Tihar

Tihar, or Deepawali, is Nepal's festival of lights, and also the Newari new year. Deepawali means 'a row of lights' and traditionally, households light ghee (butter) lamps for the festival and place them outside their homes, on balconies and at windows, lighting up the darkness and the coming winter. In the days preceding the festival, the landscape of Kathmandu was slowly transformed with mulicoloured flags being strung across streets and coloured lights being strung across everything. At nightime, there are coloured lights hanging across streets, in cascades from buildings, twinkling from household windows. Firecrackers explode across the city, and the marigold business booms as Nepalis buy garlands of flowers to celebrate the festival. Walking home late one evening, I came upon a crossroads where all of the street railings were covered with thousands of marigold garlands, waiting to be sold the following morning. As with Dashain, Nepalis go home to visit their families, for all, or some of the five day festival. On the first day the crow is worshipped (as the messenger); on day two the dog is worshipped (as an honest and faithful companion)...and dogs across the city are daubed with red tikkas (the mark of blessing placed on the centre of the forehead). On the third day, Laxmi, the goddess of wealth is worshipped, as is the cow (and its sacred gifts of milk, ghee, dung, urine, and curd). Along the streets hawkers sell pictures of the goddess, and cows wander slowly around garlanded with flowers and with tikkas between their eyes. On the fourth day the self is worshipped (and its soul, which is the god inside), and on the fifth day brothers and sisters are honoured with a tikka of seven colours. Leading up to the festival, power cuts pepper the city to compensate for the electricity overload of Tihar. Restaurants provide 'festival menus', with reduced choices at higher prices. Rubbish is left on the streets to pile ever higher. On new year's day, celebrations continue long into the night as elsewhere around the world and Newaris greet one another with "nhu daya bintuna" (happy new year). Late into the night I wandered the illuminated city and came across a small square. In the centre, a Buddhist stupa was adorned with lights. From every building around the square lights hung in cascades of colour. A group of Newari musicans played traditional music on curved horns, thrumming drums, and wild trumpets. Rice beer (chang) was passed from person to person. To the mesmeric rhythm of the night, we danced to welcome the coming year.