Sakimana Puni is celebrated by the Newar community every year on Kartik Sukla Purnima. This year, the festival was celebrated amid much fanfare on Saturday. Devotees pay homage to the moon on this festival. On this day, families eat boiled pidalu (taro root) and sweet potatoes.

As a communal activity, people gather at various temples and create beautiful art works using different kinds of roasted grains such as wheat, corn and beans, among others. The motifs of the art works are usually religious. Using various grains with white, brown and black colors, images of Lord Ganesh, Lord Bishnu and temple structures, among others are created.

The artworks are then surrounded with butter lamps while the devotees sing the Dafa Bhajan. Talking about the celebration, 72-year-old Hira Ratna Tuladhar said, “We sing Dafa Bhajan for one month and today is the last day of singing the bhajan. This festival is related to food where it is believed that eating taro root, sweet potatoes and different kinds of grains will help to gain the much needed body heat in the beginning of the winter season.” Meanwhile, the art works are later eaten as prasad and it is believed that eating this prasad helps gain good health and prosperity in life. 

This festival is not only about the food. It is also known to strengthen the bond between couples. It is said that a moonlit night is for couples as it is the time when the environment becomes quiet, the moon throws its soft light and the cool night breeze adds to the romantic mood.

Talking about the connection of the festival and the romantic aspect, cultural expert Ras Joshi said, “There is a tradition where couples visit Namo Buddha on this day with a belief that their love will remain the same for this lifetime and many other lifetimes.

Moreover, on this day, women who had been fasting at the premises of Avlokiteshvara in Chobar end their fast of around six days and return home. If someone’s husband doesn’t come to receive the wife at the end of the fast, such women stay at the temple forever as the daughters of the temple’s priest.”  Here are the glimpses of Sakimana Puni celebration at the premises of Annapurna temple, Asan.