11:37 am auspicious hour for Bhai Tika today

The most important day of Tihar, the five-day festival of lights, is being observed today. Sisters throughout the country offer tika to their brothers wishing them happiness, long life and prosperity on the occasion of Bhai Tika.

The auspicious hour for offering the tika is 11:37 am for this year's Bhai Tika. However, it can take place until sunset, says Chairperson of National Calendar Determination Committee, Prof Shree Krishna Adhikari.

On this day, brothers are seated at a specially anointed place around which a trail of mustard oil is drawn. The sisters then offer the brothers tika and garlands of 'dubo' and 'makhamali'.         After placing colorful tika on the foreheads of their brothers, sisters offer them a treat consisting of varieties of sweets, walnut, spices and 'Sel', a special kind of bread cooked in oil.

Brothers also offer their sisters tika in return, wishing them happiness and good luck, and give them presents.

The occasion commemorates a legendary event in which a sister has won a boon from "Yama", the deity of death that her brother would not die until the mustard oil is dried up and the garland of 'dubo' and 'makhamali' faded.

The Bhai Tika tradition is so strong in Nepali society that even those who have no brothers or sisters of their own receive tika from others whom they regard as brothers and sisters.