National Paddy Day Celebrated with Dahi Chiura

Kathmandu. The Paddy Day, celebrated every year on Asar 15, is being observed today by working in the fields and eating Dahi Chiura. Farmers, tired from the busyness of work, eat Dahi Chiura to gain strength. It is believed that Dahi Chiura cools the body and conserves energy during this time.

Asar 15 is also considered a festival of eating Dahi Chiura in Nepali society. Nepalis engaged in professions and businesses other than farming also celebrate Asar 15 by eating Dahi Chiura. Dahi holds an important place in our culture. There is a tradition of mixing Dahi and Akshata, applying it as a red tika on the forehead before going out for auspicious occasions, traveling abroad, etc. Dahi is also fed as a good omen before embarking on such auspicious tasks. It is a popular belief that eating Dahi before leaving brings good luck.

Dahi is also considered healthy from a scientific perspective. It is said that Guru Gorakhnath predicted that Prithvi Narayan Shah, the unifier of Nepal, would become powerful by eating Dahi. Ayurveda states that drinking buttermilk made from churned Dahi at the end of a meal eliminates the need to visit healthcare professionals for treatment. Sentences like "Bhojanante pibet takram vaidyasya kim prayojanam" are also mentioned in Ayurveda. Dahi also enhances digestion.

Eating Dahi Chiura during diarrhea acts as medicine. Therefore, the custom of eating Dahi Chiura has taken a broad form in Nepali culture. In this way, Asar 15 has become a national cultural festival in Nepali society.

Paddy Day

National Paddy Day has been celebrated since Asar 15, 2062 BS, following a ministerial decision on Mangsir 29, 2061 BS. As Nepal is an agricultural country, farming is the profession of most people in Nepal.

Farmers are busy with farming this month to secure their food for the whole year. On this day, paddy is transplanted in the mud while singing folk songs in the Asare rhythm. People also have fun in the fields by singing folk songs like 'Chhupu ra chhupu hiloma dhan ropera chhodau la, banai kulo lanai pani aiyera godau la'. During this peak summer season, young men and women enjoy themselves by splashing mud at each other in the paddy fields. There is also a belief in Nepali society that one must enter the mud at least once in Asar.

This year, due to insufficient rainfall in all parts of the country until mid-Asar, the expected amount of paddy transplantation has not been completed. Farmers have been complaining about the shortage of chemical fertilizers in many places. However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Environment has stated that there is a sufficient stock of chemical fertilizers.