Dashain just isn’t the same in this village anymore

Kafali’s change is both demographic and cultural. The village once filled with relatives, children, and neighbours during Dashain and Tihar. Now many homes are empty, and only six households remain. Festivals matter here because they once brought scattered family members back and briefly restored the village’s social life.

The decline is closely tied to migration. Families have moved to the Tarai plains and urban areas for better education, healthcare, and living conditions. Farming has also become unreliable because monkeys and other wild animals destroy crops. Even a nearby dirt road and new electricity have not solved these deeper problems.

The result is a quieter village and weaker traditions. Students no longer return in the same numbers, friends have moved away, and gatherings have dwindled. The remaining families still celebrate, but Kafali’s festive energy increasingly survives through memories rather than crowded homes and busy paths.

Dashain and Tihar are major Nepali Hindu festivals. Dashain is a long family-centered celebration, while Tihar is known for worship, lights, and close family and community gatherings. Such festivals traditionally encourage people living elsewhere to return home, especially when schools close and relatives have time to travel.

Kafali shows how that tradition worked in practice. Until eight to 10 years ago, students came back when schools closed. Relatives returned from afar, neighbours gathered, and children and young people filled the village. The anticipation began before the celebrations, making the festivals important social events as well as religious occasions.

That annual reunion has weakened because many families have migrated. Former residents may still remember Kafali during the festivals, but fewer return to occupied homes. With only six households remaining, the village has fewer people to host gatherings and maintain the customs that once made Dashain and Tihar feel especially lively.

Kafali’s household count has dropped sharply, from 17 to six. This is a measure of village decline rather than a precise population count, but it shows how many families have left. The change matters because village life depends on people living nearby, sharing work, visiting one another, and returning for important festivals.

The departing families moved mainly to the Tarai plains and urban areas. They sought education, healthcare, and other basic services. Farming also failed to provide reliable income, since monkeys and other wild animals often destroyed crops. A road and electricity improved access and daily life, but they did not remove the main reasons for leaving.

With 11 fewer households, Kafali has many abandoned homes and fewer social connections. Childhood friends are scattered, paths are quieter, and Dashain and Tihar gatherings have dwindled. The remaining six families now carry much of the responsibility for keeping village traditions alive.

Infrastructure can make a village easier to reach without making it a secure place to live. Kafali now has a dirt road close to the village and electricity has changed daily life. Yet families continue leaving because access alone does not replace good schools, healthcare, or reliable work.

Residents identify several pressures. Local education and healthcare remain inadequate, so families move toward places with better services. Farming offers little security because monkeys and other wild animals destroy crops after months of labour. Cultivable land exists, but it often cannot produce enough income to support a household. These problems make urban areas and the Tarai plains more attractive.

The continuing exodus shows why Kafali’s improvements have had limited effect. Roads and electricity may help remaining residents, but they have not reversed migration. Unless essential services and livelihoods become more dependable, more houses may remain empty and the village’s social and festival life may continue shrinking.

When most working-age families move away, a village can retain its buildings and land while losing its living community. Homes may stand empty, and farmland may remain unused or poorly managed. Cultural traditions also become harder to sustain because celebrations depend on people gathering, preparing, visiting, and passing customs between generations.

Kafali offers a clear example. Families left their ancestral homes and cultivable land while seeking services and better livelihoods elsewhere. Those who stayed faced difficult farming conditions, including crop destruction by monkeys and other wild animals. Many friends and relatives now live in cities or other areas, so fewer people return during Dashain and Tihar.

The cultural effect is visible in the village’s quieter festivals. Paths no longer fill with returning residents, children, and young people. The remaining families still celebrate, but they cannot recreate the earlier crowds alone. If migration continues, Kafali’s traditions may survive mainly in memory and in smaller gatherings among those who remain.

Families choose where to live partly by weighing security against hardship. If a village lacks adequate schools and healthcare, residents may struggle to educate children or handle illness. If farming cannot reliably support a household, remaining in the village becomes financially risky. Together, weak services and uncertain income create strong pressure to migrate.

Kafali illustrates this combination. Residents say local schools, healthcare, and other essentials remain inadequate. Farmers also lose crops to monkeys and other wild animals, even after months of work. Although the village has cultivable land, many families cannot earn enough from it. They therefore move to the Tarai plains and urban areas in search of better services and living conditions.

Migration then creates a cycle of decline. Each departure reduces the village’s population, workforce, and community activity. Empty houses increase, festivals become quieter, and fewer people remain to support local life. Road access and electricity have helped, but without stronger services and dependable livelihoods, families continue to see elsewhere as the safer choice.

Rural-to-urban migration is the movement of people from villages to towns, cities, or other more developed areas. Families often make this choice when their home community cannot provide essential services or a dependable livelihood. It is not simply a search for city life; it can be a practical response to insecurity in education, healthcare, and income.

Kafali shows these pressures clearly. Families have moved to the Tarai plains and urban areas because local schools, healthcare, and other essentials remain inadequate. Farming is also unreliable. Monkeys and other wild animals destroy crops, and cultivable land does not always produce enough income. Even road access and electricity have failed to stop the movement.

Migration changes both places. Families may gain better services elsewhere, while Kafali loses residents, workers, and festival crowds. Empty homes and abandoned farmland remain behind. If village services and livelihoods stay weak, more families may leave, and traditions that depend on a resident community may become increasingly difficult to maintain.