Bhai Tika In Govindpuri

What are you doing now ,said the lady next doo,I informed I am going to collect some festive things for Bhaitika and I know in Govindpuri Galli one I can get easily.The preparation is long.I start my running towards market in govindpuri and prepare the essential things for bhaitika.The festival culminates in Bhai Tika, a day that rests on the premises of love, rituals, beautiful hues, reverence and puja done especially for one’s brother. This occasion honors brother-sister relationships, celebrating the holy emotional bond that they share. It is marked by offering special prayers for each brother’s prosperity and long life.

Legend holds that when the Kirati King Bali Hang fell mortally ill, his sister Jamuna looked after him and guarded him. When Yamaraj, the God of Death, came for Bali Hang’s soul, Jamuna pleaded to wait until she finished worshipping her brother; that is, until Panchami (Bhai Tika). She then conducted a long and elaborate ceremony for her brother, and performed the same for Yamaraj. She also put forth some conditions: that Yamaraj should not take Bali Hang until the tika, which she had smeared on his forehead, fades away; until the water sprinkled on her brother dries; and until the makhmali flowers wilt. 

Over the years Yamaraj sent his messengers to inspect the flowers, and when the next Bhai Tika puja arrived Yamaraj admitted that he had lost Bali Hang’s soul to his pious sister and granted him long life.To begin the ceremony, the sister draws three mandaps or boundaries at a designated place. The mandaps are made for Lord Ganesh, Janmaraj (the God of Birth), and Yamaraj.

 The sister then performs the puja of the deities after which the brother is requested to sit on the mat for the tika ceremony. Special offerings are placed in front of him. While intoning a protective spell, the sister pours a circle of oil and holy water from a copper pitcher around his body as a boundary over which death and evil spirits cannot pass. Then, kneeling before him, she worships him with the offerings of flowers, nuts, fruits, and rice amidst flaming wicks and incense. She then breaks walnuts before applying the actual tika. The most important act is applying the special bhai tika—called saat rangi tika (seven colored tika), consisting of the colors of the rainbow. This is applied on top of a white base on the brother’s forehead.
 Creating the tika begins with placing a banana leaf (cut into a line shape) on the brother’s forehead. It is held by the sister, then she applies the tika base (made from rice paste). The seven colors are dabbed on top of the base with her fingers. (Some may use a small stick or a brush in place of the banana leaf. In that case, the stick is dipped into the tika base and brushed vertically on the forehead. The seven colors are applied on top of the base using a different stick.) Then, a flower garland is put around brother’s neck as the sister prays for his long life, happiness and continued prosperity.

The invocation while applying  the tika is: “Thus do I mark my brother’s forehead and thereby plant a thorn at the Door of Yamaraj, marking entrance into death impossible. As Jamuna streaked the forehead of her brother, so I do my brother’s. As Yamaraj is immortal, so may my brother also be immortal.” Another  is: “May your life be as long as the nut-flower remains unfading, your body hard as a walnut and your heart as soft as butter.”

After completing the ceremony, sisters treat their brothers with a sumptuous midday feast and lots of gifts, including a shagun of fruits and sweets. Brothers in their turn delight their sisters with gifts and cash. There is lot of merriment on this occasion, as it is time for family reunions and relatives are invited to join in the festivities. People sing and dance and mood of the people is generally delirious.


Thus the merry day comes to an end with feelings of love and renewal of the brother-sister bond. Yamaraj is again warded off with flowers, holy water, and the precious bhai tika until the next year, and the next..., and on through the cycles of eternity. 

 Food in Tihar

Selroti 

Sel Roti is a Nepali Cuisine of Tihar festival of Nepal. This recipe is cooked and eaten generally in festivals. Sel roti is the main recipe of Nepali festival Tihar. Nepali can’t imagine Tihar without Sel roti recipe.

• To prepare this yummy dish, first of all, mix the two flours with some water to make a dough.  Properly knead it and continue to add a little water to make a liquid dough, which is a little bit sticky
• For giving your sel roti that fresh and earthy aroma, grind together cardamom and clove add this to the dough. Also, add sugar and baking powder to the dough to make it sweet.
• Knead the dough thoroughly to mix in all the spices, sugar and baking powder.
• Leave the dough at room temperature for almost 3 hours. Now, heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and put one small round pot at the bottom to give a round shape.
• Take a handful of the dough in your hand and gently pour it in the pan to make a circular shape.  

           Phini Roti

• Yet another delicious dish without which Tihar is incomplete is Phini Roti. Preparing this roti takes a little bit of time, however, the smile it brings to everyone’s face is worth it. Enjoy making phini as much as eating it. The recipe for making Phini Roti is as below. 
• To prepare phini roti, first of all, make a dough by mixing rice flour and pure ghee and mix it well until you have a smooth buttery texture. Now, slowly and gently add water into the mixture. Mix it well until the dough does not stick in the hand. Take a damp cloth and cover it and put it aside for few minutes.
• After few minutes, divide the dough into 4-5 equal parts. Using rolling pin, flatten the dough into rectangular shape. Flatten each dough and using the knife, make three equally spaced slits on the dough.
  Once the rotis are made, heat oil in a pan for each phini to deep fry. Each phinis should be fried for almost 5 minutes until it becomes crisp. Once these are prepared, serve it with tea, meat or even pickles. This Tihar, don’t just eat phini, try making it and have fun.
  

  . Chini Roti

  Tihar festival is all about celebrations and any celebration is incomplete without food. The traditional way of celebrating Tihar is making and eating different varieties of rotis. Among different varieties, sel roti is the most important one. After that, if there is any other that is much important, it is chini roti. It is sweet and goes perfectly with homemade pickle or even with meat items. Below is the recipe for making this delicious sweet dish, Chini roti.
  Directions of preparation
  To prepare this roti, first of all, blend the soaked until you get it smooth. Add little water until the final dough is prepared. But remember that, the dough should be like a chapati but a little coarse to touch.
  Then make small balls of the dough and make a round shape of it by dabbing dough with hands applying a little bit of oil just to prevent the dough from sticking to the hand or on the board or plastic.  On the stove, in a pan, add oil for deep frying the roti. Since it will be deeply fried, add a lot of oil.
  One by one put the roti in the oil and let it cook each side for about 5 minutes
  Once it is golden brown, remove the roti from the oil and on to a paper towel to absorb extra oil. In this way, you can make the perfect Chini Roti which is a sweet dish and goes perfectly with homemade chutney. Serve it to your friends and relatives and have a good time.
  Last but not the least, one must have a dish in every Nepali household during Tihar festival is none other than Dal, Bhat, and Masu. Apart from having sweets and roti, a staple dish of Nepal is the must. However, since this is the special day, dal bhat is accompanied with various other side dishes like Chatney, aachar and meat items. Variety of mutton including mutton curry, mutton bhutaan are prepared in this festival to celebrate it with lots of fun and excitement.
  The staple dish of Nepal, Dal Bhat Tarkari and masu is prepared in the normal way just the way it is prepared normally. The only difference is that the staple dish is served with a variety of meat products.