Tihar’s Significance

PRESENTLY, all are busy celebrating, Tihar, the second greatest festival of the Nepalese people amidst much merrymaking throughout the Kingdom and elsewhere where the people of Nepalese origin work or reside. The streets and pavements of the Capital are already congested due to the increasing number of people thronging the shops to do last minute shopping. Similarly, the hundreds of flower-sellers flowing into the Capital from the periphery of the Valley with bundles of beautiful flowers, particularly the marigolds, are not only heralding the arrival of Tihar, the Festival of Light, but also announcing to all the importance of flowers during Tihar. Indeed, flowers are the most essential ingredients during Tihar. Whether to decorate houses or to worship Laxmi the Goddess of Wealth or for the sisters to pray for the long life and happiness of their brothers by garlanding them on the day Bhaitika, flowers occupy the central stage. In fact, the combination of light, usually from diyos (oil-fed wicks) and assorted flowers makes Tihar popular among people of all age-groups.

Tihar which is also called Yamapanchak has a special place in the religious calendar of Nepal. All offices close for three consecutive days so that the Nepalese can celebrate Tihar with due solemnity by offering worship to Goddess Laxmi and have time to recall the legend that led to the people marking Tihar. According to a Hindu legend Lord Bishnu, impressed by the generosity of King Bali who had offered Him all he owned, blessed King Bali by decreeing that he would become of the king of all three Loks (nether world, earth and heaven) for five consecutive days once a year. So, whenever King Bali becomes the king of Yamalok (nether-world) also for five days every year, Yamaraj, the God of Death, has to leave his realm for five days. He goes to stay with his sisters, Yamuna, for five days. During his stay with his sister, Yamuna worships Yama in a special manner. Later the tradition developed as Yamapanchak or Tihar and became popular. In keeping with the legend’s religious injections, during Tihar the sisters pray for the long life and happiness of their brothers who, in turn, acknowledge their sisters’ best wishes by giving them gifts in cash, kind or both. More importantly, Tihar is the time when all Nepalese brothers and sisters, where ever they may be, strengthen their familial bonds by coming together once again.

Quality Control

WITH consumerism on the rise, the Nepalese have seen that demand alone does not fulfill their day to day needs properly. The foodstuff they buy has been mostly known to be tainted with other substances which are harmful to ingest. Vital life saving drugs are also known to have been deteriorating in quality, if not counterfeited altogether. Ride a taxi and one invariably finds that very few of them charge the fare fixed by the government. The petrol stations sell these vehicles petrol, but the liquid they purchase is a lethal cocktail that could kill the engine very early on. There is a lot of adulteration going on in the Nepalese markets. In such a situation, things are less predictable than they should be under normal circumstances. Sick people may get well attended by medical personnel, but there is little likelihood that the medical sector will ever be capable of treating the sick if the medicines are bogus. Since the economy has already been shown the market way through policies, it may sound logical for the government to ignore market problems saying that the invisible hand of the market will take care of everything. This is wrong thinking. The regulatory strings need to be manipulated to suit the demands of the consumer by the government whenever the need arises. In other words, intervention is more subtle in a market economy and the government needs to show that it is capable of handling such sophistication well before committing itself to further marketization of the economy.

One way out is by developing market standards that are strictly enforced. If poisonous substances are allowed to be sold in the name of foodstuffs, things have clearly gone out of hand. Both awareness raising and policing need to go hand in hand for the market forces to deliver the goods properly. One such occasion is public occasions like the World Standard Day which can be used to make people, businessmen and the officialdom realize the importance of quality goods in the market. The call by Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ram Krishna Tamrakar, while marking the 31st World Standard Day on all producers and businessmen to direct their attention towards quality and durability of their goods is a part of that awareness campaign. The other side of the coin, policing, should now follow in tandem.