Dashain far from home: small ways to make the festival feel close

For a lot of Nepalis, Dashain is the one week of the year when everything stops and everyone goes home. So what do you do when home is a flight away and your shift starts at six?

You make Dashain come to you. Here are some of the simple, lovely ways people do it.

Grow your own jamara

All you need is a small tray or a clean takeaway box, some soil or even damp cotton, and a handful of maize or barley seeds. Sow them on Ghatasthapana, keep them out of direct sunlight and water them a little each day. By Tika day you will have those pale golden shoots that smell like home. It works on a windowsill in Dubai, a hostel shelf in Kuala Lumpur or a kitchen counter in Sydney.

Take Tika at the auspicious time, together

Find out the sait announced in Nepal, then work out what time that is where you live. Set up the video call a few minutes early. Your parents put Tika on their own foreheads and bless you through the screen, and you do the same with red Tika, jamara and a few coins or a note set aside as dakshina. It is not the same as kneeling in front of your grandmother, but it is still a blessing, and it still counts.

Find your people

Nepali community groups, workers’ associations and student unions in the Gulf, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Australia and the UK almost always organise a Dashain gathering. Ask on community Facebook pages or at your local Nepali restaurant. A shared plate of masu and sel roti in a crowded room full of familiar accents can heal a lot of homesickness.

Keep the stories going for the kids

If you are raising children abroad, Dashain is a chance to tell them what it is all about: the victory of good over evil, the kites in the sky, the swings in the village, the blessings of elders. Let them help water the jamara. Teach them to say “Vijaya Dashami ko hardik shubhakamana”. They will remember.

Be kind to yourself

Missing home at festival time is normal. Call someone you have not spoken to in a while. Send a photo of your jamara to the family group. And if you are working through the holiday, know that the money you are earning is part of why your family can celebrate back home.

Do you have your own Dashain tradition abroad? Write to us. We would love to share it.