New Year

On this happy occasion of NHU DAA of 1116 NEPA SAMBAT, Nepa Pasa Pucha would like to extend its heartiest greetings and felicitations to all its members, fellow Washingtonians, and well-wishers. The Nepa Pasa Pucha wishes them prosperity and happiness at work and at home.

Once again around the traditional "BHOYE " (feast) -aey we gather to meet old friends and greet new ones. Its time to come together as a community to share our experiences and thoughts, and celebrate our good old tradition.

Four years ago NPPA came into existence. It was a historic event for our community. The creation of the organization was the logical outcome of a number of factors and concerns the members of the community felt at that time.

The community felt that the preservation and conservation of one's heritage, language, and traditions are very important especially when one is far away from their homeland. NPPA came into existence to fulfill this role. As time passes one will realize the important role NPPA is playing in bringing the members of the community together.

Therefore, it's important for each one of us to understand the role, the need, and the meaning of this organization and give it a deeper look . The stronger the organization becomes the better off the community will be; the more united its members are, the easier it will be for the organization to achieve its goal, and more the members realize the need to take an active part the more relevant and meaningful the organization will become.

As each one of us knows, for two hundred years the culture of the Kathmandu valley has come under pressure of many kinds. Attempts were made to perpetuate a gradual decline and eventual demise of this cultural heritage. It is paradoxical to note that at a time when the people of the world thought this culture to be fascinating, intriguing and unique, the people of Nepal themselves were busy dismantling it, the inheritors disowning it, and the clever-ones inventing a new name and calling it their own.

Inspite of all this the culture has survived the test of time and I'm sure that it will grow and flourish beyond the 20th century. My dear friends, until Kumari, "The Living Goddess" reigns on her enchanted throne, or the Nyatapola stands tall and majestic topping the roofs of Bhaktapur, or the Taleju Bhavani determines the skyline of Kathmandu or the Swoyambhu temple stand serene on the hill-top; and as long as the people of Kathmandu valley pay homage and respect to Lord Ganesh, Pashupati, and young students ask Goddess Saraswati to make their exam easier, people in quest for wealth ask Goddess Laxmi to fill their coffer, and when in turmoil of mind and soul find solace, tranquillity, and peace at the foot of Lord Buddha, the cultural heritage of the Newa people will live on.

Even though NPPA was established with these seemingly "lofty" goals of preserving this enormous treasure of arts, crafts, traditions and history of our cultural legacy, the road to its achievement is rather simple.

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 identity. No matter what you do now or try to be at present, the identity of a person is forever tied to his or her parents and then to their ancestors and their heritage.

The very last name you carry like SHRESTHA PRADHAN, AMATYA, MAHARJAN, TULADHAR and so on, is the link to our cultural heritage and our identity. This is one thing we can never get away from. Therefore, it's important for each one of us to understand this, and with a rich cultural heritage like ours, try to work towards, preserving and enhancing it to make a difference. The small steps you take now will become a giant leap in the future and it will bring the community much closer to the "lofty " goals we set for ourselves.

The attempts we can make living far away from our homeland are many and each one of us must feel and understand that every small effort count. Therefore, these efforts have to be constantly made for the betterment of the community.

In Nepal, people are trying to make special efforts to conserve and preserve our cultural heritage. Our effort here and other efforts all around the globe, I'm confident that we will be able to make a substantial difference.

At this time, I would like to point out that many of us agree on the general concept of the preservation and conservation of our cultural heritage yet we still do not know how to go about doing it the best way. All of us must make special effort to learn and share about our cultural heritage and roots before we come to a definite conclusion. This will help us to look at our culture in very different light.

Having said all this, I would like to call on all the members of our community to try to understand what NPPA stands for and trying to accomplish with a limited resource we have. We want to make this organization more relevant, effective and meaningful for the community.

At the end, as our term in office has come to a close and on behalf of community and myself, I would like to thank all the members and well-wishers of NPPA for their great support and encouragement. I can say that it was a great learning experience. We thank you for your invaluable support and cooperation.

since Dec. 1, 1998.

This page is last updated on August 21, 1996.