Dashain is often described as Nepal’s biggest festival. For those of us living outside the country, however, it is also a reminder of distance — the miles separating us from our families, our ancestral homes and the traditions we grew up with.
Every year, as Ghatasthapana marks the beginning of Dashain and the days leading up to tika unfold, Nepalis around the world prepare to celebrate in different ways. Some book flights to Nepal months in advance. Others organize gatherings with friends and community members, while many simply call their parents and follow the celebrations through a phone screen.
The geography may have changed, but the emotional attachment to the festival remains.
As a Nepali living in the United States and serving in a leadership role within the Nepali diaspora, I have had the opportunity to observe this connection from both sides: the determination of Nepalis abroad to preserve their traditions and the powerful emotional pull that continues to draw them towards Nepal. What I see in our communities is more than a festival celebrated overseas. It is an enduring relationship with home.
Dashain beyond Nepal
Nepal’s migration story is inseparable from its social and economic realities. Millions of Nepalis live and work abroad, yet their relationship with Nepal extends far beyond financial remittances. Family ties, cultural identity and the desire to remain connected to their roots continue to shape their lives.
The International Organization for Migration’s Mapping the Nepalese Diaspora study, conducted in collaboration with the Government of Nepal and the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA), surveyed Nepali diaspora communities across 16 countries. Among the respondents, 98.4 percent were born in Nepal.
The study found that 36.5 percent of respondents visited Nepal once a year, while 14.6 percent visited more than once a year. Another 44.2 percent reported visiting less than once a year.
The frequency of visits varies with geography and individual circumstances. For Nepalis living farther from home, particularly in countries such as the United States and Canada, returning regularly can be difficult because of the cost of travel, work commitments and limited opportunities for leave.
These figures offer an important perspective on Dashain and the diaspora. There is no national statistic establishing exactly how many Nepalis living abroad return specifically for the festival. Overall visitor numbers should not be mistaken for the number of Dashain returnees.
Nevertheless, the available data points to a substantial diaspora that maintains regular contact with Nepal, with visits home remaining an important part of that relationship. For many families, Dashain is one of the occasions around which such journeys are planned.
For some, returning home means being present for tika and jamara. For others, it means spending precious time with parents and relatives they may not see again for another year or longer.
The homecoming within Nepal
The movement associated with Dashain is immense even before international travel enters the picture.
In October 2026, authorities estimated that around one million people would leave the Kathmandu Valley by road for Dashain, while tens of thousands were expected to travel by air. By October 15, traffic authorities had reported that 262,753 passengers had already left the valley in 37,964 vehicles since Ghatasthapana.
These figures capture something Nepalis understand instinctively: Dashain is also a season of movement.
People return to villages, towns and ancestral homes. Parents wait for their children. Brothers and sisters travel from different parts of the country. Families arrange their schedules around tika, family gatherings and the rituals that bring generations together.
For Nepalis living abroad, this familiar homecoming takes on an international dimension.
A person working in Qatar may travel to Nepal. Another may return from Australia. Someone living in the United States may save vacation days and spend thousands of dollars on airfare. Others may want to come home but find that circumstances simply do not allow it.
The distances differ, as do the sacrifices involved. Yet the motivation is often remarkably similar: family.
For those who make the journey, the destination is not merely a place on a map. It is the opportunity to sit with parents, receive blessings from elders and participate in rituals that connect them to their childhood and their cultural identity.
The economic relationship
There is also a broader economic story behind these journeys.
Nepal Rastra Bank reported remittance inflows of approximately Rs 1.723 trillion in fiscal year 2024/25, an increase of 19.2 percent from the previous year. During the same period, Nepal’s travel income stood at approximately Rs 88.66 billion.
Remittances and travel income represent different economic flows and should not be treated as interchangeable. Together, however, they illustrate the scale of Nepal’s economic relationship with people living beyond its borders.
A Nepali returning home for Dashain may spend money on international airfare, domestic transportation, food, clothing, gifts and household expenses. Some stay with relatives, while others travel to their ancestral villages or explore different parts of the country during their visit.
Such journeys can generate economic activity even when they do not resemble conventional tourism.
This is why I believe Nepal’s understanding of tourism should give greater attention to diaspora travel.
A Nepali-American visiting parents in Kathmandu may not consider themselves a tourist. A Nepali living in Australia who returns to an ancestral village may not purchase a tour package or stay in a hotel. Yet both contribute to economic activity through travel and spending.
More importantly, these journeys reflect a relationship that extends beyond the usual categories of tourism. They are driven by family, belonging and a desire to maintain connections with home.
Recognizing this dimension of travel could help Nepal better understand the diaspora not only as a source of remittances, but also as a community with the potential to contribute to local businesses, domestic tourism and cultural exchange.
The people who cannot come home
There is another side to this story that deserves equal attention: not everyone who wishes to return can do so.
Nepalis working overseas may face employment restrictions, financial constraints, visa complications and the practical difficulty of securing leave during a major festival. While some manage to return after years away, others continue working abroad through Dashain, separated from the families they support.
For some, the festival means gathering around a table with loved ones. For others, it means a video call across time zones.
This is one of the difficult realities of migration. A person may be earning a living that sustains a family in Nepal while being physically absent from that same family’s most important celebrations.
From my experience working with Nepali communities in the United States, I have seen how deeply these occasions matter to people who cannot travel home. In their absence, community gatherings take on a special significance.
A Dashain programme can bring together families who might otherwise celebrate separately. Older generations have an opportunity to preserve familiar rituals, while children born or raised outside Nepal can learn about the culture of their parents and grandparents.
Through these gatherings, the diaspora does more than preserve Dashain. It adapts the festival to new circumstances, finding ways to sustain its meaning across borders and generations.
What I see in the diaspora
In my experience working with the Nepali community, festivals create some of the strongest opportunities for people abroad to come together.
People who may not meet throughout the year make a special effort during Dashain. Community organizations, cultural groups and families organize gatherings. Parents bring their children, young people participate in cultural activities, traditional food becomes part of the celebration, and elders share the rituals and stories that have shaped their lives.
One of the most meaningful aspects for me is seeing younger generations participate.
A child born in the United States may never have experienced the excitement of playing on a traditional Nepali swing during Dashain. They may have no memories of receiving tika from their grandparents in a family home in Nepal.
Yet they can still learn what tika represents. They can discover why jamara is grown and understand the significance of receiving blessings from elders. They can begin to appreciate why their parents feel a particular longing for home at this time of year.
These experiences matter because cultural identity is not sustained by geography alone. It is also passed down through family practices, shared memories, stories and the effort to keep traditions alive.
The Nepali diaspora is increasingly diverse, and the ways people celebrate are evolving. Families adapt rituals to their circumstances, communities develop their own ways of gathering, and younger generations bring their experiences into the celebration.
The setting may be different, but the effort to preserve Dashain’s meaning remains visible.
Dashain is still about home
The IOM diaspora study found that 61.4 percent of surveyed respondents expressed interest in returning to and resettling in Nepal in the future. This does not mean that all of them will eventually return, nor does it suggest that migration is reversing. It does, however, offer a reminder that living abroad does not necessarily weaken a person’s connection to Nepal.
Dashain makes that connection visible in deeply personal ways.
Some Nepalis cross oceans to sit beside their parents. Others travel hundreds of miles within another country to attend a community gathering. Some celebrate quietly with their immediate families, while others spend the festival working overseas and call home whenever they can.
From where I stand as a member of the Nepali diaspora, these experiences are all part of the same story.
Dashain has travelled far beyond Nepal. Perhaps the more important story, however, is that Nepal continues to travel with its people.
The tika, jamara, food, music and gatherings may look different from one country to another. Children celebrating today may have been born thousands of miles away from Nepal. Yet the emotional significance of receiving blessings from an elder, remembering family and reconnecting with one’s roots remains powerful.
We often measure migration through numbers: how many people leave the country, how much money comes back and how many travellers arrive. These figures are essential to understanding migration’s economic and social dimensions.
But Dashain reminds us that migration is also about relationships — the bonds that survive distance, the traditions that cross borders and the families that continue to shape our sense of belonging.
And sometimes, those bonds are strong enough to bring someone thousands of miles home for just a few days, simply to sit with family, receive tika and feel, once again, that they belong.
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