Well, coming back to my story - it was Ghattasthapana, and I happened to wish Happy Dashain to one of a Nepali kid residing in Bangkok. This kid had been staying abroad for most of her life with her parents. All that she could remember about Nepal was an elephant back riding at Chitwan and watching the sunrise at Nagarkot during her summer vacation few years back.  In spite of all this, she could speak Nepali flawlessly and when she dances to the tunes of Nepali folk music you will not believe that she had been to Nepal only few times in her entire life. Kudos to her parents who kept her aware of Nepalese culture and values amidst alien environment.

 But this Ghattasthapana, when I wished her Happy Dashain, she was very puzzled and she replied “Dashain is on coming Saturday, why are you in so haste to wish!”. I was taken aback with her innocent reply. Well, yes for her, Dashain was only on the coming Saturday when we would have the cultural programs, games and fun. This was what she had been seeing for Dashain all her life. I tried to make her understand that Dashain is celebrated for ten days in total and Ghattasthapana is the first day of Dashain when we plant Jamara. I do not know if she took my words seriously, but her innocent reply did touch me deeply.

 In the perception of all the kids growing up there, perhaps Dashain was exactly like what she described - a day long celebration with Nepali music and Nepali food. These kids were lucky to be so close with Nepali culture even staying on a foreign land; but on other hand, they were missing the real fun of Dashain – flying kites, going to Durga temples at wee hours during Navaratree, having series of feasts and most importantly going places for tika. The story might be same for all the second generation Nepalese who are growing up outside Nepal.

Dashain is a mere example. For most of them, even Nepal as a whole might be just like a fairy tale – a mythical place, a dream land.  Growing up in the alien environment is not as easy as it might seem. Most of the time, these kids have to keep pace with more fortunate natives who have obvious advantage of growing up in the local surroundings. As they grow up, they will be confronting cultural crossroads at many occasions. With depleting educational standards and safety issues in Nepal, surely these kids are luckier than their contemporaries back home. But amidst all the luxuries of the foreign land, aren’t these kids missing something? I always find parents trying their best to keep their kids aware of Nepalese cultures, but they always have hard time making the young minds understand the essence behind Nepali cultures, for those cultures simply do not carry any meanings in the alien land.

And this makes me ponder: If any home, away from home, can ever be like home!