For Kedia, who has spent three decades abroad, the festival has taught him a message of cultural unity.

The message of cultural unity taught to Kedia who has spent three decades abroad

Kathmandu. In Nepal, festivals like Dashain, Tihar and Chhath are celebrated as family get-togethers and cultural festivals. However, for Sumit Kedia, director of Sitaram Gokul Milks Pvt. Ltd. and former president of Nepal Dairy Association, who has studied abroad since childhood, the experience of Nepali festivals is different from others.

Kedia, who studied outside Nepal including Darjeeling since grade 7, spent nearly 30 years abroad.

Although he used to celebrate festivals with his friends in the hostel, he did not get much opportunity to celebrate Dashain, Tihar and Chhath with his family and relatives in Nepal.

After returning to Nepal after spending a long time abroad, he has got the opportunity to experience the cultural diversity of Nepali society closely. According to him, the diversity of different castes, languages, religions and cultures of Nepal is the beautiful aspect of the country. To protect it, respect for each other’s festivals and culture is necessary.

‘We Brahmins, Chhetris, Lamas, Tamangs, whatever we are, we should respect each other’s culture and religion. Just as everyone used to live together in a beautiful garden, we should maintain unity among diversity even now,” Kedia said.

According to him, festivals like Dashain, Tihar and Chhath help in reducing the distance between different communities and strengthening mutual relations. Therefore, he believes that festivals should be taken not only as a religious tradition of a community but also as an opportunity to maintain social harmony.

Personally, his priority during Tihar is to participate in religious activities like Lakshmi Puja with his family. However, being involved in the dairy industry, he has to manage time for that too.

According to Kedia, the dairy industry does not stop working during festivals. Since the cows and buffaloes do not stop giving milk and the demand of the consumers continues, the industry should be operated 24 hours a day throughout the year. Therefore, even during the festivals, there is a compulsion to fulfill the responsibility of the industry and give time to the family.

For them, Tihar is not only an occasion for worship and family reunions, but also an opportunity to respect Nepal’s diverse social and cultural identity.