Deewali is the festival of lights.

Tihar, Diwali, Deepawali. This holiday is really amazing, but also pretty complex. My understanding of it is limited, but I have been trying to learn, and I have definitely been celebrating. There are days to worship different animals; the crow, the dog, and the cow. There is also a day to respect brothers and sisters, where brothers give money to sisters and sisters give tikka (red dot between the eyes) and gifts in return. The animals also receive tikkas and garlands of orange flowers on their respective days. I will describe the first day of Diwali

I left the house and headed to the thamel with no particular goal in mind. I just wanted to wander around and see what happens on this festive evening. I had no idea what to expect. As I walked down the small streets of my section of town, I passed by many families and shop owners making sand pictures on the ground and lighting candles through the entrances of shops and homes. I noticed small crowds of young children singing to shop owners and receiving small rupee notes. It can be slightly compared to caroling, but they all sing one of 2 songs. I continued down the winding streets of closed shops and lights, candles, and celebratory flags strewn everywhere until I ran into a mob of people. It took me a minute to figure out that inside the mob was people singing and dancing "nepali style". The people on the outside of the circle sang and clapped along. I continued on my way to dinner. After dinner, I wandered into the streets of thamel, usually a very touristy place but on this night full of lively nepali singing and dancing. I walked with my new Nepali friend to meet up with some of his friends. He works for a cultural arts organization and him and his friends all play instruments. (i met him as my drum teacher) We joined his friends in an alley of this maze of walking streets where we celebrated life with whiskey, song, dance, 2 drums, and 3 nepali string instruments. (i forgot what they were called) The group finished in this space and moved to the storefronts of one shop to another. I followed their dance moves, their shouts and chants, and they were excited by the lonely westerner joining in the fun. My german friend who I'd met in India passed by the group and we joined him in some bar hopping and people watching. The night ended with a group of 4, each from a different country; America, Nepal, Germany, and Mozambique sitting on the top of a building in Kathmandu. The festivities slowly dispersed as the police tried to get everyone to go home and people just move their celebrations from one corner to the next. We shared cabs home and when I arrived at "the big house", I collapsed in my bed exhausted from the night of song, music, dance, lights, and a whole city celebrating the joys of life. It is amazing to see everyone celebrating the same holiday and really celebrating all together.