Tihar in our Neighbourhood

Timed to coincide with the end of the monsoon rains, the festivals of Desai and then Tihar provide a very interesting experience of traditional culture, celebrated throughout Nepal. From the 15^th to the 19^th of October  there were five days and nights of Tihar, full of lights, tiny oil lamps and candles, firecrackers, happy revellers and singers, marigold garlands, family groups out visiting and shopping in the vegetable, fruit and sweet markets, and tempting cooking smells wafting from kitchens.

There was no need to leave the house. Entertainment was at hand; even from the windows of our flat on the first storey we could catch a fair glimpse of the festival.

Two sisters sharing a bike rode up and down the nearby narrow lane on their holiday, taking pleasure in all that was going on, and a priest visited most of the neighbourhood houses, chanting the traditional blessings.

I caught the words, “Peace be upon this family,” as he passed beneath our dining room window after visiting our near neighbours. Two groups of singers, much like carol singers in December, gathered to sing and honour our landlord’s household, who are respected tea growers and benefactors from eastern Nepal. 

Our landlady visited us with three plates of traditional food one night, greeting us with “Happy Diwali” (=Tihar) and her characteristic beaming smile. To my delight, one of these contained sel roti, a doughnut shaped delicacy made by hand from rice flour, butter and sugar, and a favourite of mine.

Sounding much like the bands which escort bride and groom to Nepali weddings, several groups of Indian musicians with brass instruments and loud drums, gathered at the gates of houses throughout the festival, hoping to cajole family members outside for some rupees in exchange for their music. Women in embroidered or bejewelled saris or kurtas (tunics) and shawls, men in their best jackets and young people in the universal dress of youth culture everywhere, sauntered and chatted in the lane all day, carrying bags of food or other gifts for their visits to family or friends.

Firecrackers showered from rooftops well into the night. Most homes were lit up in some way, and with the increased use of electric lights, it looked rather like any Christmas in Australia. Some of the lights came equipped with a small electronic device which played a soft medley of Christmas carols, which sat somewhat oddly in a Hindu festival, but nothing surprises us very much any more.

The images show some of these neighbourhood scenes:

On two nights, we ventured into various parts of the city to see what was happening elsewhere, firstly in the tourist area of Thamel, and then nearer to home near Patan Durbar Square and the Mangal Bazaar markets. One of the main days of the Tihar festival celebrates the Hindu Goddess Laxmi, whom the locals hope will be enticed and guided into their homes and shops by trails of oil lamps and candles leading into their front gates, homes and shops. Laxmi is believed to bring wealth and prosperity to one’s household, and the pavement invitations to her to enter one’s home are varied and colourful, as captured in the photos below: