Everest Uncensored

The name Tihar means the festival of lights, where many candles are lit both inside and outside the houses to make it bright at night. The five-day festival is considered to be of great importance as it shows reverence to not just the humans and the Gods, but also to the animals like crow, cow and dog, who maintain an intense relationship with the humans. (source -Wiki)

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481. Kathmandu City In The Eve of Tihar
Photo By: xsrave
Posted Date: 9th November, 2010

Photo Description:

For the continuation of the Photo Walk Series in the Eve of every Tihar.

This year 2067, once again City Kathmandu as seen from the height of Swayambhunath.

Camera specification: Canon EOS DIGITAL Rebel XS
Shutter speed:30 sec
Aperture: F/8
FL:18 mm
ISO: 400

480. Lotus for Laxmi
Photo By: Shutterbug
Posted Date: 5th November, 2010

Photo Description:
A vendor selling Lotus near Kasthamandap in Kathmandu this morning and it is hotcake today because Lotus is must for worshipping Goddess Laxmi during Tihar (Dipawali).

Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments. Mahalakshmi brings good luck to her devotees. She is believed to protect her devotees from all kinds of misery and money-related sorrows. (wiki)

Camera Specification:
Camera: Nikon D200
Shutter Speed: 1/80
Aperture: f6
ISO: 200
Lens: 12-24mm @ 12mm

Photographers: Ashish Parajuli, Balkrishna Lachhimasyu, Bidha Rimal, Dhilung Kirat, Keshav Basnet, Nammy Kirat, Manish Shakya, Rina Maharjan, Sangharsha Bhattarai and Shamesh Joshi
Date: 2008/10/26 – 2008/10/30
Caption: VishnuK/DhilungK
Report: Saurav Dhungana
Creative Support: DijupT/PallaviS/RinaM/DhilungK/

Coming right after the great Festival of Dashain, Tihar (तिहार /tihAr/ ) (Deepawali or Diwali) is a festival celebrated with much enthusiasm throughout the country. Most famously known as the festival of lights it is perhaps one of the most colorful festivals of all. It is celebrated from Trayodashi of Kartik Krishna to Katrik Shukla Dwitiya every year (Oct 26th to Oct 30th this year). The five day festival known as Yama Panchak (यम पञ्चक /yama panchak/) is considered to be of great importance as it shows reverence to not just the humans and the Gods, but also to the animals like the crow, cow and dog, who maintain a close relationship with the humans.  

First Day
Tihar and Crows – Here comes Tihar to teach you a lesson! Early in the morning of the first day of Tihar, family prepares a good meal. Each member of the family takes the first portion of the meal outside on a platter. The crows come down in large numbers and partake of the feast, they will call others before beginning to eat : Share, Share what you have with all! Crows ( काग /kag/ in Nepali) are considered as the messenger of the Lord of Death, Yama. There is a popular Nepali superstition of crows too: When the crows caw, sadness is coming.) On this day crows are worshiped and are kept happy. Where there are no crows, any winged animal of the heavens (bird) will enjoy the feast. So Tihar is also about appreciating animals around us.  

Second Day
Tihar and Dogs – On the second day of Tihar, Dogs (कुक्कुर /kukur/ in Nepali) are adorned with flower garland around their necks, red tika on their forehead, and are offered great meals, they are the king of the day! On this day, people pray to the Kukur to guard their homes. There are lots of Kukur running around in search of a loving home. You can find them on streets and in your backyards, but on this day, even the most unsightly Kukkur will be treated like a king – every dog has its day!.Tihar is also about breaking the boundaries that humans have created, “The Good”, “The Bad”, “The Ugly”… In Hinduism it is believed that Kukur guard’s the underworld empire just like it guards our everyday homes!. Tihar is about loving Kukurs too!

Third Day
Tihar and Cows – The 3rd day of Tihar is about worshiping the mother of the universe – cow (गाई /gAi/ in Nepali). According to Hinduism, the human infant is fed breast milk by its human mother for under three years. After weaning, the cow acts as the surrogate mother providing milk for the rest of the human life – through childhood, adult age and old age. Cows are the mothers of the universe, the sacred animal. The gaai puja is performed by giving a tika to a cow on her forehead, and a flower garland (Flower Leis) on the neck, and offering good meals. Those performing gaai puja place her manure in different parts of the home, drink a drop or two of the cow’s urine, as a part of a purification process. Also dip a blade of grass into the urine and lightly sprinkle it on each other’s body to become closer to the mother of the universe – the cow.

Tihar and Laxmi Puja – One of the most important days of the festival is Laxmi Puja (लक्ष्मी पूजा /laxmi pujA/ ). On this day the Goddess of wealth (Laxmi) is worshiped in every household in the entire country by means of Puja, decoration, candle lights, and oil lamps. In this 3rd day of the Tihar Festival, the entire nation becomes an illumination of lights. Pictures and icons of Laxmi Devi ( Goddess) are placed and worshiped in a Puja room (or a place in a living room or a dedicated room for worshiping Gods) Puja is performed using flowers, incense, oil lamps, color-powders, bell and money (both notes and coins). Laxmi puja is performed at dusk using red mud, and puja is often done by a female in the family. She uses her hand covered with red mud to make a symbolic foot-print on the floor entering the home and makes a trail leading to the Puja room. Since Laxmi likes cleanliness, on this day every house/street is made spotlessly clean.The eve of Laxmi Puja Day is made spectacular not only by lights but also by echos of a special song known as Bhailo (भाइलो /bhailo/) that’s played only on this day in the entire year! A group of girls known as Bhailini (भइलेनी /bhaileni/) get together and sing Bhailo door to door, giving blessings to the family in return for money or homemade treats.  

Fourth Day
Tihar and New Year- On the fourth day of Tihar, there are three different known pujas. Most perform Goru Puja, or Worship of Oxen. People who follow Krishna perform Gobardhan Puja (गोभर्धन पूजा /govardAn pujA/) , worshiping Cowdung symbolizing the Gobardhan Parbat (गोभर्धन पर्वत /govarDan parbat/). The Newar community on the night of this day perform Mah Puja (म्हः पूजा /mHa pujA/) , or Worship of Self. Because this period is also the beginning of Nepal Sambat (नेपाल संवत /NepAl Sambat/), or the new year of Nepalese especially commemorated by Newars, it ensures prosperity for the new year.

Tihar and Songs : Dheusi Songs – Male members sing what is called Dheusi or Dheusiray ( द्यौसीरे /dHeuSire/). You can write just about any Dheusi song as long as each line ends with the word `Dheusi !’ or `Dheosiray !’. A group of males get together, carry what-ever musical instruments they have or can play, and sing Dheusi door to door blessing the home and family in return for money and/or refreshments.  

Fifth Day
Tihar and Tika – On the final day also known as Bhai Tika (भाइ टिका /bhAi tikA/ ) Day, sisters give tika ( टिका /tika/ – a colored powder placed on once’s forehead) consisting seven colours, and maala ( माला /mALA/ – a necklace of flowers or also known as flower leis, similar to that’s used elsewhere like in Hawaii!) to brothers along with wishes for long life and prosperity. To sisters, Tihar is also the time to re-call their continued love for their brothers. After tika sisters give their brothers a variety of foods, sweets, fruits and clothes to please them and brothers in return give dakshinas (दक्षिणा – /dakshinA/ money given as blessing).

This great festival then concludes after these five days of merrymaking and celebration. What is remarkable is each day carries it’s own significance and truly encompasses every aspect of our culture and religion.  

 EverestUncensored would like to thank all the photographers for their valuable contribution to this featured series.[piclens-lite-link] Please click on the image to see its large version.

01 Season of Celebration	02 In respect to the oil lamp
03 Dog of the Day	04 Wishing a Happy New Year 1129 Nepal Sambat
05 Fishing goddess of wealth	06 Glowing Bashantapur
07 Street art celebration	08 Light me up
09 Mandala	10 Thanka shops at Basantapur
11 Swayambhu turned golden on the eve of Laxmi Puja	12 Light rally in the valley
13 The Big BANG…	14 and here borns the Pyrotechnical Milky way
15 The firing Canons…	16 …and the victim
17 Baneshwor	18 Brightening Bajra
19 Cracking Kalopul	20 Once in a year here you go dear
21 Dhime and Dhunya	22 Standing Tall
23 Lalupate	23 Waiting to be plucked
24 Newa People on the rally	25 The Symphony of Tihar
26 Made for kids	27 Guess what is he buying
28 Nutty buddies	28 Please choose your favorite color
29 Busy Bashantapur	30 Twin Pagoda in romantic mode
31 Nepal Sambat flying high	32 Festive Harvest
35 Dhime	36 Mah Puja – Ready to celebrate life
37 Shankhadhar Sakkhwa here we come	38 1129 NS
39 Tihar in perspective	40 Zoom in
41 Flutist Fairies	42 Happy New Year 1129
43 Tihar Celebration	44 Let there be light
45 Smoke in the light	46 Little Bipasha
47 Shawan ko bhel bani timi aauna…	48 Fireworks do not listen to the Home Minister
49 The handmade flames	50 The handmade flames 2
51 The rally continues	52 The shooters through a wide angle

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Theme: Festive Fever
Hiking Route: Tamakoshi to Dolakha Bhimsen
Day: October 25, 2008, Saturday -October 26, 2008 Sunday
Hike Coordinator: SamirR
Participants: AlinaS, AnujK, AmendraS, BasantaN, BhanuC, BinodG,Rashmi P, MoneyP ,SrijanaP, SamirT, SamirR Photos: BhanuC/ SamirR/ BasantaN
Caption: BhanuC/SamirR
Report: AmendraS/SrijanaP/SamirR
Creative Support: Ganesh Thapa / Dijup Tuladhar

It was wonderful to touch the bullet ridden stones on the banks of Tamakoshi, and to see the huge dilapidated bridge shaking hands with the land. The high green hills generally describe the character of Nepal “Hariyo ban Nepal ko dhan” and the high lands filled with the dazzling golden paddy field proving that Nepal is the Agricultural Country.

The sunny morning of November 26th, we, twelve people, all excited, made our way for a two-day, 150 plus Km trip to north of Kathmandu, which was some 5 plus hour’s drive. Charikot provides a spectacular mountain views, the prominent peak being Gaurishankar (7134 m) along with the thrilling TamaKoshi River.

We reached Charikot at 5:00 pm in the afternoon. Everyone was excited to get out of the van after 6 hours of long road trip. The cold breeze at that moment touched everyone’s heart. All eyes were caught by the heavenly scenery and our cameras were busy capturing them. The ones who did not have camera tried to capture those beautiful views of mountains with their cameras on phone. The chilly weather enough to freeze the tears in our eyes did not affect anyone of us from enjoying the natural views of Charikot. After a while, we decided to have a cup of tea to get over the chilliness of Charikot. I could still see people fully enjoying and taking pictures of the mountains while I was trying to warm up myself with the delicious tea. I kept on staring at people appreciating nature, and understood what it really means when people say “No one is beautiful than Nature.”

The town of Charikot was already preparing to welcome the one of the greatest festivals of Hindus: Tihar, festivals of Lights. The local people were in a rush with excitement in the preparation of the festival. We decided to move on to our next destination: TamaKoshi although we had not had enough of the views of spectacular mountains. We planned on spending a night at TamaKoshi which was 16 kilometers away; and started our hiking towards Dolakha Bhimsen Temple early in the morning next day. Ram, who was driving the van all the way around for us, had some hindi songs put on all the time. Though the songs were stopping abruptly time and again, we enjoyed every bit of them and within no time, we reached TamaKoshi. On our way to Tamakoshi, a dancing Tamakoshi was already seen ferrying down from the Gaurishankar hill. We reached TamaKoshi at 6 pm and the climate was surprisingly cozy, compared to ChariKot.

To call it our bad luck or a bitter reality of a rural area, we could not get any good lodges around. Upon everyone’s approval, and for security reasons, we drove back to Charikot to spend our night. It was not what we had expected, but that was the best solution at that situation. It was a tiresome short journey back to the Charikot through the precarious one lane road. We got into hotel as suggested by SamirR’s friend. Everyone on the trip was exhausted by then. Everyone’s tiredness and hunger was reflected on their faces. We scattered to our designated rooms to get fresh and had a short nap. At around 9 p.m., once again, we all came together to have our dinner. Everyone was seen sharing their experiences of whole day with each other. After having recreations for a while, we went to sleep promising each other to meet on time as planned the next morning.

We, reluctantly, got out of our warm blanket at 5:30 in the morning when SamirR woke everyone up with his enthusiastic and commanding voice. After having paid the hotel’s bill, we were ready to start the second day of our trip. Before moving from Charikot, we had tea and, even had enough time to gather foods to eat on our way to TamaKoshi. We were already in TamaKoshi by 6:30 a.m. After having taken some snaps on the TamaKoshi Bridge, we decided to start with our ultimate goal: Hiking towards Dolakha. Everyone tried to look like a model for a moment during snap shots. While starting our hiking, we did not even have a map to direct us. However, we decided to start on our journey without any fear in our hearts and minds. We were strong on our beliefs that we will always be safe until we are in Nepal where people are always kind and generous to help. We were more than happy when our belief was materialized. A local, a stranger to us, helped us in directing our way towards Dolakha before we started our hiking. We headed on our way as directed by him.

From Tamakoshi, leaving the highway behind us, we headed to the top of the ridge, passing the village and paddy field and into the forest. We hiked by river bank; we hiked through the fields and we hiked the trails through the hill. Till the time we were hiking through the trails made by the locals there, we appreciated the god-gifted nature of Nepal as if we were in Nepal for the first time. Most of us never had chance to see nature as closely as we did on that day. We came across different farms and fields and farmers working there. We did expend some time to talk with and take pictures with the farmers who had been working all the season.

First quarter of the goal was already achieved. We planned to take a short halt. When a mobile phone rang, it made me realize that communication sector has done a great job for last few years for it being reachable on that part of our land. The phone call made us realize that we had missed three of our friends, namely RashmiP, AnujK and AmendraS. They were following some other trails. Now, the question for us was whether to get back and trace the same trail and trace the same trail as done by our departed friends or to make some new trails to meet them on the way. We were already so high on the hill and it was very difficult to get down to the base and climb up through another trail. As the trails that we were hiking till that moment was not very hard we decided to find some new trails and reach to our friends as soon as possible. We were able to share the direction by communicating on mobile phone but at the same time we all were missing the food carried by our departed friends. All we had was few apples and cucumbers. The pleasant morning was now turning into a harsh sunny day. We were all in desperate need of something to eat. Through the camera lens I discovered our departed friends marching the trail towards Ratodada which was our target as well. After few struggling climbs, we were back in the normal trail and we followed that. This time the slope was gradual, and it was a pleasant and easy walk through the woods watching the captivating scenic beauty of snow-covered mountains, green hills and flowing Tamakoshi. On the mysterious trial, we came to discover the Gooseberry plant. Overjoyed group members started picking up the fruit from the tree and started filling their pockets, bags and even the empty mineral water bottle. After about 500 meters ahead, the inclination started to increase dramatically, and the going gets a bit tougher. Everybody was flabbergasted when we discovered the dead end. The only option we had was to traverse back to the trail until we reached another trial. Fortunately, we found a new trial and we took that way. Hike was now going to be a long, relatively tough followed by a sheer climb to Deurali. After resting in the shadow at the base of the hill for a few minutes we noticed a trail heading steep up the mountain. We briefly looked around for alternatives but this appeared to be the direction for our hike so we began to climb. The forest was still thick in this segment of the trail but by now we were heading up a slope about as steep as they come. Mid day’s scorching sun, the steep climb and the hunger made everyone exhausted. BhanuC was the one to encourage every member to walk: sometime by giving food to eat and sometime by his inspiring words. The only thing on everyone’s mind was to reach to Deurali so that they can take some rest at the top of the hill. I remember SamirR saying “No more.. no more.. neither I will walk a step further nor a step back… bring me a rescue helicopter” and everybody giggled. Basanta was the first one to reach Deurali and other peoples were at shouting distance from each other. Finally, everybody reached Deurali and we took few photos there, and spent the rest of the time enjoying the views and discussing the further trial. Now, descending this ridge was fairly easy.

We were by now in somewhat of a hurry to reach to the destination because our departed friends were already in the temple. Exhausted but with the recollected hope we made our way down the hill, through trees and brushes. Hiking was relatively easier then. We searched for milk or anything to eat in the few local houses but our bad luck; all the locals were busy in harvesting their crops. Still one last hour remained for the hike to be completed; that too with empty stomach and tired legs. Resorting to gooseberry and water, we made our way through trails in the fields. We were almost there by then, and our hearts started to beat faster with excitement and happiness for our achievement. We took a long breath as we reached our destination: Dolakha Bhimsen Temple. We were feeling so heavenly that we did not even realize how tired we were. We went inside the temple to pay a visit to the diety placed inside the temple. We stayed there for about half an hour talking about everything we had been through in those 2 days. Then, we moved towards the Dolakha’s bus park satisfied and contented with our journey.

The departed part of our team had already reached Charikot through Dolakha and had ordered meal for all of us. As we reached Dolakha, Ram was waiting for us and within no time we were in Charikot. It was a 20 minutes drive from Dolakha Bus Park to Charikot. We had our meal there, and waited for our friends. Once everyone returned and had their meal, we talked about everything we did and faced on our way. It came as a surprise to know that when we were starving by hunger, our departed friends were distributing foods to the locals they were carrying. I thought to myself, god biased us. Our gossips seemed to never end. Finally, we left for Kathmandu at around 4 p.m.

As a whole, our 2-day trip was adventurous and worthwhile despite the obstacles we encountered during our excursion. I still remember “No more.. no more.. neither I will walk a step further nor a step back… bring me a rescue helicopter”.

It was a 6 hour walk from TamaKoshi to Dolakha with several steep ascents and descents, but the trail passes through beautiful dense forests unlike any other along the trekking route of this region. There are waterfalls and clear-running blue Tamakoshi side by side and, yes, the gigantic trees’ forest with lot of other vegetation and the inhabited trail gave the chime of our own forgotten villages.

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Please click on the image to see its large version.

01 paradise	02 Team at Dolalghat
03 Stone skipping	04 rafting season
05 I am trying to find the depth of the river.	06 chasing the thrill
07 Clouds now and again	08 local village on the way
09 No rules for the architecture of the clouds	10 HawkEye to Charikot
11 hot tea..chill morning	12 Moon enhance the beauty and harmonize with us.
13 Team at Tamakoshi	14 rasmi lost in thrills of tamakoshi
15 Fishinng or Chilling	16 Fresh Hike
17 First destination Peepal Bot	18 following the trail
19 CTO’ s look	20 The millet field
21 millet.. a close look	22 nepalese fuel when it ripe
23 all above its our pride	24 we won’t share this
25 Festive Flower	26 I have climbed. Can you
27 hungry bite	28 we will make new trails
29 Just hold these I’ll carry to my home	30 Gooseberry our ultimate food in the hike
31 we won’t leave a single amala in the tree	32 You can have this I have a lot in my bag
33 Creeping down	34 departed mates
35 coming all the way from that far mountain	36 I wish l get lost in amidst these rocks
37 a soul opening out to nature	38 The crown
39 Silent growth	40 no more..no more..bring a rescue helicopter
41 I believe there is something out there watching us	42 lets have a snap
43 alina leading the way	44 typical village house
45 HawkEye to Dolakha	46 Dolakha Temple
47 appeals for preservation	48 The Crown in the eve
49 Hide and Seek	50 typical nepali dish

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289.Laxmi Puja
Photo By: Bhanu Chalise
Posted Date: 29th October

Description:
Among all the festivities of the Tihar festival, the third day, also called Laxmi Puja, is perhaps the most celebrated. Every household worships Goddess Laxmi in the evening, wishing for their prosperity and wealth. This is carried out in the form of Puja, decoration, candle lights, and oil lamps. Usually it’s female in the family who performs the rituals. She uses her hand covered with red mud to make a symbolic foot-print on the floor entering the home and makes a trail leading to the Pooja room. It is extremely important to keep the house and streets spotlessly clean and pure on Diwali. Goddess Lakshmi likes cleanliness, and she will visit the cleanest house first. Lamps are lit in the evening to welcome the goddess. They are believed to light up her path.

This picture shows a public celebration on a street near the Thamel area. Not being confined to households such public decorations are also carried out in honor of the great Goddess. A beautiful design has been made with lights all around.

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-LIN Editor