Golaghat (Assam) [India]: Gorkhas across the world celebrate five-days of Tihar festival with great gusto, with each day dedicated to certain unique rituals.
Along with the Gorkhas in various parts of India and in neighbouring Nepal, with a sizable number of the community in Assam on Monday, celebrated ‘Gai Tihar’ by worshipping cows, feeding them, putting tikas, turmeric paste, and garlands on them.
A large number of Gorkhas in Assam are into dairy farming. The cow is considered sacred among Hindus.
Here are some pictures of a woman and an infant worshipping cows in her courtyard in Assam’s Merapani locality in Golaghat district, bordering Nagaland:
The first day of Tihar festival, ‘Kaag Tihar’ is dedicated to worshipping crows. Crows are considered to messengers of death and people put out food and water for the black-coloured birds.
On the second day of Tihar, ‘Kukur Tihar’ is observed by worshipping dogs as the guard of the house.
The third day is dedicated to worshipping cows. That follows the Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj/Bhai Tika on the last two days of Tihar.
