Tihar had the entire city sparkling with lights in all corners. It created brisk business for the garland sellers, fire crackers, candles, dry fruits, fresh fruits, sweet sellers alike. Children and the young people were seen enjoying themselves singing songs and collecting money from door to door. On the third day of Tihar, I encountered a strange scene alongside a river where tons of garbage was left out. Four kids whose clothes were not clean by any standard had bought themselves flower garlands and were putting in on each other. Then I remembered a Chinese proverb, “If you have just two rupees, you would spend one for buying food, but should spend another one for buying flower.” It was touching to see how a collective feeling for a festival permeated the hearts of these street children who chose to spend their hard begged money on flowers instead of on food. After Tihar, things sprung back to normal except for the unusual sight of flowers along with the wastes dumped carelessly around the corners. But I would dare say, it must have left all Nepalis’ hearts with more gratitude for having brothers, sisters, animals, birds and even flowers to celebrate their yearly festival with. In my eyes, it was a wonderful way to reconnect with all the people, living beings and things around you.