President's Note
NPPA & Newa Cultureby Dr. Tulsi R. Maharjan, President, NPPA
On the occasion of New Year of 1117 NEPA SAMBAT, I would like to extend my heartiest greetings to all its members and friends of NPPA.
As the internet and telephone brings the world community to our living room, it has been easy to communicate with our friends and families back home. But it is not quite the same as being together and being able to do things together. The holiday time is especially difficult, when we think about those authentic food, visiting temples and favorite shrines. We are trying to do our best in our adopted country to make it feel like home, especially the first generation of Newars. No one knows what's going to happen to our new generation. Will the next generation keep our cultural tradition alive?? That's the question every one is thinking about. Well, with the dawn of the NPPA we are making some headway in promoting and preserving Newa culture and tradition in the United States. The membership of the NPPA is growing slowly and we are taking several steps to further links to our homeland.
The mission of the NPPA is to promote communication among dedicated people in North America and Nepal to preserve the cultural heritage of the Newa community. Our new generation will surely mimic many western values, but, I believe, if they get enough exposure to our cultural tradition, they might think more positively about our culture.
I am learning now how difficult it is to bring up kids in this culture. We are constantly bombarded with so many things that we don't know what to do. As we slowly assimilate in this culture our kids will definitely acculturate to western tradition. We can see this when we looking at the names of our new generation. Where have Ratana, Rajamaya and Tirtha gone?
It is our responsibility, as teachers, community leaders and parents to teach our new generation about our true cultural values. We can hope that some day our kids will realize that Newa culture has many positive values to offer them. Without having an understanding of our traditions, ideals and values, we can't and won't be able to develop a true Newa characteristics. We definitely need to discuss our culture more and understand the true meaning of Newa culture. We need to teach our youngsters so that they understand our culture better. Our entire community must play a greater role in this process.
Five years ago NPPA was born with the help of concerned and dedicated families like SHRESTHAS, PRADHANS, AMATYAS, MAHARJANS, JOSHIS, TULADHARS, MALAKARS, PRAJAPATIS, and TAMRAKARS to promote and preserve Newa culture and tradition. Without these dedicated families we would not have this organization. Everyone is interested in preserving one's cultural heritage, language, and traditions. They are very important especially, when one is far away from their homeland. As time goes by, one will realize the important role NPPA is playing in bringing the members of the community together.
The most important factor in this endeavor is to understand our ROOTS, where we came from and what our forefathers have done to give us this unique cultural identity. In order to promote and preserve the true Newa culture we must continue to do more than just eating a bhoye once a year and take our own initiatives to:
- Teach our kids about our language and culture
- Practice our traditional ceremonies and events like Mhapuja, Jankwa, (Mhpuja, jnKv)
- Talk to children about the significance of our special holidays;
- Keep close contact with our friends and families in Nepal;
- Research and publish works on both Newa culture and tradition;
- Have special gatherings and demonstrations to share our culture and tradition
- Start oral history to learn from our elders.
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This page is designed byRaju/Sumitra Maharjan on December 21, 1996.
