Asar 15: The festival that connects Nepal to its soil and roots

Modernisation may now have been the image of the Kathmandu valley, but it still has the same agricultural roots as before. Rural Nepal, however, is still largely agricultural. That agricultural population across the country is not only busy planting rice but even celebrating one of their biggest annual festivals today. Whereas the communities were already commemorating Asar 15 (the 15th day in the third month in the Nepali calendar) as an occasion to be happy for their farming job, the government has begun marking it as the Ropain Diwas or Dhan Diwas (National Rice Plantation Day or National Paddy Day) recently.

The day also marks the tentative start of the planting season, which is one of the most important agricultural practices in the country. The farmers plant saplings in the field, play in the mud, play musical instruments, sing folk songs (commonly known as Asare geets) and enjoy themselves. The festival has become popular amongst foreign tourists in Nepal, giving a prospect to agro-tourism. Another popular tradition is that they eat dahi-chiura (a mixture of curd and beaten rice).