Kathmandu: Thousands of farmers and their families across Nepal celebrated an annual paddy festival by planting rice, splashing in the muddy fields and enjoying a special feast.
Image Credit: Reuters
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The farmers were joined by other villagers, visitors from the cities and tourists visiting the Himalayan nation.
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Rice is a staple food for millions of Nepalese and the crop is generally planted once a year in July and harvested about four months later.
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Farmers and their families sang traditional songs to welcome the rain that is needed for the rice to grow and thanked the gods for sending the precipitation on time.
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After planting lines of rice, they splashed in the muddy fields, smeared each other with mud and sand, and danced more before culminating the celebration with a feast.
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The day is also known as “dahi chiura” for the yogurt and beaten rice that comprises one of the main dishes eaten during the feast.
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Elsewhere in the country, people ate yogurt and puffed rice with mangos and bananas to mark the day at home.
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The government has declared National Paddy Day a holiday and tried to encourage people to continue or return to farming rice, as many increasingly look to take up other professions.
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'National Paddy Day', also called Asar Pandra, marks the start of the annual rice planting season
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Children play in the mud in a paddy field at Bahunbesi, Nuwakot District, 30 miles North from Kathmandu.
Image Credit: AP
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