For some in Kathmandu, Dashain is just another day

For some Kathmandu families, Dashain does not bring celebration because daily survival comes first. Travel home requires money for transport, food and time away from uncertain work. Families also need cash for rent, groceries and children’s schooling. When income is already too small, the festival becomes financially unreachable.

Lal Kumari Rokaya’s family needs about Rs13,000 to Rs14,000 to travel from Kathmandu to Jumla. That estimate includes transport, snacks and meals. She said the same money could cover a month’s rent. Her family has not bought new clothes for their children, either. Her husband’s irregular sales and her plastic-plant sales barely cover daily costs.

Rokaya therefore plans to stay in Kathmandu while others leave for their villages. She said the family will stay this year, although she hopes to return when they have money. The situation shows how migration can separate families from important traditions when city income does not keep pace with basic expenses.

Dashain is identified in the article as Nepal’s biggest Hindu festival. It is a period when many people leave Kathmandu and return to their villages. Families prepare for celebration, buy goods and seek good food. The article presents Dashain mainly through its social and financial importance, rather than explaining its religious history.

Rokaya watches other people prepare to leave Kathmandu while she remains behind. For her, the festival’s arrival is hard to feel because her family has no money. She connects the festive spirit with having enough money to travel home, buy food and provide new clothes for her children.

The article therefore shows why Dashain is nationally important through people’s actions and expectations. It brings families together across Nepal, but access is unequal. Those with limited earnings may experience it as an ordinary day. The source does not provide further details about Dashain’s religious origins, ceremonies or historical significance.

The journey from Kathmandu to Jumla would cost Rokaya’s family around Rs13,000 to Rs14,000. That estimate includes transport, snacks and meals during the trip. The cost matters because her family has very little money left after meeting basic needs. Travel is not simply a ticket expense. Reaching home would also require spending on food after arrival.

Rokaya compares the journey with their rent. She says the money needed to travel could cover one month’s rent in Kathmandu. Her family also needs groceries and money for their two sons’ school expenses. She has not bought new clothes for the children, and the family cannot afford the trip this year.

That comparison explains the choice facing the family. Returning home would provide a Dashain gathering, but it could leave them unable to pay for housing. They have decided to remain in Kathmandu this year. Rokaya hopes they can travel for Dashain later, when their finances improve.

When families cannot afford the journey home, they lose more than a festival trip. They remain separated from relatives and village celebrations while other migrants leave Kathmandu. The pressure to earn continues through the holiday. Basic needs, including rent, food and schooling, take priority over travel and festive spending.

Rokaya describes watching others prepare to go home as especially painful. Her family cannot spare the Rs13,000 to Rs14,000 needed to reach Jumla. She has not bought new clothes for her two sons. Her days continue with street selling, and she may return home without earning anything after paying for transport and a snack.

The immediate result is an ordinary day during Nepal’s biggest Hindu festival. Rokaya says her family will stay in Kathmandu this year, though she hopes to return when they have money. Their experience shows how poverty can turn a shared national celebration into a reminder of unequal opportunities.

Rokaya’s family moved to Kathmandu hoping to work in Nepal and educate their two young sons there. The move has not yet produced stable income. Kathmandu costs more than they expected, while the couple has not found reliable employment. Their plans have therefore created new financial pressure instead of immediate security.

Her husband sells whatever goods he can find, including apples and plastic plants. Rokaya now sells artificial money plants too. Each costs Rs50 to Rs60, but buyers are scarce. She sometimes sells fewer than five plants. Bus fares and an afternoon snack consume much of what she earns, while her husband’s income cannot cover rent, groceries and school expenses.

The family has lived in Kathmandu for only two months and knows little of the city. Rokaya works around Dharahara and New Road, where other vendors sometimes tell her to move. Until better work appears, the family remains exposed to uncertain sales, rising expenses and the cost of staying in the capital.

Informal work means earning outside a stable, regular job. Daily-wage work usually depends on finding work each day, rather than receiving a fixed salary. Such workers often lack guaranteed hours and predictable income. This explanation uses established knowledge because the article does not define the terms or mention Karki.

Rokaya’s street selling shows how uncertainty works. She sells plastic money plants for Rs50 to Rs60 each, but buyers are limited. She sometimes struggles to sell five plants. After paying for a snack and microbus fares, she gives the remaining money to her husband. Some evenings, she earns nothing because vendors make her leave their selling spaces.

This income cannot reliably cover rent, food and school expenses. Her husband also sells whatever goods he can find, but his earnings are insufficient. Their experience shows why informal work can keep families vulnerable: income changes daily while essential costs continue. The source gives no separate information about Karki’s work or circumstances.

Migration, city costs and unequal incomes shape festival access by deciding whether families can meet expenses beyond survival. People may move to Kathmandu for work and education, yet face higher rent, transport and food costs. When earnings are uncertain, returning home becomes a luxury rather than a normal part of Dashain.

Rokaya and her husband left India and returned to Nepal to work in their own country and send their sons to school in Kathmandu. After two months, they still lacked stable work. Her husband sold changing goods, while Rokaya sold plants priced at Rs50 to Rs60. Their earnings could not cover rent, groceries and school costs. A trip to Jumla would cost Rs13,000 to Rs14,000.

Families with more money can travel, eat well and buy new clothes. Rokaya’s family must remain in Kathmandu and keep working. The article shows that a national festival can be shared in name but experienced very differently. Unless income and work become more secure, migration may continue to separate poorer families from village celebrations.