Darjeeling and Kalimpong, November
Five days that Nepali-speaking families keep in a fixed order: crows on the first morning, dogs on the second, cows and the goddess Laxmi on the third, oxen on the fourth, brothers on the last.
Photo: Sushil Basnet / Unsplash
Day 1, Kag Tihar
The crow is Yama's messenger, so hill families set out rice and sweets on their roofs for the birds. Marigold strings go up on the stalls from Kurseong to Darjeeling, and by dusk the first oil lamps appear off Chowrasta.
Photo: Abhinav Das / Unsplash
Day 2, Kukur Tihar
Dogs across the hills, pets and strays alike, get a marigold garland, a red tika and a proper meal. Yama is said to keep two four-eyed dogs at the gates of the underworld. By afternoon, garlanded dogs sleep in the sun on the Mall.
Photo: Soumalya Halder / Pexels
Day 3, Laxmi Puja
Families wash their cow and hang marigolds on its horns. By late morning kitchens are pouring sel roti, rice batter in rings into hot oil. From about 17:00 oil lamps line the doorways, rangoli appears on the steps, and girls come singing Bhailo.
Photo: Avishkar Darjee / Pexels
Day 4, Kalimpong
Farming families honor the oxen that plow their terraces, and Newar households keep Mha Puja. After dark, young men with a madal drum go door to door singing Deusi: one voice calls each line, the rest answer, and the blessing comes last.
Photo: Boudhayan Bardhan / Unsplash
Day 5, Bhai Tika
Sisters trace a ring of mustard oil and water around their brothers, crack a walnut at the threshold, hang a makhamali garland on each and press a five-colored tika onto their foreheads to keep Yama, the god of death, at bay.
Photo: kabita Darlami / Unsplash
As a guest
Give the singers notes, sweets or fruit with your right hand once the song is done. Walk round the rangoli on a step rather than across it, and ask before you raise a camera at a tika. Bhai Tika itself is family time; guests come after.
Photo: Swastik Arora / Pexels
Laxmi Puja night
Firecrackers go off all evening on Laxmi Puja night, which is also Kali Puja for Darjeeling's Bengali families, so the bangs come from two festivals at once. Pack earplugs, and ask for the quieter side of the hotel.
Photo: Abhinav Kumar
The dates
Tihar moves with the lunar calendar: in 2026 it runs from 7 to 11 November, and in 2027 from 27 to 31 October. Lights of Tihar spends five nights inside it, three in Darjeeling and two in Kalimpong.
Photo: Falguni Sarkar / Unsplash