|
Darjeeling has a very diverse population. As such Darjeeling has some festival or the other almost every month of the year. Most of the festivals are mainly Hindu or Tibetan and follow the lunar calendar and so the date of the festival keeps changing every year. Dasain Festival in Darjeeling is one among the many Festivals and Events in Darjeeling which the Hindus of Nepali origin celebrates with much gaiety and fervor. Dasain Festival in Darjeeling usually falls on the first day of the lunar month of Aswain in the month of October. It is also known as Durga Puja. This fortnightly Puja festival symbolizes the victory of the Hindu Goddess Durga over the evil Asura. The Nepali Hindus during this time decorate their houses, doors and pillars with banyan leaves and string of marigold flowers. People sow barley seeds in the soil on the first day of the festival and their growth foretells good harvest. The Shrada or the remembrance of the dead ancestor's ceremony is also performed during this period. From the next day starts Durga Puja, this is also called the Shakti puja by the Nepalis. It continues for nine days to worship the nine different forms of Goddess Durga. Nepalis worship their traditional Khurkuri, during this period. On the seventh day are the Phul Pati or Flowers and Petals. Different kinds of flowers are taken round the town in procession and later taken to Goddess Durga in the Temple. The eighth day is Maar or the day of sacrifice. On this day the ceremonial buffalo sacrifice take place. The tenth day is the Tika day. People on this day go to their elders to get their blessings and also the holy food and the holy Prasad is distributed all through the day. Dasain Festival in Darjeeling is celebrated for all ten days till the full moon day. Hindus of Darjeeling look forward to the Dasain Festival in Darjeeling every year with joy and expectations. Shops and establishments do not function as normal days. The town is filled with a spirit of festivity and this is a distinct brightness in the moods of the local inhabitants.
|
