Fate of Nepali calendar hangs in balance
Uncertainty surrounds the fate of the often-talked-about plan to amend the present calendar five months before the end of this Nepali year.
A national executive committee formed by the government five years ago to amend the calendar has proposed that 30 days (equivalent to one month) be slashed from 12 months of 2069 BS in line with the altering positions of the stars in relation to the Earth.
However, escalating protests from various quarters has halted the plan for the time being, say officials of the Ministry of Culture (MoC). Moreover, the executive committee formed under the ministry to look into the issue has been in a dysfunctional state since two months.
“The plan was halted because of huge dissension from public and a section of scholars,” said MoC Under-Secretary Jay Ram Shrestha.
A section of astrologers and scholars fear that the amendment may mess with daily lives. Panchanga Nirnayak Samiti, the authorised body for bringing out Nepali calendar every year, has been standing against the committee’s plan stating that the amendment is unwarranted as it would create confusions by disturbing the existing schedule of Hindu festivals. “This is a matter of people’s emotions attached with their religion. It should not be altered as proposed by the committee. We are against it,” said Sri Krishna Adhikari, a member of the Samiti.
Astrologers, however, ruled out the possibility of new problems as feared even after erasing a month from the year, as the period will naturally have adhikmas (intercalary month). This means, in astrological calculation, there will be an extra 30 days in a year, making 2069 BS of around 13 months. An intercalary month comes in a gap of every three years. One month in an intercalary month, which normally falls in Jestha or Ashad, does not contain any religious festival, thereby deferring each festival by at least one month.
According to Acharya Jayanta, associate professor of Sanskrit and Astrology at Balmiki Campus and a member of the committee, the new idea is all about not following the adhikmas (intercalary) in 2068 BS, which will automatically bring festivals closer by one month.
“Instead of deleting a whole month from the year, we will fix the festivals according to their original time frame determined by the season,” he said, adding that due to the changing position of the Earth vis-a-vis stars, the Nepali calendar is already late by 24 days.
For instance, the Nepali New Year, celebrated in the first day of Baisakh, is assumed astrologically having equal hours of day and night. “However, first Baisakh has come down to seventh Chaitra,” he said. “Like first Baisakh, all the festivals have shifted from their original time. The reason behind this is a day is reduced in every 72 years. This is a natural astrological process which can dealt with by arranging such a year in every two centuries.”
The proposed amendment, according to Acharya, will bring the gap of 24 days to six, which will itself get adjusted over the next centuries. If not amended, the gap between months will keep increasing and the rainy season could fall in Poush and Magh of the winter season. However, according to Adhikari, constant change of the positions of the Earth and stars are natural. “Just as the days have been decreasing over the years, they will automatically get shaped up over the time. There is no need to manually handle the time,” he added.
Posted on: 2011-11-04 08:56
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