Happy Dashain!

Bright red saris, long queues in front of the temples, makeshift bamboo swings for the kids, kites flying high in the sky (when they don't get tangled in KTM's crazy network of electric lines) and.... goats being sacrificed. Lots of them*.

We are now halfway through the 15-day long Dashain festival which celebrates the victory of the Goddess Durga over the forces of evil! Durga is one of the many gods and goddesses that Hindus worship but Dashain is definitely the highest point of the Nepali calendar, a sort of equivalent to Christmas as it's a time for family reunion, worship, gifts and good food.

Durga means "inaccessible" or "invicible", she's depicted as having eight arms (I reckon that comes handy when fighting evil), riding a tiger, holding weapons and a lotus flower.

Owing to her victorious endeavours the country is pretty much shut down these days and because many people leave Kathmandu to visit their family in the countryside, the city has become incredibly quiet and peaceful, real bliss!

Those who stay are kept busy with visiting their elders in their home to get tika from them (a blessing which takes the form of a red mark applied to the forehead, made of the beautiful bright vermilion pigment) and preparing offerings for Durga to bring to the local temple. Some small offering plates are also often left in front of the houses' doors for protection so wherever you walk in KTM you cannot fail to notice the spiritual vibe.


As for us, we're lucky enough to have a great cook in the person of Nirmala, our local manager, who treated us to a 9 course meal including, I let you guess... goat (very tender and quite close to lamb), fish, chicken, vegetable curry, pulao rice, shredded bamboo, achar (tomato pickles which I love and whose recipe i'll share with you once i've practiced it!) and sweet delicacies, yum!

 

Happy Dashain! :)


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* if you don't usually faint at the sight of blood, you can have a look at those pics which I took as a family was practicing the ritual of goat sacrifice in the streets of KTM.