Prabhu Bank’s Chief Business Officer Rashmi Pant: Teej is a Festival of Reunion and Sharing

Kathmandu — Rashmi Panta, who holds an MBA from Kathmandu University, is now serving as the Chief Business Officer at Prabhu Bank. Although her family once hoped she would pursue a career in medicine, Panta chose a different path and made her mark in the banking sector.

Her childhood, which included moving across more than a dozen districts, played a major role in shaping her personality. She has proven that opportunities exist within Nepal itself for those willing to seize them.

Panta views Teej not just as a religious festival but as a celebration of connection and togetherness. Rising to an influential position at a young age, she describes the festival as a chance for women to step away from their daily responsibilities, share their joys and struggles, and renew their bonds.

Born in Mahendranagar, Panta recalls her childhood Teej celebrations with deep emotion. She remembers a lively household where her mother, aunts, and neighbors—around 10 to 15 women—gathered to sing, dance, and laugh through the night. To her young eyes, the festive atmosphere felt like a grand fair. Even as a child, she would join in the dances, eager to keep pace with the elders and feel a part of the joy.

She still vividly recalls the household rituals: preparations for the morning worship, waiting until the ceremony ended before eating, and the beautifully decorated bite mandap adorned with colorful fabrics and flowers that seemed magical to her.

For Panta, Teej’s significance lies in bringing women together—sisters, daughters, and mothers—who, despite being busy with their own lives, reunite to share their hearts. “Long after meeting, the emotional distance fades, and relationships feel refreshed again,” she says.

In her view, the festival is not only about fasting or rituals but about easing life’s burdens. It is a space where women express their pain, share happiness, and support each other. “The food prepared for dar during Teej is more than just dishes—it symbolizes intimacy and togetherness,” Panta explains. She believes Teej gives women the chance to rediscover their strength, patience, and joy, while also allowing them to step away from work pressures and celebrate the small pleasures of life.

At its heart, she says, Teej is about collective happiness and strength—a moment for women to set aside roles and responsibilities and simply be companions, lightening each other’s load and uplifting one another.