KATHMANDU, Sept 26: The Dashain Festival creates an image of animal slaughter in our mind as this is taken as one of the Dashain customaries and is a long practiced tradition as well. 

As the Dashain of this year is approaching near, 'Kajiba,' a play giving the message about love, compassion, and nonviolence was staged house full in two shows at Theater Mall in the Kathmandu Mall Saturday. 

The play is about a man named 'Kajiba' who represents a well-off family with the rural settings. He is respected as a 'gentleman' by the villagers. He enjoys spending free time with grandson whom he loves very much. 

He develops fondness of animal slaughter. One night, he has a dream in which he finds himself at the door of Yamaraj, the death, in the Hindu mythology. To his stupefaction, animals that he slaughtered in the past assemble begging for punishment from Death God against him for his crime. 

But, the Yamaraj remembering good deeds of Kajiba blesses him with the rebirth as a goat lamb in his house. The blessing from the Yamaraja gives him a certain joy as he feels that at least he could entertain his company with his grandson no matter in the creature of a lamb. 

On the day of the Mahastami, the eighth day of the Dashain, Kajiba's son places the little lamb born as the reincarnation of his father on altar for sacrifice. Driven by the desire for living and enjoying the company with his family, he cries for life and utters " Don’t kill me, don’t kill me."

Upon hearing him crying, his spouse and a daughter-in law rushes to him and help him to become normal. Then, he mentioned them about the nightmare he suffered. 

With coming back from his dream that brings a twist turn in his thinking, he suddenly ponder over animal life, love kindles in his heart, he turns to a sword used to slaughter animal that is kept near his bed, picks it up and throws it with the promise of practicing a vegetarian life onwards and the play ends. 

The play written and conceptualized by Durga Dahal had done justice to prove its meaning with depicting the cultural anomalies being promoted in the name of festival specially the Dashain. 
Dashain is the festival marked with the religious belief in Hindu community that truth treads the ignorance.RSS
 

 
• kajiba
 
• dashain
 
• festival
 
• animal
 
• kath mandu mall