When Nabin Gautam moved to Australia to study in 2019, travelling back home to celebrate the annual Dashain Festival with his family was financially out of the question.

The biggest festival of the year for Nepalese people, Dashain is a 15-day celebration of the victory of good over evil.

A time traditionally spent with family and loved ones was now an isolating one for Nabin, who could only be with his relatives over video calls.

“I recall getting tears in my eyes when my parents and brothers and sisters were having a chat because they putting the Tika on, which is a tradition on the tenth day of Dashain,” Nabin said.

“That’s the reality of lots of students, we have commitments here and we can’t just pick up and go back home to celebrate.”

It led Nabin to establish the Nepali Students at Western Sydney Club, and this year, he’s thrilled to share the festival and its traditions with the Australian community.

City of Canterbury Bankstown has partnered with the Nepali Students at Western Sydney Club, as well as Community and Cultural Connections Inc to host it’s first-ever Dashain Festival celebration.

Campsie Library and Knowledge Centre will be a sea of colour with bright saris, Nepalese folk music, traditional dancing and delicious foods on Thursday 3 October from 4-6pm. Residents have embraced this new cultural event, with tickets already sold out.

“It gives us Nepalese Australians a little sense of home and it’s a fantastic opportunity to share our culture with the broader community,” Nabin said.

The celebrations will continue to fly high in Canterbury-Bankstown up until Tuesday 22 October, with kite making workshops at Council’s Library and Knowledge Centres.

“Flying kites is a tradition during the Dashain Festival in Nepal because it’s the time when we harvest the rice. The kites send a message to the rain Gods to stop raining so we can harvest,” Nabin said.

Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Bilal El-Hayek said our City has a strong Nepalese community of nearly 5,000 people.

“We cherish the diverse cultures that make up our City and it’s only fitting we celebrate our wonderful Nepalese community,” Mayor El-Hayek said. “I encourage everyone to come along, learn about this beautiful culture and experience the vibrant Dashain Festival.”

For more information and to book into a kite making session, visit cb.city/DashainFestival