Kathmandu: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli received ‘tika’ from his sisters Bishnu Maya Dhakal, Kaushila Koirala, and Bishnu Oli at the auspicious hour on the occasion of Bhaitika under the Tihar festival today. The PM received the ceremonial ‘tika’ from his three sisters at his official residence at Baluwatar, the Prime Minister’s Private Secretariat has stated.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the ceremonial ‘tika’ of the Bhaitika rituals comprises a blob of seven colors marked on a vertical thick line of white paste of rice flour on the forehead. The Nepal Calendar Determination Committee had fixed 11:37 am today as the most auspicious time for the Bhaitika rituals. However, the Committee has stated that the rituals can be conducted throughout the day today.
There is a custom of sisters putting ‘tika’ on the foreheads of their brothers and vice-versa on Bhaitika, the last and main day of the five-day-long Yamapanchak or the Tihar festival, the second biggest festival of Nepal.