People of the far western part of Nepal are celebrating the Gaura Parva festival today with great devotion and pomp.<\/p>\n
Celebrated in honor of Goddess Gauri, the wife of Lord Shiva, the festival attracts devotees from Province 5<\/a>, Sudurpaschim Province, and Karnali Province.<\/p>\n According to the Nepali calendar, the festival, also called Durgaastami, falls in the month of Bhadra. It starts on Krishna Janmashtami<\/a> (birth of Lord Krishna) and lasts for three days.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The women fast the whole day for the happiness and prosperity of their family members.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Besides this, the women and men celebrate the festival with deuda dance in which participants hold their hands and form a circle as they dance to traditional music.<\/p>\n However, the festival celebrations this year are restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Nepali Government has urged people to celebrate Gaura Parva by maintaining COVID-19 health safety protocols.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n President Bidya Devi Bhandari extended her greetings on Gaura Parva to all the Nepalis and called for social distancing and celebrations at home.<\/p>\n \u201cThe festival would play a role in further augmenting mutual trust, goodwill, and emotional unity among the Nepalis from different caste, communities, and ethnicities with their specific cultures and festivities,\u201d said President Bhandari.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
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