Purkha Divas




 What do we picture when we say 'Purkha'? Yes, I just visualized the same picture as you. The 'Gurkhas' or 'Gorkhas' very widely known as a brave, fearless and steel-hearted warrior with an unrivaled military prowess, and to top it up, the signature weapon 'Khukuri'. And, from all the history I read and heard for myself, the 'Gurkhas' don't flinch when come across an enemy. I believe this summarizes the whole thing we pictured when we said 'Purkha'.

The Gurkha Cemeteries Trust and Hong Kong Nepalese Foundation organizes 'Purkha Divas' every 5th of April as a memorial day for our ancestors, our late Gurkhas. It is an educational and community event for all people as well as a platform for the youngsters living in Hong Kong to know about our culture, identity and history.

People observe this day by visiting the graves of 'Gurkhas' and remembering them and the contributions they made. As it is an educational event, many Nepalese students from various school attended and a student from each school recited a poem, also, there was a joint collaboration of the students as they performed a 'choir', which I found really fascinating. Many families were present there to give their respect to their ancestors and to remember them. And, there were arts made by the students and teachers about the 'Gurkhas' which was really good.


Splendid craft
The event, in my view, was really nice and positive. And through this event, the families could pay their respect to their ancestors and also the youngsters would be educated about their culture, identity and history. And in this hectic lifestyle of Hong Kong, Nepalese people living far away (and not to mention, the graveyard is also very far away) take out time from their busy schedule and attend this event to commemorate our ancestors, the 'Gurkhas'.

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