudel (Treasurer), and by Sujita Lama (Secretary) and her son Silvio Lama of Gayatri Mantra Gai Bada Dashain Society Rome. President Shri Dev Raj Gurung lit the lamp and the national anthem of Nepal and Italy was played.

Then, for the official exchange of greetings, Mrs. Bhaba Malla, Swa, Councilor of the Nepalese Society, and members of the Nepalese Non-Residential Association Italy, the outgoing President of the Nepalese Society of Rome, Shri Haribhakta Karakheti, the founding President of the Nepalese Society Rome, Mr. Prakash Maharjan, the Councilor of the Nepalese Society Rome of the WFP, the formal program was concluded by Raju Neupane and Dev Raj Gurung, and finally by Kundan Gurung, President of the International Nepalese Artists Society Italy and Secretary of the Nepalese Society Rome.

The cultural program alternated a theatrical monologue on improvisation by Himalayan Keshi (Sanju) with songs, such as Srishti Malla who sang the song “Chaubandima Patuki”.

The evening ended with dancing and the last meal together.

A nice way to enter a community that is not yet too integrated, as was said at the beginning on stage by one of the speakers, and which remains mysterious and little known.

I will remain alert to follow the upcoming events of their country and let you know.

One thing is certain: it's incredible how in such a small country there is such a dense concentration of different faces, ranging from Indian to Chinese to Burmese.

For me, as a portraitist, it is a real marvel.

Until next time.

 Italian version