NEPAL may have elected a Maoist Government and become an officially secular republic but it still gets off on old-time religion. Nepalis are celebrating the 15-day season of Dashain - the country's most important Hindu festival - with traditional gusto. During the festival's high point on Thursday - called Dashami - it was difficult to find a person in Kathmandu without a red "Tika" on their forehead. It is customary for Nepali Hindus to mark Dashami by having this coloured mixture of rice, yoghurt and vermillion smeared on the forehead by an elder. The Dashain festival, known as Desshera in north India, celebrates the victory of the deity Ram over the demon king Ravana in Hindu scriptures. The mass outpouring of religious observance over the past few days clashes with the secular ideology of the Maoist Government, which came...
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