2016 - Happy Deepawali-Tihar-Bhai Tika

2016 - Happy Deepawali-Tihar-Bhai-Tika

Wishing all my blog readers
Happy Deepawali! - (शुभ दिपावलीको शुखद उपलक्षमा हार्दिक मंगलमय शुभकामना)
Happy Tihaar and Bhai-Tika! - (2073 साल को तिहार, भाई-टिका को शुभकामना)
Happy Bhintuna Greetings! - (भिन्तुना शुभकामना)
Happy Chat Parba! - (छत पर्बको उपलक्षमा हार्दिक शुभकामना)

May Peace, Love and Prosperity follow you always and forever!

Deepawali reminds me of Marigold (sayapatri phool) and Globe Amaranth flowers (makhamali phool). As we approach the Deepawali-Tihar-Bhai-Tika soon, I would like to celebrate the festival by uploading several pictures captured by me during the festival time in Nepal.

I would also like to share a short write-up about the festive flowers from Dr. Deepak Shimkhada, a Nepali scholar, Professor at Claremont Lincoln University, artist, author, and art historian. He writes, "When I see marigolds I am reminded of Dashain In Nepali, marigold is called SAYAPATRI, meaning ‘flower with one hundred petals.’ I really haven’t verified the numbers by counting each petal and I’m sure that if I really sat down to count them it would drive me crazy, because the petals are tiny and packed into a small bud. The individual who came up with the name might have tried to count, but after counting only 50 or 60 petals might have given up; in his or her estimation, there were more than 100, so the individual might have decided to call it Sayapatri. I am sure there are more than hundred petals, but does anyone care to verify? I think it’s the colorful sight and smell of the Marigold and Godavari (chrysanthemum) in Dashain and Tihar, respectively; the nostalgia transports me back to my childhood days, when I used to wear a garland of flowers during these times. How sweet those memories were! I can almost touch and smell them."

Season of Marigold flowers - Sayapatri Phool (शयपत्री फुल)
Season of Globe Amaranth or Gomphrena Globosa flowers - Makhamali Phool - (मखमली फुल)