My temporary life in urban Nepal

On the final day of Tihar, immediately after the Bhai Tika rituals, I joined a group of students, teachers and other supporters of Bhagawati School, for an afternoon of Deusi Bhailo in Kalabang. The homes we visited had been carefully chosen in advance and forewarned that we were coming to collect donations for the school stationery fund.

Going from door-to-door in Kalabang means lots of steps, either up or down from the main road, and as it was a fairly warm day, I think our enthusiastic dancing and singing was well appreciated.

The Deusi song was led by the local Hindu priest, requiring mainly just our rhythmic clapping and a response of ‘Deusi Re’ after each line. I couldn’t understand the lyrics, of course, but after a few houses I worked out that the song finished when the priest either ran out of steam or fluffed a line. Then we just danced to our portable music until the householder rewarded us with a donation; cash, fruit and flowers. Being an official school activity, Vice Principal J.P. ensured everything was properly accounted for, and that receipts were handed over before we moved on to the next house.

Throughout the afternoon we visited six houses, raising just over Rs50,000 for the stationery fund.

If you go to my photo gallery, all of these pics are captioned to give a better idea of what's happening. Plus there are a few extras.