For Timure’s flood survivors, Dashain brings memories of the lives they lost

On August 26, the Bhotekoshi flood devastated Timure, Rasuwa, sweeping away homes, roads, the village monastery, and family members. The disaster destroyed the community’s normal life, leaving survivors unable to return for Dashain, Nepal’s major festival of family gatherings.

Tenzing Dolma Ghale, 20, lost her house and father. The flood also erased the road connecting her village, so returning became impossible. Survivors moved to Mustang Gumba in Swayambhu, Kathmandu, because their homes and local shelter were gone and they needed safety and relief.

The monastery now houses 111 displaced families. They depend on handouts from foreign organisations and other monasteries for food and daily needs. They marked Dashain quietly, recalling prayers, tika, and relatives who died. Their future depends on rebuilding homes, roads, and community life before they can return.

The Bhotekoshi flood displaced 111 families from Timure, Rasuwa, forcing them to shelter at Mustang Gumba in Kathmandu. Beyond losing their houses, survivors lost roads, loved ones, lifetime savings, and community spaces central to Dashain celebrations.

Tenzing Dolma Ghale, 20, lost her house, the road to her village, and her father. Chhwang Renzhen Lama lost his birthplace, his savings, and family members, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Timure’s monastery also disappeared, taking away the place where villagers prayed, shared food, and gathered for festivals.

These losses have changed both daily life and cultural traditions. Families who once owned permanent homes now depend on handouts and relief from foreign organisations and monasteries. They are grieving in Kathmandu and wondering when they can return and rebuild their community.

Dashain is Nepal’s major festival, marked by prayer, family gatherings, blessings, tika, new clothes, and shared meals. It traditionally reunites families, relatives, and friends, especially children and grandchildren studying elsewhere.

Timure shows this meaning clearly. Before the Bhotekoshi flood, villagers gathered at the monastery for prayers, wore cultural white tika, and welcomed returning grandchildren. These rituals made Dashain a shared homecoming, not simply a holiday.

On August 26, the flood destroyed homes, roads, and Timure’s monastery, while killing family members. Now 111 displaced families spend Dashain at Mustang Gumba in Kathmandu, relying on relief. Their experience shows that returning home depends on safety, homes, roads, and community spaces—not celebration alone.

Losing their homes, relatives, roads, and monastery has turned Dashain from a homecoming into a time of grief and survival. Instead of gathering for prayers, tika, shared food, and family blessings, survivors remember what disappeared and depend on relief. Their cultural practices continue, but in smaller, improvised ways.

Tenzing Dolma Ghale, aged 20, cannot return from Kathmandu because the August 26 flood destroyed her house and village road. She also lost her father, so Dashain now means staying at Mustang Gumba, rather than reuniting with family. Hlakpa Nagarkoti similarly replaced monastery prayers and Bhimsen worship with a little tika in a room.

The 111 displaced families sheltering there have little cause for celebration and rely on handouts for daily food. They mourn with old photographs and recreate rituals privately through fasting, “Om Mani,” and sharing tika. Until homes, roads, and communal spaces are rebuilt, Dashain will remain a reminder of loss rather than ordinary village joy.

In Timure, white tika marks the cultural traditions of Tamang, Gurung, Newar, Sherpa and Bhote communities. Unlike Hindus, who generally wear red tika during Dashain, these groups follow their own customary form of observance. Their fasting, prayers and meat restrictions show that Dashain includes reflection, discipline and communal religious practice, not only celebration.

For example, residents fasted through Ashtami, avoided violence, and recited “Om Mani” while praying for everyone’s wellbeing. They also ate previously dried meat with potatoes instead of slaughtering animals, reflecting the day’s ban on killing. Before Phulpati, villagers shared food at the monastery, while ritual purification shaped participation in prayers.

These customs now continue under painful conditions after the August 26 Bhotekoshi flood destroyed Timure’s monastery and homes. At Mustang Gumba in Kathmandu, 111 displaced families marked Dashain together, placing a little tika on one another. Their practices preserve community identity, but the loss of their gathering place makes returning to normal celebrations uncertain.

Foreign organisations and various monasteries are providing relief to 111 families displaced by the Bhotekoshi flood. Their help matters because survivors lost homes, relatives, savings, and access roads.

At Mustang Gumba in Kathmandu, families receive shelter and depend on handouts for daily needs. The article names monasteries and foreign organisations as helpers, but does not identify specific state or local-government assistance.

Families still struggle to rebuild their lives after the August 26 flood. People who once owned permanent homes now rely on others for food each morning and evening. The article does not specify which government services are missing. However, it clearly shows that outside organisations and religious institutions are filling the immediate relief role. Longer-term recovery will require more than festival support, including a safe return or resettlement plan. The displaced families also need practical help rebuilding homes, restoring roads, and recovering their livelihoods.

Himalayan villages often stand beside steep slopes and fast rivers. Monsoon rain can saturate slopes, trigger landslides, and send floodwater through narrow valleys. This combination can destroy homes, roads, bridges, farmland, and services at once. Remote terrain also makes rebuilding slower because workers and materials must travel through damaged routes.

Timure shows this chain clearly. On August 26, the Bhotekoshi flood swept away Tenzing Dolma Ghale’s house and the road to her village. The disaster also took her father and destroyed the village monastery, a central place for prayer. With access cut, families need outside food and shelter before permanent reconstruction can begin.

Now, 111 families are sheltering at Mustang Gumba in Kathmandu. The article says foreign organisations and monasteries are providing relief, while former homeowners rely on handouts. Rebuilding must therefore address safety, access, housing, and livelihoods, not only replace buildings. Until roads and secure sites return, many families cannot easily go home.