Kathmandu [Nepal], Nepal on Saturday celebrated Ropain Diwas or "Ashar Pandhra (15)" across the country, planting rice saplings on terraced farms, celebrating rice and rituals that have been followed for centuries.
Soaked in mud and water, farmers continually worked in the field leveling the mud to ensure a uniform level and continuous flow of water, creating a favorable typography for the growth of rice seedlings.
Planting rice saplings in the field known as "Ropain" is of great importance to farmers in Nepal as it mainly predominates during the monsoon season, which begins in June and lasts for four months.
"The celebration of Ashar 15 has been followed for centuries, passed down from one generation to another. It has been celebrated as a day of joy since childhood and we plant the rice saplings in our field. This year we delayed transplanting the missing saplings of sufficient water and little rain," Meera Magar, one of the farmers from Lalitpur, told ANI.
While planting the saplings, the farmers run after each other, smearing their faces with mud and splashing muddy water for fun.
Such activities are observed high in the Himalayan nation on the 15th of Ashar, which has been marked as National Rice Day since 2005 and had previously been marked as a day to mark the start of the growing season with the beginning of the monsoon.
As the farmers gather, a feast is organized including beaten rice, curd, pickled cucumbers and home-brewed beer.
Furthermore, due to this long tradition of having provisions, Ashar-15 is also known as the day of eating "Dahi (curd)-Chiura (beaten rice)".
In Nepal, rice is grown from a height of 60 m above sea level in Terai to 3000 meters of Chhumchaur Hills in Jumla.
Nepal produces around 5.5 million metric tons of rice annually, while consumption is 7 million metric tons. Last year Nepal produced a total of 5.55 million metric tons on 1.45 million hectares of land.
Soaked in mud and water, farmers continually worked in the field leveling the mud to ensure a uniform level and continuous flow of water, creating a favorable typography for the growth of rice seedlings.
Planting rice saplings in the field known as "Ropain" is of great importance to farmers in Nepal as it mainly predominates during the monsoon season, which begins in June and lasts for four months.
"The celebration of Ashar 15 has been followed for centuries, passed down from one generation to another. It has been celebrated as a day of joy since childhood and we plant the rice saplings in our field. This year we delayed transplanting the missing saplings of sufficient water and little rain," Meera Magar, one of the farmers from Lalitpur, told ANI.
While planting the saplings, the farmers run after each other, smearing their faces with mud and splashing muddy water for fun.
Such activities are observed high in the Himalayan nation on the 15th of Ashar, which has been marked as National Rice Day since 2005 and had previously been marked as a day to mark the start of the growing season with the beginning of the monsoon.
As the farmers gather, a feast is organized including beaten rice, curd, pickled cucumbers and home-brewed beer.
Furthermore, due to this long tradition of having provisions, Ashar-15 is also known as the day of eating "Dahi (curd)-Chiura (beaten rice)".
In Nepal, rice is grown from a height of 60 m above sea level in Terai to 3000 meters of Chhumchaur Hills in Jumla.
Nepal produces around 5.5 million metric tons of rice annually, while consumption is 7 million metric tons. Last year Nepal produced a total of 5.55 million metric tons on 1.45 million hectares of land.
