Nepa Pasa Pucha Amerikaye (NPPA) held its annual summer picnic (ख्य: भ्वय्) on Sunday, August 18, 2019, at the Wheaton Regional Park, Silver Spring, Maryland. On this occasion, it also observed this year’s Sa Paru (सा पारु, Gai Jatra in Nepali) which literally means “cow festival”. It is a unique festival celebrated mostly by the Newahs (but not limited to) in Nepal. This festival is observed on the first lunar day (पारु) of Gunlaga (गुंलागा) Bhadra (August/September) month. This festival started in the medieval era and was observed as a tantric (तान्त्रीक) ritual to pay homage to Yamaraj (यमराज), the lord of death in Hinduism. However, it is now observed in memory of the departed family member(s) and to celebrate their lives.
NPPA President Mr. Raju Joshee welcomed all the attendees of NPPA summer picnic and participants of सा पारु and the festival commenced with a सा पारु procession.
Sankalpa (संकल्प), a purification process was performed to formally start the सा पारु procession. The procession went around the Wheaton Regional Park and was led by a cultural Ghintan Kisi Twak (घिन्ताङ्ग किसि त्वाक्) group dance, followed by a team of Newah Dhime (धिमे:) musicians.
This year’s सा पारु festival participant in the US is listed below:
Late Mr. Ram Krishna Tamrakar (Brother of Mr. Prabin Tamrakar)
Participants: Mr. Prabin Tamrakar
NPPA would like to thank all the contributors, volunteers, and the participants for making this year’s सा पारु festival and picnic successful. We would also like to thank Mr. Budhendra Joshee, Mr. Prabin Piya, Mr. Jayambu Ranjit, Mr. Laxman Pradhan, Mr. Budhha Maharjan and Mr. Raju Joshee for playing the traditional Ghitang Kisi Twak musical instruments. Similarly, our big thanks go to all the Ghintan Kisi Twak (घिन्ताङ्ग किसि त्वाक्) dance crew led by Mrs. Magan Shrestha, Mrs. Shanti Shrestha, Mr. Yagya Man Shakya and Mr. Arjun Joshi. NPPA started to perform Ghintang Kisi Twak music and dance in the USA from 2017 onwards.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to our media friend eNepalese.com for covering and live broadcasting this event.
NPPA will strive to maintain this tradition and seeks your active support. Let us continue to preserve our culture and identity in the USA!
Please mark your calendar for NPPA’s upcoming event:
We look forward to meeting you there!
Subhay,
Executive Committee
Nepa Pasa Pucha Amerikaye (NPPA)
नेपा: पासा पुच: अमेरिकाय्
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