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In Hindu mythology cow rep­resents Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. Thus, during Laxmi puja, the third day of the ‘festival of lights’ or Tihar, there is a tradition of wor­shipping cows. On the fourth day, the Hindus worship oxen, which are representation of the Goverdhan mountain that Lord Krishna lifted to protect his devotees from incessant rains. But while oxen worship has always been limited, people used to enthusiastically worship the cow on the third day. The cows were gar­landed and offered Tihar delicacies like sel and anarsa. But cow worship is a dying tradi­tion in urban areas. In rapidly urban­izing regions like Kathmandu, there is no place for cowsheds, save for a few pocket areas like Kapan and the banks of Bagmati river. People these days also seem to have no patience to go out in search of cows to worship, especially when they are dog-tired cleaning their homes during Tihar.

According to Prem Katuwal, who has been rearing cows in Kathmandu for the past 15 years, there has been a marked drop in the number of people who visit his shed to worship the cows on the third day of Tihar.

“I would say over the past 10 years there has been an approximate 75 percent drop,” he says. He also says that lack of cowsheds and exhaustion are just excuses. “In my village, peo­ple still worship cows with the same reverence that their forefathers had. But here in the city, people are either too lazy or too hesitant to come near these animals that in their reckoning smell.” He also reports that mostly it is the Brahmins and Chhetris who have given up this age-old tradition, but that the indigenous Newar com­munity has not.

However, it is not necessary to visit cowsheds or to endure cattle smell to worship cows. “On Gai Tihar, the cow rearers bring cows that have been properly washed to our neigh­borhood,” says Kanchan Acharya, a resident of Thapathali. “In fact, the same cows that we worship are taken as far as Pulchowk. Frankly, the real devotees should not have much of a problem finding cows.”

Mha pooja, literally translated as self-wor­ship in Newari, marks the beginning of the Newari calendar (Nepal Sambat). Praying for an auspicious year ahead, mem­bers of the Newari community worship differ­ent parts of their own bodies on this day. This annual ritual, marked to celebrate one’s existence, is believed to ‘cleanse and empower the soul’. Mha pooja is performed when the moon rises on the fourth night of Tihar. Moti Raj Bajra­charya, Chakreshwor (high priest) of Raj Kriti Mahabihar and a guruju (one with great knowledge on Newari poo­jas), informs that it is done at night because “this is when the Newari New Year begins”.

Mandala, a sand-painting with powdered limestone, is an important part of Mha pooja. To make the mandala, a small circle is drawn with mus­tard oil at the center of the floor. This is surrounded by concentric rings marked with red rice, black lentils, black soybean, unhusked rice, puffed rice and mari­gold flowers. Bajracharya says that as our body is made of pancha-tatwa (‘five elements’), the man­dala also has five rings to rep­resent the self. The items used to make the mandala might differ according to differing family traditions and castes. The total number of mandalas depends on the number of family members. Plus there are three extra mandalas. The extra one at the top of the line is for the ‘House-God’. Then comes one each for the family members while the two at the end are for Jamaraj and Yamaraj, the envoys of death.

Bajracharya informs that the pooja and rituals are performed by the eldest woman in the family. A variety of nuts, fruits and sweets are offered to every person, with a wish for a fruitful and resourceful year. Tahsi (citron) and walnut are a must for the pooja. They are kept in front of the mandalas. ‘Shagun’—consisting of fish, eggs, meat, curd, and aila (homemade alcohol)—should be consumed before the wicks burned at the start of the pooja go out. Even children as young as a year old need to drink a little aila for the ritual to be complete. Once you sit at the mandala, you are not allowed to get up until the rituals are complete.

“I have been doing Mha pooja since I was a child. Now I am the eldest in the family. I try to recreate whatever I remember,” says Shanti Sayami, 72, a resident of Bafal, Kathmandu. As she is now old and as she also knows relatives who have stopped doing Mha pooja, she has also simpli­fied things. “It has been three years that we have done Mha pooja without man­dalas. When I was a child, my parents used to tell me that Jamaraj comes at night to inspect if we have done Mha pooja. So after eating, we left the mandalas and the dishes overnight without cleaning them. Only the next morn­ing, we cleaned everything,” she says.

As Sayami is the oldest in the family, she says she has to do the poojas and manage everything required to make mandalas now. “When I proposed we stop doing it three years back, my daughter suggested we at least do something on this day.” So now the family only does Sukunda (oil lamp) pooja, put rice tika on the forehead, and each person takes shagun. “I really don't know if my grand­children will continue with Mha Pooja in the future”, she says.

Bajracharya says the rituals have to be done in a particular way but different castes of the Newar community do it differently, as per their convenience. Newars who go abroad or move out of their family may not even con­tinue doing Mha pooja.

During Mha Pooja, Newars also wor­ship inanimate objects like broomstick, karuwa (a utensil designed to hold water) and nanglo. Bajracharya says that as these things help us we also need to show our respect towards them.

Sabina Maharjan, 28, is excited over the arrival of her favorite festi­val: Tihar. She says that it’s her favor­ite because Mha pooja is done during this time. “It is a chance for the entire family to get together. The process of making mandalas, its col­ors, the bright lights and the food are the things I look forward to,” she says.

As the poojas are done, start­ing with the eldest member of the family, Maharjan says she, as the youngest member of the family, patiently waits for her turn. “The process of doing pooja is long. My mother does the pooja and I try to learn by looking at her. I make mistakes even when she teaches me personally. The entire family laughs. The vibe of Mha pooja is so warm,” says Maharjan.

Mha Pooja falls on November 8 this year.

It takes a lot for a small business like Kasthamandap Bhandar in Maru Chowk to be continuously in opera­tion for nearly 60 years. This Maari Pasal that sells Nepali and Newari sweets bustles with customers in the morning. The smell of warm sel roti (traditional sweet, ring-shaped bread) greets you as you enter. “This is our fam­ily business, which used to be run by our grandfather,” says Gambir Rajkarnikar, the current proprietor. “Though we sell many kinds of sweets, our focus is on sel and malpuwa.” Their sel is so popular that people from as far as Dakshinkali and Thankot come to get them.

“Usually, we prepare sel using mainly wheat and rice flour, from 6:30 am to 10 am in the morning,” he says. The great­er availability of new products in the market such as cookies and biscuits has hampered the sales of traditional food like sel, malpuwa and gwaramari (round bread). “Not so much though,” informs Rajkarnikar. “Because sel is a cultural food, its value is intact,” he asserts. Especially during the Newari Mha Pooja, sales are high as its use is mandatory for making mandaps. Also, those who visit different homes singing Deusi and Bhailo during Tihar are traditionally greeted with sel, sweets and money.

With Tihar approaching, business is in full swing. “Compared to other times, the sales of sel increases by 60-70 percent during Tihar. We are planning to make sel from around 6 am to 5 pm, every day, during the festival. We want it to be fresh and because we never keep stock, we need to keep making it round the clock,” he informs. Sel costs Rs 10 apiece at the store but during Tihar, they increase its size and sell it at Rs 20-Rs 40. “We can make sel as big as the customers want,” Rajkarnikar says.

Many people used to make sel at home. But they have perhaps realized, he says, that the time and money involved in making it is just not worth it and so they prefer to purchase. “But in some houses, they still make sel at home as they want it to be ‘pure’ for pooja,” he reveals.

The market of sweets in Kathmandu is changing. A lot of people have entered this business and sel is now even sold commercially in department stores such as Bhat-Bhateni. “We are not competing against other similar businesses though,” Rajkarnikar adds. “We focus on our own product. People know they can have freshly prepared sel here so sales remain robust.”