Farewell to BBC English Learning Blogging !

Hi everybody,

Today is my day of last blog. For this whole month you encouraged me to write through your comments. It's really a very nice experience for me. I am realizing now that I missed those 10 days. I could have written much more in those days. But now it will be meaningless to talk about the lost days.

Amy thanks for being a teacher to me. I never expected that a person from a very far distance can be a teacher in my life. I didn't feel hesitation in writing; it might be because you were familiar to Nepalese people, culture and life style which are similar in some aspects of Indian culture.

Getting more than 200 comments from different countries is a wonderful experience for me. Everyday I was thinking about what to write in my next blog though I couldn't tell you much.

Today I felt heat of the summer gone, rains have stopped, cool breeze blowing, the soft sun and the blueish sky. These signs show that the cold winter is not far away. I don't like winter. Days are short and nights are long. Though it's very cold and chilly, it doesn't snow in Kathmandu. I have to wear lots of warm cloths and it's really very hard to wash those clothes.

After Nagapanchami, a chain of festivals starts in Nepal.

Yesterday we had a Father's day which occurs in moonless night. I couldn't go to see my father but I gave him a call and wished him very happy and healthy day. Had I been at home today I would have presented him with a bottle of wine, fruits, sweets and new clothing but poor me I am far away from home.

Day after tomorrow we have a festival called "Teej". This is a special day for women. Women do fasting for the whole day for long life and expecting good relation with her husband. This is a national holiday for women. Women go to worship lord Shiva in temples. There will be a huge gathering women in the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu and other temples of lord Shiva all over the country. The queue starts from 3 AM in the morning. In this particular day, Women are only allowed to go to visit the temple. Women wear red dress and gold ornaments as per their economic wealth and interests. Its time to showoff their wealth. So here in Nepal the festivals are good for rich and for poor it's very difficult to celebrate. On this day father or bothers must invite their married daughters or sisters to come to their home. A grand feast is prepared for the women a day before the festival. They start eating from early in the morning and the feast goes on till mid night. After mid night they don't drink a drop of water for another 24 hours. You can call this a festival of feasting and fasting. It's a kind of rest and get together of women in her maternal home with her relatives and friends after one year of work in husband's home. Through their songs and dance they poor out their owes, sorrows, sufferings, exploitations and operations done by husband and in-laws. In this sense it is a festival of expression of misery of women in Nepal. We can see a contrast, though she is humiliated and battered by the husband she worship for the wellbeing of her husband.

After one month we have a great festival called Dashain. It is celebrated for 15 days. Its kind of family and relatives get together. I will also get some leave days and will go to visit my family and relatives. We have a special kind of culture that we have to go to every relative's house in nearby area to get blessing from elders, have fun and food. In my village I have to go to 20 houses of my relatives at the same day. It takes around 4 hours but it's a good chance for me to renew my relation after one year.

Thank you Amy, blog lovers and the BBC English learning team for being with me for the whole month.

My friends its time to close, I will be in touch through the comments. Time and tide wait for no man/women it's time to go.

Be happy and wish you all good luck!

Namaste!

Kiran

Thanks for all your contributions. This blog has now closed and can no longer accept new comments.