A visitor asks, “When is New Year in Nepal?” We all smile. The visitor scratches his head.Thamel, Lakeside and various other areas which cater to the young, young-at-heart, and tourists get into the New Year spirit in both December and April. There is pretty much something for everyone, from the more expensive dinner deals, to the bars and clubs and events held on open spaces such as the Tundikhel and the Jawalakhel foot­ball ground. As the time approaches bar and club owners just hope this year the police are in a benevo­lent mood with regard to closing times. Now I don’t want to jinx it, but we have all known times when for some reason the police figure we should all be tucked up in bed by 10pm and go around enforc­ing early shutdown of restaurants, bars etc. I’ve never managed to work out the logic behind this. And on a side note, I hear the police are now raiding hotels arresting Nepali cou­ples of consenting age. What’s with that? Frustration? Boredom? You would think they would have better things to do.

 

Back on point. I remember one Nepali New Year when I was attend­ing an event in the outside garden of the old 1905 on Kantipath (sadly no longer there). Midnight had just passed and the international DJ announced he would keep play­ing till 2am. I went inside to use the toilet and when I came out, I found myself locked in the build­ing! Luckily, being an old building, some doors where bolted from the inside only (what I would have done if it had been a modern, shuttered building, I don’t know). On ‘escap­ing’ I saw there were a few dazed looking foreigners still around but all the staff had disappeared. The police had come to close the event. But at least we managed to celebrate midnight. Later I found out from a friend who was playing at a gig somewhere else that the police had come round before midnight to shut that event down!

 

In Scotland, New Year has always been celebrated eh, enthusiastically, shall we say? Traditionally, after the ‘bells’ at midnight we go from house to house in the neighborhood offer­ing a drink from the bottle (probably whisky) we are carrying and accept­ing a drink from the host. Any house that has its lights on can be visited, even if you don’t know the people who live there. The traditional New Year Eve gift is a lump of coal. That tradition goes back to the days when everyone had coal-fuelled fires in the house. While the rest of Britain gets the first day of the New Year (January 1st) as a public holiday, we in Scotland need two days to recover and so the 1st and the 2nd are both public holidays. In fact in Scotland the first time you visit a friend or relative’s house during the month of January you will be expected to eat Christmas cake and other goodies, and drink whisky as if it was still New Year Eve. Every Nepali I know would love it—I can see them now getting down with their rendition of Bhim Niroula’s “Monday Morning Love you”!

 

Back here in Nepal while the majority of the many, I believe seven, ethnic new years are celebrated with puja, prayers, street parades and dances, Naya Barsa, celebrated mid-April, seems to be heading down the road of Gregorian new year, at least in Kath­mandu. Less prayer, more eating and drinking. Less family, more Get Your Groove On Lounge. Less grandpa and grandma, more cute guy or girl from college. Great for the hospitality industry, not so great for Nepali culture.

 

So… back to our visitor… what would you say?