Nepali New Year Celebrated
HOUSTON: Nepalese Association of Houston (NAH) organized a social and cultural evening to celebrate 4th Nepal Day in Houston and the arrival of Nepali New Year 2071 on April 11, in Houston. During the Non-resident Nepali Conference 2010 held in Houston, Mayor of Houston Honorable Annise Parker had recognized to celebrate Nepal Day in Houston every year. Since then, NAH has been organizing various events and programs in Houston City to celebrate the tradition, culture, heritage and identity of Nepali Diasporas in Houston. ”Over the past ten years, Houston has become home to over 4,000 Nepalese now. With another 4000 Bhutanese of Nepali-origin, the number of people living in greater Houston area that are of Nepali culture and heritage has become significant to the cultural diversity of greater Houston area. “It is a matter of our pride and pleasure to be able to celebrate our national culture in the great city of Houston every year”, said Madhukar Amatya who serves as the President of the Nepalese society.
This year’s theme of the Nepal Day was “Birth place of Lord Buddha – peace zone Nepal”. According to the general secretary of the NAH, Dr. Rupak Rauniar “Many do not know that although Lord Buddha attained the Enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, India, he was born as a prince to the Shakya King of Lumbini in Nepal”. Dr. Rauniar stressed that given poor economic conditions in Nepal along with the unstable political and government system, the country had been experiencing chaos, poverty, increased crimes and at times violence. “Thus emphasizing Lord Buddha’s message of peace and purity in the world as the theme and slogan for celebrating the Nepal Day 2014 is timely for NAH” added Dr. Rauniar.
Nepal Day soccer tournament was held in March that was participated by four local teams. Druk Houston defended their Nepal Day Soccer Championship title by defeating Dead Runner 4-1 in the finals played in Sugarland. Soccer is the most popular sports in Nepal and neighboring region. The organizing sports committee of NAH includes some of the national level soccer players of Nepal including Min Bikram Shah, Dinker Amatya, Paban Shrestha, and Bijay Bokhim.
To mark the celebration of Nepal Day, a blood donation drive was organized in association with Gulf Coast Blood on April 5 at NAH office located in the Hillcroft area. Over 40 people donated blood during the event. Jyoti Ghimire, the coordinator of the event underscored the importance of blood drive, “blood is fundamental to human life and one of the easiest way to help to save lives”. On the eve of Nepali New Year 2071, the 4th Nepal Day celebration was marked by children art competition, cultural program, and dj night at Taj Hall located in the Hillcroft area. Anita Adhikar, a renowned children book author from Michigan read two of her newly published books to the children. The program began with reading of congratulatory note for the Nepali community by the Mayor Annise Parker. The cultural program hosted several Nepali folk dances and recital of national songs from Nepal. Over 250 people celebrated the night in a family-based environment and welcomed the arrival of new year 2071 Bikram Sambat.
As the Nepalese community in Houston continues to grow in the Houston area, events and functions like this helps to preserve the rich South Asian culture in the city.