Gunla Parwa Aarambha/World Tiger Day

Welcome to the Gunla Parwa of Gunla Month in Nepal Sambat
During this Gunla month, the Gunla festival is celebrated exclusively in the Newa community and in some places where the Newa community is predominant, including the Kathmandu Valley.

Background of Gunla Parwa
The celebration of this festival is found to be more spiritual and contemplative in the Buddhist families of the community. Since Lord Buddha and his followers lived in the same place without traveling during the rainy season, this festival is also considered as a confluence of rain and knowledge. Especially in the Gunla festival celebrated by the Newar community, there is a tradition of going to see Lord Swayambhu in the morning. Today, special music can be heard at the crossroads of the Kathmandu Valley, while the number of devotees visiting various monasteries, temples, and spiritual places is high.

Bahidya: Swavanegu Newa:
Bahidya: Swavanegu Newa: is a unique part of the culture where there are instruments and music first and then devotees march. Such Jhankis can be seen in abundance in the Kathmandu Valley. Dya: Thayegu is one of the special activities of today. Today, it is customary to make small stupas using raw black clay. In Kathmandu and Lalitpur, it is customary to carry a statue of Panjara, i.e. Buddha, and other saints, and khat (Chariot) representing God in the city, and to collect items such as rice, lentils from the community.

The Buddhist way is a philosophy advocating balance where spirituality, including charity and peace, is highly valued. The statues of Dipankar Buddha and Pauva are special on this day, although Gunla is not just a one-day festival. This festival is celebrated in different ways on different dates of the lunar tithis.

Let's draw the outlines of our daily routine in the open sky and clear clouds that come with the end of the rainy season. Good luck to all.

International Tiger day

Background
International Tiger day is manifested so that people around the world can raise awareness for tiger conservation. Protecting tigers and their natural habitats is the primary objective for this day of global solidarity in protecting tigers. The announcement was made by the International Tiger Forum in 2010 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The forum was the world's first tiger conference. The tiger conservation program is a joint effort of then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and World Bank President Robert Zoellick.

Since then, International Tiger Day has been celebrated every year. This day is celebrated for the conservation of tigers' habitats, raising public awareness about the declining number of tigers, raising issues for their conservation as well as appreciating and encouraging efforts in tiger conservation.

After all, why is the tiger so important? We all know that tigers, once found everywhere, are now on the endangered species list. Statistics show that the tiger population, which was 100,000 in the first half of the 20th century, has dropped by 90% to 3,200.

Reasons of Tiger extinction
The main reasons for the decline are deforestation, lack of habitat, climate change, and poaching. To curb this trend, 13 countries are working together with the ambitious goal of doubling the number of tigers by 2022 in collaboration with various livestock conservation organizations. It is the tenth year that India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Russia have jointly launched the Tiger Conservation Program.

Importance of Tiger
The tiger is considered as a symbolic creature all over the world. As a natural resource, the tiger is also considered important from a cultural and historical point of view. While this is happening, it also contributes to keeping our biological systems in balance. As tigers are the main predators in the food chain, it makes a significant contribution to the ecological balance by controlling herbivores. Needless to say, environmental balance is important not only for wildlife but also for people from all over the world.

We must not forget that in our science books, the science teacher used to draw a picture of grass, goats, tigers and a circle, to depict the ecosystem and food chain. Tigers are known by botanical and animal experts not only for maintaining the ecological balance, but also for providing support to other animals. It is also called "Umbrella Species" in English. Conserving tigers requires a lot of space, so large forests need to be protected. In this way, tigers are analyzed as important species as other animals also find shelter during forest conservation. While conserving tigers, we are also conserving forests.

Suyog Dhakal