Tomorrow is Ghatasthapana, which marks the beginning of the festival of Dashain. Schools and colleges will close and businesses will slow. Slowly, the streets of Kathmandu, now full of people hustling and bustling, doing their last minute shopping, will begin to empty. The soon-to-be vacant streets will serve as a reminder of just how many Kathmandu residents are migrants from all across the country. They will be crammed into seats abroad buses and planes, most heading home to receive tika, others just to see long-missed families and loved ones. And it is not just Kathmandu, almost the entire country slows down for the days preceding Dashami, Dashain’s tika day. Even the government, so intent on the upcoming elections, will take a breather and welcome the break from their frenetic pace of life. The only difference this time around might be for the political parties, who will, no doubt, be campaigning even during the festival. For others, surrounded by friends and family, drinking, feasting and playing cards provide much-needed respite for all from the humdrum of everyday life.
Dashain, as a time of food and family, often turns into an excuse for binge eating and drinking. Family gatherings and card parties are accompanied by liberal amounts of liquor and plate after plate of deep fried red meat dripping with oil. Relatives who come seeking blessings are plied with food and polite refusal is easily disregarded. Last Dashain, over 1 million kg of meat was sold during the festival season alone. This over-consumption is made worse by two factors—the passive lifestyle of most during the holidays and the popularity of deep fried and roasted meat dishes, which are consumed alongside liquor. Fried mutton, the favoured Dashain delicacy, is red meat and high in saturated fats, which leads to a spike in cholesterol levels. The reliance on meat also means that grains and greens are neglected, leaving the body in sore need of nutrients that are present in smaller quantities in meat, like carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
Moderation is key. Dashain is a time for revelry and leisure but a good time can be had without bingeing on
food and liquor. The trade-off for one day of extreme merriment can be a few more days of feeling sick. And given the rising prices of foodstuffs, going easy on the liquor and
meat would not only benefit health but also the pocket. Mutton alone costs upwards of Rs 700 a kilo. While
lower-income families suffer the most, middle-class families also feel compelled to splurge in order to ‘save face.’ This Dashain, it would be wise to exercise restraint in all spheres—from eating and drinking to gambling. In the end, while money can be made back, health is a far more difficult thing to regain.
source:-ekantipur
पुरा भिडियो हेर्न तल यो बक्सको बिचमा क्लिक गर्नुहोस
