Tihar

A group of patients play music at the X-ray department during Tihar

The entire weekend and then some was been part of the Tihar festival, which includes Dipwali, the light festival; I’m not sure about the boundaries between the two, but it’s celebrated throughout five days, dedicated in this order to crows, dogs, the goddess Laxmi (fortune), cows, and brothers. On Sunday we explored the town (seeing a few temples and buying persimmons! They have persimmons here!!!), but in the evening we were invited in by the family downstairs for part of the Tihar festival. There were lots of candles, some circles on the floor made of colored powder and rice, and plates of fruit and malas (the plates were much fuller for the men than for the women, I must say, but there ya have it). Tika was applied, butter candles were lit, oiled string was strung across the rice circles and burned, and the fruit was presented to each of the men before we started supper, which was a feast: it included rice and tarkari, fried fish, chicken, greens, eggs, kippers, pickle chutney, curd, wine, and some kind of flaky sweets that I’m assuming were mostly sugar but were delicious. It was a nice time, and although we didn’t have enough Nepali and English to go around between us to understand what everything symbolized, I am very glad I got to see all of the ritual enacted.

Sam with some sweets for Tihar!

Grandpa and grandson during the Tihar festival.

We also got to see a little Diwali happnin’ at the HRDC on both Friday and Monday. Friday the kids took the afternoon to go department to department singing and playing instruments, a little like caroling, except I believe they made some of the listeners the subject of the song and got money in return. This ended with a gathering on the lawn of the hospital, with all the kids playing and singing and the didis dancing. It was pretty cool. Plus we got invited back to a woman from the kitchen (Shanti)’s house and spent the afternoon with her, it was pretty sweet. On Monday it was the day for bai-tika (tika for little brothers) and all the little boys at the hospital got tika from the two girls, and all the children got a big plate of fruit and sel roti (made from rice and extra oily). Sam and I even got plates, which was really nice of the hospital staff. I’m glad I’m in Nepal with such lovely people for a nice holiday!

A cow with tika and mala on "gai-tika" day.

Sandeep, a boy in long-traction, getting his treats for bai-tika.