I got caught up in the local Tihar celebrations today. At around 8pm all the neighbourhood women gathered at someone’s house, all dressed in red, and sang and danced. The songs were mostly rather like our Punjabi tappas: someone would improvise or semi-improvise a couple, funny or otherwise, and the others would sing it after her while a couple of women danced. There were also a few other songs including call and response (though with only one response so I’m not sure it counted). Then the householder would bring out a tray with a lamp and some offerings and someone would dance holding it, and then everyone would take the blessing from the flame. Then the entire group moved on to the next household and repeated it.
It struck me how similar our own customs are. The dances were virtually identical, there was the similarity to the tappas, but also it had never occurred to me that the tray of mehndi and lamps we bring as part of mehndi celebrations, and then dance around, is the same as the Hindu one, the difference only being that we don’t take the blessing from the flame (and there are some parts of the dances that imitate those gestures). Even the money offering is there in a way, as elder coming and wave money around the heads of the dancers and dedicate it to charity if not to the gods. Curious how one is blind to one’s own culture sometimes.
I was forced, most unwillingly, to dance, and felt as awkward as gori women often look when taking part in desi dances.
The GF is two days into his descent from the mountains, and today was once more in telephonic range so we had a little exchange of messages. He seems to have avoided the worst of the altitude sickness, though had one very bad night. I hope I see him but fear I might have to leave before he returns to Kathmandu.