Mahendranagar, 21 August

Gurahi festival is being celebrated today in the western Tharu community. The Festival will be celebrated in various places with dancing and singing.

Although Gurhi is a festival associated with children, recently people of all ages, including young people, are celebrating it. This festival has a tradition of making a guraha gurahi (singing worm) of cloth and selling it in the afternoon in the chowr or chowbato.

Girls or girls throw ghughri (corn, banana, or chickpeas) along with gurahi. It is customary for children and boys to beat the thrown gurahi with sticks or sticks saying 'De Ghughri de Ghughri'. It is called Gurhi Asraina in the local language.

There is a widespread belief that by celebrating Gurahi festival, children will get rid of diseases. Similarly, it is believed that they do not have problems like burning eyes and fever. Beating the gurahi means beating the diseased person and driving them out of the village.

Gurhi, which is celebrated as the first festival in every Tharu village, has been celebrated institutionally in Dhangadhi since 2067, said Unnati Chaudhary, president of the Sakhi network Kailali. According to him, Gurahi festival has been started to be celebrated institutionally with the aim of transferring culture to the new generation. It is said that a statue of Gurhi will be laid at Gurhi Chowk in Dhangadhi on the occasion of Gurhi.

On the occasion of Gurahi festival, all the local levels of Terai region of Kailali have given local holidays today.