KATHMANDU: President Ram Chandra Paudel received the Tihar ‘tika’ from his sisters Sharada Pandit and Chanda Ojha at the auspicious hour of 11.37 am at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Shital Niwas, on the occasion of Bhaitika festival today.

On the occasion, the President’s sisters put the ceremonial ‘tika’ on the forehead of the President and presented to him gifts including walnut and groundnut. Similarly, the President put ‘tika’ on the forehead of his sisters and offered them with money, as per the time-honoured tradition.
The ceremonial ‘tika’ comprises of blob of seven colours 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 the sisters putting ‘tika’ on the foreheads of their brothers and vice-versa on Bhai Tika, the last and main day of the five-day-long Yamapanchak or the Tihar festival, the second biggest festival of Nepal.