Gaura Parba, the major festival of the far-west region, has begun from Saturday, the day of Bhadra Krishna Panchami.

On the first day of the festival, women marked the beginning of the festival by soaking five types of grains in water in a copper pot. The collection of the five grains including wheat, peas and black gram is known as Biruda in the local dialect.

Likewise, the second day is a day of fasting during which the women prepare the portraits of Gaura Devi or goddess in the wee hours at the sources of water or well by washing the Biruda collectively.

On the day of Saptami, the married women welcome the Gaura deity in the temple after worshiping. The residents of Darchula, Baitadi, Dadeldhura, Doti and other districts observe the festival with great fanfare.

This year too, the government has announced a public holiday coming Tuesday on the main day of Gaura Parba. Besides worshipping and savouring delicacies, Deuda song is the main attraction of the Gaura festival, in which mythical and religious stories are presented in the form of a song.

Likewise, Gaura is also considered a festival of unity in which the out-migrants return home for celebrations.

Former Chairman of Mahakali Sahitya Sangam Kanchanpur Bir Bahadur Chand said that Gaura Parba is gaining more popularity in the recent days. "Even the people of far-west who are abroad for studies and job are observing this festival. This has gained much popularity in the last two decades," Chand said. RSS