KATHMANDU. The 10th Nepali Cap Day (Topi Diwas) is to be celebrated in a grand manner on January 1 this year as well. The slogan of this year's Cap Day is 'Nepali Topi: Nepali Identity'.

After the traditional attire of the Nepali people including daura suruwal, topi and gunyu cholo – which have been part of the Nepali identity for centuries – were removed from the list of national dress by the the erstwhile government, people started celebrating the Nepali Topi Day with the demand to give national identity to the Nepali topi (Dhaka Topi, Bhadgaonle Topi). 

People have requested the government to declare the Dhaka cap and Bhadgaonle cap as the national identity. Since Nepal is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country, there are many ethnic varieties of caps. This has made people to request the government to pay attention to the protection and promotion of traditional caps.

Nepali is Nepali Topi : It has been at least nine years since some Nepalis voluntarily started observing the first day of the Gregorian new year (January 1) as Nepali Topi Diwas (Nepali Cap Day). On this day, people are seen coming out on the street wearing a ‘Nepali’ topi.

However, there are two types of Nepali topis almost equally used in the country. Dhaka topi and Bhadgaunle topi have been long associated with Nepali identity and nationality. Although these topis were considered a part of the ‘national dress’ until a few years back, many people celebrate the Topi Diwas with vigour.

Nonetheless, information about how, why and from when these two topis became the part of Nepali identity is still a mystery, with some people questioning the association of late.