Sweet Flipu, My apologies - I have been a tiny bit remiss with this post. My sajha surfing has been all too erratic of late - must have slipped into a long stupor this time! Christmas binge eh! :-) ""another man with a great personality!"" Hey, you don't know me half as much, do you? So beware, young lady - he's not so 'great' at times, especially when in foul mood - a hard, stubborn Lahuray as he is with his brass manners and his guff-filled 'big talks'! :)) But, thanks. ""Btw when are we heading on a safari in your Land Rover? "" :-) Any time. Will head for the Ausie outback or the Kalahari desert? Your call. :0 ""I would like to add couple of people in our venture - Captain_Haddock and Avani along with you, Anon, Scarlet and myself." :-) My LR is,, err ahem,, 'Ladies Only' ke! :-) It's been recently retrofitted to suit their collective size and shape! No, we'll lump 'em two together in the gaadi - I will need Capt-H as me ol' 'binge buddy', and Anon as my deputy, so he can sort you lot out. :0) Why? Well, because they beat us folks to behaving really badly after having had a few too many, ke! :-) Field discipline, you see - the last thing one wants is a bunch of drunken female revellers - let loose, half-stripped, running around the bushes! :-) (I remember one funny incident from Cyprus some six years ago!) :0 ""It would make a perfect team?"" Yeah, wouldn't it? More names to join the team - Sitara, John_G, Lady Croft (she appears to have relinquished her 'virtual' self!),, who else, oh Nepaali too (haven't 'seen' her for ages").. :-) Where is Scarlett these days, bhaneko? A quick exchange of emails, then she is gone for forever... busy enjoying life 'somewhere' in the Far East (?), I suppose. Hey, banters aside... have a good new year hai ta. Hope you had a swell time - mine was as usual; went to a few dos; ate & slept loads. Take care. ***************** Capt, ""whatever else is on your mind :) "" :-):000))))). now I can't tell you that - better left unsaid about our Freudian moments, Capt! :0 What a guy, you are Capt, what a guy! :)) Hope your xmas was a good one... still recovering from the sore head, no? :)) ********* Real_me, Sorry for mucking up your thread. About the ques you ask. I see no harm in one celebrating the 'westerners' [sic] festivals as long as one enjoys the occasion. All festivals are meant to be merry, something that brings happiness to one's life; that brings families together every once in while. And it is this value that counts more than anything else. All other variables do have only a secondary role to play in the wider scheme of things - your religious belief for example. That is my take on the issue you raise. It's sad that some communities in Nepal have given up celebrating Dashain for some misplaced religious bichaar - then again, it's a personal choice. One has every right to hold a bichaar that fails to gel together with yours or mine, or do things that you perceive to be at variance with a commonly observed value system, - insofar as one's actions do not impinge on others' freedom of doing things their own way. However, it saddens me to think that we tend to let our agendas - that of forging a so-called 'identity' out of such bichaar for example - rise above what must be preserved as a common thread that binds us together neatly: our universally cultural whole if you like, our common identity. Now I have strayed beyond the scope of your question somewhat but I think, what you ask is only pertinent in the context of what is happening in our society at present. I do not follow religion per se, in the traditional sense of the word but I don't mind celebrating religious festivals inasmuch as I can derive something from these, which adds to a happy fulsome life. Be these Christian, Hindu or Muslim. Let me talk about my friend's neighbour; they are an interesting trans-national family - wife from New Zealand, husband from Malaysia. Husband a Hindu, wife a Roman Catholic, and on Sundays, they go to Church, and at other times, to Mandir, and they celebrate Diwali in the same breath as Christmas. Now, that for me is an ultimate paragon of a happy, fulfilled family unit which can embrace all attitudes of religious customs/traditions. I would most readily support my own children one day whatever else they want to celebrate as long as doing so makes them happy. My two pence worth. A very happy New Year, Real_me. Carpe diem