Believe it or not, I had planned out the whole Dashain two months in advance. I can still remember the time—inviting a bunch of friends over, eating hakuchwelas and Chicken tandoori, turning up the music really loud on the terrace, playing the guitar through the amp, and of course, flying (or trying to fly) kites.
Except for the hakuchwelas and tandoori thing, none of my other plans materialized. Well, there went my Dashain dream.
My friends, whom I had never consulted before until I called them to invite them over, were suddenly catapulted to different parts of the world for the holidays when I actually did call. One of them was in Damak, the other at the Mt. Everest base camp and another right on the other side of the world. The last one was attending a job interview. Apparently, I cost him a job and I am feigning engagement every time he wants a confrontation.
I decided to have some fun anyway and set up the music system on the roof. Finally, exhausted, I inserted my pen-drive into the USB drive and turned the system on. Then, a static… blank…static and a louder static. As I moved towards the system, BOOM! I was sitting there, astounded and confused, my face blackened, and my head on fire—literally.
What an auspicious time to blow up my system! I later ascertained I had forgotten to set the adapter to the proper voltage. (Sigh).
At that point I was on the verge of kicking myself. To ease the pain, I decided to cook myself something. I took a quick shower first (I didn’t fancy the prospect of my hair burning and my face black and hot). I then spent three arduous hours in the kitchen and came out with a glass of water; and perhaps a gallon of sweat absorbed in my cotton t-shirt. My initial mouth-watering and finger-licking plans about a savory chicken soup and a deliciously spicy buff chilly went up in smokes within my pans and kettles; the chicken soup was appallingly brackish and I never succeeded getting the “buff chilly”, scorched as it was, off the pan. Moreover, the kitchen looked like it just survived a category six hurricane! Yes, I had to clean it all up.
Later I offered the chicken soup to my dog. He took one bite and ran away yelping. He wouldn’t come near me for the rest of the week after that.
So then, for the rest of the eight days before tika, I was left at home watching Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” while I mourned my blown up super bass.
I welcomed the last day of Dashain with gloomy anticipation. But I had little hope that tika would be any different. Therefore I got out of bed, bleary eyed, creaking in every joint and my face as long as a langoor’s tail, only to be tripped over by my dog. This was a surprise, because my dog, usually a sloppy, lazy rag, had never had so much enthusiasm in moving his body except for the time As I went down the stairs, I could hear that we had a guest. Within the next two minutes or so, I was in for a mighty surprise because the “guest” who had visited us was my favorite cousin back from Australia. We all had a great time then—had a fantastic morning of tika and immersed ourselves in nostalgia, laughing and cherishing over our beautiful past together.
The three days after tika were packed with fun. We partied till our whole body ached and hit the hay knowing that tomorrow was going to be yet another day gathering and catching up with dear ones. Cousins and friends that we hadn’t seen for over a year greeted me with hugs and kisses, and delicious food awaited me in every get-together.
By the end of it all, I was convinced I couldn’t party any longer and couldn’t eat anymore, and as I hit the sack, my half asleep mind dawned upon the realization about the true meaning and essence of Dashain. I realized that Dashain, or any other festival, is not only about you or how much you enjoy it, but about you and your family and the quality time you get to spend with almost all the members of your family… and about food of course—delicious, luscious food!
Although I had to go back to school again, I was happy that I did celebrate and enjoy the Dashain. So if anyone out there is still fussing over some boring nakhatya you have to go, or all the pujas you have to do, just understand that these little things you get annoyed over are actually the most important parts of your life. They help bond with the people around you. Although many of you would readily choose friends over family, deep down, you realize that while only some of all the friends you have are forever, each family member is.
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