Dashain is the longest and the most favoured festival of Nepalis, which generally falls in late September to mid October. When the soggy monsoon is over Dashain knocks the doors of Nepalis with all its colour and delight.
Also known as the festival of delicious food, new cloths and the sharing of blessings and warm wishes, Dashain is once again at our doorsteps. The patches of colorful kites floating in the clear, blue sky also mark the arrival of the festival.
Arrival of the festival gives new tinge to the whole environment; markets witness huge crowds of customers, as the business of buying and selling of foods items, cloths and electronics sees no limits.
Ramesh Shrestha, a shopper from Bhaktapur says,” Despite hardships, one has to buy new cloths for children, wife, parents and everyone even if you can’t afford anything for yourself”.
If not for others, people however manage to buy new cloths for children. Children’s wear are the most selling items these days.
In Kathmandu, there are marketplaces available for different income groups. The Hong Kong Bazaar situated at Bhrikuti Mandap serves people from middle and lower income groups looking for cheap merchandise whereas people from middle, upper-middle and upper classes throng New Road and Bhotahiti supermarkets and other ritzy departments stores.
Even as one does not see any respite in the shopping extravaganza if seen at the crowds in marketplaces, traders however complain of low business as compared to previous years. Complaints of individual traders notwithstanding, no exact record is available regarding the amount of money spent on consumer items during Dashain festivals.
“The number of customers has gone down by around 20 percent as compared to that of last Dashain”, explains Binod Tuladhar, owner of Blue Bird Department Store, one of Kathmandu’s leading department stores.
“Garments are the main items sold during the festival. We are offering 10 percent discount in the cloths. There are also some Dashain special offers like buy one get one free. But still the crowd is not as expected”‘ he further clarifies.
Tuladhar reasons that the sliding economic condition of the country is the main cause behind the decreasing sale thins year.
Talking to nepalnews chairman of Kastamandap supermarket, Rajesh Bhakta Shrestha, said, “Generally, numbers of customers are expected to double at this time, but this year the business is down 30 percent”.
In his view, there have been certain changes in people’s shopping habits over the years. “Earlier, they used to think that department stores are expensive and would prefer to visit shops in Ason and other marketplaces. But nowadays they like to shop in department stores, as they know there is not much difference in the price. This is a new shopping trend among the middle and upper class families in Kathmandu.”
“We have offered 5 percent discount in groceries and 10 percent in cloths. At times there is up to 50 percent discount in sale in Dashain time,” Shrestha explained.
Most departmental stores offer discounts in garments during Dashain because it falls at the end of the summer season and it is the time to clear summer-wear stocks.
Apart from cloths and grocery items, goats and sheep are the most in demand. Traditionally, tens of thousands of animals, mostly goats, are scarified in Durga temples in Dashain.
This is the time when Nepalis consume a fair amount of meat. Goats and sheep are brought to Kathmandu from Terai region of Nepal. The government used to bring sheep from China until 2044 B.S to meet the demand of meat for the festival but has been relying on domestic market since, officials at the Nepal food Corporation (NFC) said.
The NFC supplied about 4000 goats in the Kathmandu Valley for Dashain this year. nepalnews.com Neetu Dubey Oct 12 05