Players can't even say Dashain-Tihar. That's when the competition falls. Otherwise, they have to prepare for the competition. There are some special moments that I spent abroad during Dashain-Tihar. One of them is very enjoyable. In 2016, the AFC Solidarity Cup was held in Kuching, Malaysia. The competition fell during Tihar.

The reason why this tournament is so important is that we also won the title. This is the first time that Nepal has won an official tournament of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). At that time, the captain of the Nepali team was Biraj Maharjan Dai. On the day of Bhai Tika, he gave a sweet 'surprise' to the entire team, especially me. And it made not only me, but the entire team happy.

What happened is that before we flew to Kuching, Vidya Didi sent all the necessary items for Bhai Tika through Biraj Dai. From tika to jajanka, garland to food. We have three sisters - Parvati, Vidya and Veena. Bhai Tika occasions with them are always special. They have made a great contribution to my life, I will never forget this.

Vidya Didi is also equally interested in football. She is the one who knows all the players. She is also the one who comes to the stadium and watches football. Vidya didi had told Birajdai, ‘Open all these puja items only on the day of Bhai Tika, don’t tell anyone about it before that.’

On the day of Bhai Tika, we all gathered in a hotel room. Almost all of us were players. There was enough puja items for everyone, we all accepted them. That moment was very fun. Even more emotional. Later, when the team won the title, that Bhai Tika became even more special, everyone considered it an omen for victory. This is also one of the happiest moments that football has given me.

There is another memorable incident related to Dashain. This is from the year 2007. We had gone to Iran to play in the AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers. Dashain was falling at that time. The team’s manager was Sanjeev Mishra. He had brought tika and other puja items from Kathmandu. On the day of tika, we all took blessings from him. Thus, we celebrated Dashain in the city of Tehran.

Even though I was born/brought up in Kathmandu, I have a special attachment to my own village, Tauthali. That is where our entire family celebrates Dashain. This old village of Newar settlement is about a hundred kilometers away from Kathmandu. It is in Sindhupalchowk district. So whenever Dashain came, my attention would be directed towards it from a young age, when to go to the village. During Dashain, Dha Jatra was also held. 

Dha Jatra means Dahi Jatra. There are many religious and cultural programs in the village during Dashain. Our original house is still there. Now there is a bus facility and we can easily reach it in two to three hours. Without the bus facility, we had to walk for more than 5/6 hours. In our time, we used to have holidays from Dashain to Tihar, so we spent that much time in that village. We never knew when it would be time to return home.

Tauthali is considered an ancient city of Sindhupalchowk. To its east lies Dolakha. It is also called Hazirpur. It means a holy pilgrimage site. There are various festivals celebrated here according to the time. One of them is the famous Dhau Jatra. This festival is celebrated for five days starting from Phulpati. Each day has its own importance. On the fifth day, Dhau Jatra is celebrated on Ekadashi.

It seems to be a kind of 'thank-giving' festival to the gods. Most of the residents of Tauthali are farmers. The gods have given us so much, so on a special day, curd is offered as a thank you. Curd is made a day in advance so that the gods may have mercy on them. Initially, it is offered to the gods and later it is given to everyone as prasad.

Later, it is believed that it took the form of a festival. On the day of the festival, all the children, young and old people carry curd and sing songs and go to the goddess's temple. There is still a popular belief that if the person who eats this curd, he will not get sick for the whole year. The tradition of singing hymns related to Mohini is also maintained on this day. Again, our family itself is large, with 40/50 members. That is why Dashain celebrated in the village is always special. This tradition of ours has not been broken yet and will not be broken. It needs to be passed on to the new generation. It seems like this is a tradition that we need to keep alive and emotionally connect with. 

I studied in four different schools until I passed my SLC. From 1st to 6th grade at Buddhist Secondary School. From 7th to 8th grade at Gyanodaya in Hetauda. That is when I joined ANFA Academy. Then we returned to Kathmandu and studied at Noble for 9th grade. I studied at Allied Co-Ed for 10th grade. No matter where I studied, the tradition of returning home and going to Tauthali for vacations did not stop.

It was customary to give as much homework as possible during the Dashain-Tihar vacation. It seemed like the Dashain-Tihar vacation was just for homework. In the initial years, I had problems when I delayed doing these homework. So what I did was that as soon as the vacation started, I would work day and night and complete all the homework. Again, this had only one purpose, to go to the village and celebrate Dashain with joy. During Dashain, we were so busy in the village that we didn't have time to do homework. 

I was a good student when I was in school. I always did well in science and mathematics. I never had any problems with my studies after playing football. I never let them become problems. What we were taught from the beginning was that players should not only play, but also study. Moreover, players should study more. I have never forgotten this fact. This is why I have completed my studies up to MBS. After SLC, I chose management and studied up to postgraduate level. Here, I would like to remember three teachers and my mother. We are not in touch lately.

When I was studying in Buddhist Secondary School, there was Seema Ma'am. She taught English. She loved me very much. When I was in Hetauda, ​​two teachers loved us equally. Kamal Sir taught science and Khadga Sir taught mathematics. They used to say – players should study more, because later they have to join the sports field or what happens! 

We were in the hostel. That is why we had a close relationship with them. Sadly, I don’t know much about Seema Ma’am, nor about Kamal Sir and Khadga Sir. All three of them were from Darjeeling. They must be there now. I would be happy if someone read this memory of mine and sent a message to them, I want to meet them. And I want to remember everything from the past.