Foreign Tourists from 15 Countries Celebrate Bhai Tika in Pokhara

POKHARA: Fifty-one foreign tourists from 15 countries celebrated Bhai Tika at a festival organised by the Hotel Association Pokhara on Wednesday, joining one of Nepal’s major Tihar traditions.

The festival was held in the Lakeside area, where female students from Rainbow Children Home Nepal applied tika to the visiting tourists. Participants included visitors from the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan and Australia, among other countries.

Laxman Subedi, president of the Hotel Association Pokhara, said the association’s continued organisation of the Bhai Tika festival had encouraged several hotels in Pokhara to organise similar tika ceremonies for their guests.

He said the festival was organised to promote tourism through cultural traditions and strengthen bonds of friendship and brotherhood among people from different countries.

During the event, foreign tourists joined Deusi-Bhailo celebrations, enjoyed traditional music and dancing, and sampled sel roti, a traditional Nepali festive bread.

After receiving tika, female tourists were presented with pachhyaura shawls, while male visitors received Dhaka topis as gifts.

Monika, a tourist from Lithuania, said she particularly enjoyed the Nepali people and the cultural aspects of Tihar.

She also described her Mardi Himal trek as memorable, although she had not been able to get a clear view of the mountains during the journey.