NOV 14 -  

There is something undoubtedly special about the festival of Tihar. Signalling the end of the festive season, it provides families and friends with one last occasion to gather, rejoice, feast and make merry before the gloom of winter sets in. For five days, the city comes to life—echoes of bhailo and deusi resound through neighbourhoods and intricate mandalas are drawn around houses and business fronts. Come dusk, the drab, concrete jungle that is Kathmandu transforms into a sea of flickering lights and marigold garlands. The sounds of laughing children as they launch fireworks into the sky drown out the blaring horns and barking dogs for at least a few hours each night. For friends, the festival provides one last respite to enjoy card games, drinks and delicious food before reverting back to the daily scramble that is work. There are indeed many reasons to love Tihar. However, with the passing years, the holiday season, including Tihar, is becoming an increasingly expensive affair. In that sense, many will breathe a sigh of relief when Tihar concludes, as holiday spending also comes to an end.  From the mutton, garlands, dakshina, taxi fares to dried fruits, every year, just as the holiday season arrives, the prices of these already-expensive commodities go up. Especially in cities, the holidays tend to be celebrated with decadence. Many overspend to meet rising social and familial expectations. At the same time, even the very basic of commodities, during the festive season, cost more than they ever have. Take Dashain for example: eating mutton during Dashain is a cultural staple. But with the meat costing upwards of RS 600 per kg, just celebrating for a few nights with some savoury mutton curry can leave a sizeable hole in the wallets of many middle class families. Then there’s Bhai Tika at the end of the festive season where traditionally made food such as selroti are the norm, along with various types of dried fruits and nuts. Unfortunately, these traditional delicacies do not come at a cheap price. Masala shopping has become so expensive in the Kathmandu area that many women, who are supposed to bestow upon their brothers gifts of food and fruit, dread going shopping, already anticipating the damage it will do to their finances.  The fact of the matter is that Kathmandu is becoming an incredibly expensive city to live in. Everything from housing prices and rent to food and commodities seem to be skyrocketing in price while wages remain much the same. As a result, the burden is felt most during the festive season when people tend to spend more. Those that suffer the most are inevitably the poor, followed closely by middle-income families who feel compelled to ‘keep up’ to save face. So while Tihar brings about many reasons to rejoice, most will feel the pinch of strained purses, as the difficulty of making ends meet in Nepal becomes more than apparent