Nepal, Bhutan showcased for 1st time at Windsor festival as multicultural council marks 50 years

After moving from Mississauga, creating a Nepalese portion of a village at Windsor's Carrousel of the Nations has been more than two years in the making for Dinesh Malla.

Nepal and Bhutan are both first-timers for the festival, and under the same umbrella this year as the MulticulturalCouncil of Windsor and Essex County celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Theirvillage was held at the Windsor Centre for Film, Digital Media & the Creative Arts in the downtown area.

"During the pandemic, there was no event like this," said Malla, one of the village's co-organizers.

"Once I got the opportunity to be [on the] board of directors for the Multicultural Council [of Windsor and Essex County], I introduced all the cultural events with a poster. During the pandemic, we only did the poster."

After seeing the festival held in person last year, Malla says that sealed the deal for him wanting to share his culture with the community.

And, although the seeds of preparation were planted well in advance, actual planning only began a few months ago, he says.

"We might have a little bit of glitches..."

"We really want to say sorry for that. But next year, we will come with the full phase confidently and present [ourselves] very nicely."

Nepalese and Bhutanese people are the same: co-organizer

For Balaram Kafley, the co-organizer of the Bhutanese portion of the village, showcasing his culture has a deep meaning.

"We want to show the Western world that we are Bhutanese Nepalis," he said.

Kafley says the southern Bhutanese people and Nepali people are culturally the same.

"Only by identity we are different."

"Because of the conflict of interest with the Bhutan government and because of cultural matters, we were kicked out from Bhutan and we lived in refugee camps for almost 20 years."

Southern Bhutanese people in the 1980s were seen as a threat to the Bhutanese government and were subjected to human rights violations.

They could not be seen in anything other than traditional northern clothes and were forced to speak Dzongkha, Bhutan's official language, instead of their preferred language of Nepali.

Failure to comply resulted in fines or imprisonment.

Anti-government demonstrations took place in 1990. Many would later flee or were forcibly deported to refugee camps in eastern Nepal.

The village featured an exhibition of Nepali and Bhutanese culture, with jewelry, clothing, snacks and popular household items on display.

Pictures of significant Bhutanese and Nepali landmarks were also present, including Mount Everest, which sits on the border of Nepal and China.

Hakka Khazana Restaurant catered the food with staples such as samosas, noodles, and dumplings available. Dishes such as bhel were also available.

A cultural presentation also took place featuring dancing from children, singing and the playing of traditional musical instruments.

Sunday was the only day of the Nepali and Bhutanese Village at this year's Carrousel, but there are other nationalities who will be sharing their cultures from June 23-25.