JurShital marks the start of new year in the Maithli, Awadhi, Tharu speaking and most part of southern Nepal. It usually falls on 14/15 April and Baisakh 1st. The celebration starts from Baisakh 1st. This is a celebration of nature and relationships. The first day starts with wishing everyone new year opting for satuaiyaan and on second day that is Baisakh 2nd, all the seniors use handful of water to put on junior’s head as a token of blessings. This is great way to also start summer as in Mithila, there is hot, so to cool down with water. Not only human, but the celebration also includes watering every plants/animal in your reach which is a unique way of celebrating ecosystem. The celebration of JurShital started in ancient era and is most required now to preserve the ecosystem and our planet. The best part of JurShital is the name, Jur = connected Shital = stay cool which is amazing connotation to the name itself.
JurShital is the cultural celebration rather than the religious one which is very much required in the present era. We do want to emphasize it’s a cultural holiday than religious one. This celebration is such a unique one to wish for the calmer mind by putting cold water on head to all the juniors. Also, we all need these connections with our family/friends/well-wishers to wish each other well. Afterall, the motto of any festivals or celebration is to strengthen the connections amongst each other. Also, there are few very amazing delicacies that are enjoyed by people from these regions. It starts with satuwa, flour of roasted grams. This is also called as “poor man’s proteins, which is high in nutrients such as iron, manganese, magnesium with low sodium and is often called the powerhouse of energy. Satuwa also called as satu is gaining its importance globally now. And the second day, delicacies like baari-bhaat (curry made of fried cubes of besan-steamed rice), aam-chutney (mango chutney), sohijaan curry (drumstick curry), and vegetable fritters are the go-to menu. One unique attribute of JurShital is eating the food on Baisakh 2nd that was cooked a day before, i.e., on Baisakh 1st. This is a cool way of showing respect to fire/stove by not cooking anything and giving it a break for a day. Not just human rather every component of a universe wants a “break”, don’t we all ?!
Preserving this culture will also help us to safeguard our environment and all the species of ecological niche ?. We always call mother nature as it helps us to survive, and nurture us, so to safeguard all the animals and plants of mother nature is our duty as well as our responsibility. The imbalance between environment and species could leads to ecological crisis. Hence, the best way to protect our planet, earth is by showing respect to all the species of nature. And taking one step forward, we try to water all the plants and cool down all the animals in the scorching sun by providing them water on JurShital. Undoubtedly taking care of nature and all the species of the eco-syatem should be practiced everyday and not just on JurShital. But what better way than starting on the day of connection ?.
So, wish you all who observe this celebration a very happy JurShital! Lets all remain connected to our loved ones and nature!
