Floods rob Bardiya families of Tika as they await missing relatives

Many families in Bardiya were unable to receive the Tika of Bada Dashain this year. Families who had been waiting for word from relatives returning home for Tika were suddenly struck by grief because of the floods.

During Bada Dashain, many wish to receive blessings in the form of Tika and Jamara from the hands of their elders. There is a tradition of returning home for Dashain, wherever one may be through the year, to receive Tika with family and share in the joy. Families who were waiting in this way instead received news of the floods this time.

The Dashain joy of these families, who had been preparing to receive Tika, was snatched away along with the news of the floods. Those waiting for missing relatives were left with bare foreheads even on Tika day.

While Dashain is being celebrated across the country with Tika and Jamara, families affected by the floods are instead enduring the pain of losing relatives and waiting for missing family members to be found. For them, this Dashain has become a festival not of celebration but of waiting and pain.