दशैं आयो ! Easy way to grow Jamara :)

Happy Dashain Everyone :) Last year was my first time growing Jamara here in the United States. I was very nervous at first but then the results slowly but gradually came out to be amazing. Jamara grew out nice yellow in color and also there was plentiful for me to make a "mala" for little Durga Bhagwan frame I have. Therefore, I thought about sharing easy step by step process to grow Jamara for this year's Dashain with you all :X

Things you will need:

• Aluminum Tray (2 medium sized, Picture reference = Walmart)
• Soil (I bought a packet from Home Depot)
• Corn used for Popcorn (1/2 cup)
• Barley Seeds/Jau (1 cup)
• Water (for 1 cup)

Directions:

1. Soak corn in water over night (one day before Ghatsthapana)
2. On the day of Ghatsthapana, fill 1 aluminum tray with with soil (Do not overfill the tray- leave at least 1 inch space for corn and jau).
3. Soak Jau for 10 minutes in water.
4. Drain water from Jau and Corn. 
5. Place Jau and Corn on top of the soil.
6. Slowly Sprinkle water with your hands on top of everything. Cover the tray with another aluminum tray until the Jamra becomes 2 inches tall). Store this in a dark room if you want Jamara to be yellow in color. 
7. Sprinkle water every morning and night until the day of Tika. Do not panic if you see no signs of growth within 1-2 days.
8. On Tika day, cut Jamara (1 inch above from the soil) using knife or scissor. 
9. Enjoy and have a wonderful dashain with your friends and family >:D<

Teej Celebration 2014 :)

This year again we ladies had lots of fun :) Theme was same traditional red attire, food was Nepali but everyone were allowed to be creative, dance was just in Teej numbers, taking pictures was the same if not even more, and gossiping as always with ladies was a must ;) Even though, I do not follow any ritual procedures (Click here if you want to know about Teej more) of this fiesta, I have started liking it a lot. I just like everything about Teej: dressing pretty, dancing, taking pictures, eating great food, and gossiping about our husbands ;) 

Girls this year looked more well dressed than last year. It looks like everyone were prepared and had brought Nepali goodies all the way from home. The designs of their necklaces, beautiful embroidered sarees, wonderful gold hair-clips, and the excitement on their faces were just amazing :x This year too, we had decided to celebrate Teej at my place and only girls were invited. The only different we did this year compared to last year was that we collected some funds for flood victims back home. This made Teej more special and I especially am so proud of ourselves. Living abroad has taught me to appreciate our cultural values as well as our society as a whole. 

I first was little hesitant to put this idea in front of everyone because I didn't know if my friends would agree but they were so kind. I just had to type a text and they were all excited to make a donation. We will be giving money collected to Blinknow.org to help the flood affected victims in Surkhet. Our Teej this year ended with fun, excitement, and a hope to make a small change in peoples' lives back home. Below is a glimpse of what we did this year and if want more, click here to view our Teej last year. Enjoy and happy Teej to all Nepali ladies around the globe >:D<

 :)

Tihar 2070 fun in Nepal :)

Like Dashain, Tihar this year was full of fun and excitement. As a kid, Tihar used to be my favorite festival because of lights, firecrackers and deusi bhilo :) This year's Tihar was the same except the fact that firecrackers were deemed illegal :( Tihar in Nepal lasts for three days. On first day we worship Goddess Laxmi, second day (Maha Puja) we worship ourselves and on the third day we worship our brothers. Tihar is a festival of lights where we lit candles, lights (Christmas lights) and dio (cotton balls dipped in oil). There is a belief that doing so will make Goddess Laxmi (God of wealth) happy and will bestow good health and prosperity in the family.
I was so surprised to see people admiring and following our rituals so sincerely. Nothing was changed and I hope everything will remain the same, so that we younger generations will be able to continue to make our precious traditions lively for generations to come. Here are some pictures and please feel free to share your Tihar experiences in the comment box below :)

:) :)

 Mandal for Laxmi Puja. Made by my sister :)

 Kalash Puja :)

Laxmi Puja :)

 Parsad for Laxmi puja :)

 Second day: Maha Puja. Picture above shows people in Newari Culture celebrating Nepal Sambat 1134:D

 Dio :)

 Maha Puja Mandal :)

 Sagun :)

 Jajanka

 ita :) 

Mandal Puja :)

 Models of the night :D

 Self Worshipping :)

 Bhai Puja (The third day, Worshiping Brothers)

 Yes we do worship alcohol :D

 Different Colors of Tika :)

 Prasad.

 Mandal on bhai tika day :)

 Gift for my babu (brother)

My Gift :)

 Sweets for my babu :)

 Bhai tika day lunch.. yummiest thing in the world. So many different varieties :D

 Deusi bhailo: During tihar, people gather and go to different houses for singing and dancing. In return house owners are supposed to give them some money and sweets. They say doing so will bless the giving family with better life.

Happy deusi bhailo group :)

Dashian 2070 in Nepal!!

Finally after almost five years, I was able to celebrate my favorite and Nepal's biggest festival Dashain. Since, world is getting busier, I initially thought rituals for celebrating Dashain must have been changed as well. This time my expectation was quick and short cut Dashain with little touch of our old traditions. But I was totally wrong! Whole country and people were as excited as before, as happy as before, and as culturally conservative as before :) Culturally conservative because all of my family members and relatives ( I am talking about 50-60 families here) were following each and every ceremonial procedures as we used to do in the old days. I was mesmerized and happy at the same time because I was able to relive our culture after these many years. There were so many things I had already forgotten, thanks to Nepal and Nepali culture for staying so original and authentic :) 

For those who are not familiar with this festival, Dashain lasts for fifteen days and is the most anticipated festival by Nepalese in the world. Historical beliefs describes the celebrations being taking place for the victory of good over evil. So, during the fifteen days time period, Goddess Durga is worshipped as they say she defeated demons harming God's palaces as well as other innocent people in the ancient times. First day starts with worshipping Durga and putting jamara to grow (grown from Barley and Corn) and ends on day fifteen, which is a full moon day. Day one to nine is a worshipping period and ten to fifteen is the tika period.  

This year's Dashain was wonderful. I was enlightened with joy, love and care. Here are some pictures and I hope every Nepali around the globe had an amazing time in Dashain this year :)

Aww..I am going to miss this on next Dashain so bad :(

 Dashain Tika and Jamara :)

 Tika and Blessings from elders :)

 Jamara Necklace was a Surprise. Thank u mumy :)

:) :)

 I got Jamara Hair Clip :)

 Dashain Prasad :)

 Sagun dhau :)

 Sagun for first tika after wedding :D

  Sagun for first tika after wedding :D

 Culture :)

 luv u aji :x

 Food! of course the most important one ;)

 Little bit of everything for God before I eat!

Feel free to share your Dashain experiences this year in the comment box below >:D<