You know Dashain and Tihar are getting closer when Kathmandu begins to glow.
The streets feel different. Decorative lights slowly appear around homes and temples, evenings become livelier, and there is a festive excitement that is difficult to miss. For me, one place that captures this feeling particularly well is Maitidevi Temple.
Every year, I wait to see Maitidevi dressed in festive lights. This time, I had been thinking about visiting for days, waiting for the decorations to go up so I could take my camera and capture the atmosphere.
Yesterday, I finally went.
As I reached the temple, Maitidevi was already glowing. The courtyard and surrounding area were full of life. Some people were taking photographs and making reels, others were simply sitting and enjoying the evening, while the sound of musical instruments blended with conversations around the temple.
Camera in hand, I started looking for photographs.
Photo Credit: Himal Shrestha
But there was one small problem: I had arrived a little too early.
The temple was illuminated, but many of the lights stretching along the surrounding streets had not yet been switched on. Instead of going home disappointed, I decided to stay for a while.
And that wait gave me something better than the photographs I had originally come looking for.
While sitting outside the temple, I met an uncle and aunty selling vegetables and other small goods nearby. We started talking, and the uncle looked at my camera and smiled.
“You’ve come a little early this year,” he told me. “Once the road lights are on, this whole place becomes much more beautiful.”
As our conversation continued, he shared something that stayed with me. Photographers often stop there and take pictures of the couple. Sometimes, they return later and give them a printed photograph. He spoke about those little photographs with such happiness that, for a moment, I forgot about the lights I had been waiting for.
Photo Credit: Himal Shrestha
It made me think differently about photography.
We often chase perfect light, beautiful locations and carefully composed frames. But sometimes, the most meaningful photograph is simply one that makes someone smile.
Perhaps that is what makes places like Maitidevi special.
The historic temple, dedicated to Goddess Durga and regarded as an important Shakti Peeth, becomes especially vibrant around Dashain and Tihar as devotees arrive to worship and seek blessings. But beyond its religious importance, Maitidevi also becomes part of Kathmandu’s festive rhythm, a meeting place filled with prayers, conversations, music, lights and everyday life.
That evening, Maitidevi was not completely lit up.
Yet somehow, I did not feel like I had arrived too early anymore.
Experience of : Himal Shrestha (Travel Photographer)
