A girl reacts as she plays during a snowfall at Chandragiri Hills above the Kathmandu valley, Nepal, December 29, 2021. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Students wait in a queue as their friend receives a dose of the Moderna vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at their school during a vaccination drive for children aged 12-17 in Bhaktapur, Nepal, January 9, 2022. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Nepal's former King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (top-C) waves from a car during celebrations for the 300th birth anniversary of modern Nepal founder King Prithvi Narayan Shah in Kathmandu on January 11, 2022. (Photo by Nisha Bhandari/AFP Photo)





Nepalese health worker Babita Khanal (C) flashes the V-sign as she takes group photo with monk children after the vaccination drive at Monastery in Dakshinkali municipality, on the outskirt of Kathmandu, Nepal, 14 January 2022. The government of Nepal started vaccination drive Buddhist Monastery as part of the door-to-door vaccination program after the recent spike of Omicron variant. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)





A Nepalese Hindu devotee takes a holy bath in the Salinadi River during the first day of the Madhav Narayan festival in Sankhu on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal, 17 January 2022. The month-long festival includes religious fasting, holy bathing and the study of the Swasthani book, a chapter or story of which is read each evening by priests or householders to the gathered family. More than 100 married and unmarried women and dozens of male devotees started their month-long fast for better life and peace at temple premises. Unmarried women take the fast to get a good husband and married women for their families' prosperity. The festival is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the god of creation and destruction. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)





Hindu devotees wait to fill pots with water from the Bagmati River at the Pashupatinath temple during the month-long Swasthani festival in Kathmandu on February 1, 2022. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)





A young boy dressed in traditional Tamang dress plays with pigeons as Sonam Lhosar (the new year festival) is observed in Kathmandu, Nepal on February 2, 2022. (Photo by Amit Machamasi/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Hindu devotee offer prayers by rolling on the ground as a part of a ritual during Madhav Narayan festival in Bhaktapur on the outskirts of Kathmandu on February 3, 2022. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)





Hindu devotees offer prayers by rolling on the ground as a part of a ritual during Madhav Narayan festival in Bhaktapur on the outskirts of Kathmandu on February 3, 2022. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)





Devotees sit along the banks of the Bagmati River as they gather to offer prayers at Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu during the Swasthani Brata Katha festival on February 1, 2022. During this month-long festival, devotees recite Holy Scriptures dedicated to Hindu goddess Swasthani and Hindu God Lord Shiva. Unmarried women pray to get a good husband while those married pray for the longevity of their husbands by observing month long fast. (Photo by Prabin Ranabhat/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Youth activists of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) scuffle with police during a protest against the government's decision to increase prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene, currently at an all-time high, in Kathmandu, Nepal, 05 February 2022. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)





Nepalese children write their names on the wall of a Saraswati temple, during Shri Panchami festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, February 6, 2022. Devotees believe writing on the temple wall on this day imparts knowledge. Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and learning is worshipped and young children are given their first reading and writing lesson during this festival. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)





Nepalese students offer prayers before a picture of Hindu goddess Saraswati at a school during Shri Panchami festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, February 6, 2022. Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge and learning is worshipped during this festival.Young children are also given their first reading and writing lesson on this day. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)





A Nepalese woman takes a photo of her child writing her name on the wall of a Saraswati temple, which has already been vandalized by unidentified people during Shri Panchami festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, February 6, 2022. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)





Nepalese devotees are reflected on a mirror on a wall of a Saraswati temple, on which children have written their names during Shri Panchami festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, February 6, 2022. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)





A Nepalese student offers prayers before a statue of Hindu goddess Saraswati at a school during Shri Panchami festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sunday, February 6, 2022. (Photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo)





Hindu boys attend Bratabandha, a coming of age ceremony, at Pashupati temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, 11 February 2022. During the religious ceremony boys shave their heads and perform rituals for about four to five hours, symbolically meaning they are now mature enough to perform their duties as grown men. Following the ritual, they are each given a janai, a sacred thread, and are henceforth expected to abide by the rules and norms of full-aged men, taking active part in religious ceremonies, last rite rituals, marriages, etc. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)





Young novice monks sweep a sidewalk along a road outside the Buddhist monastery in Godavari, Nepal on Monday, February 7, 2022. (Photo by Skanda Gautam/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Devotees undertaking month long Swosthani Brata takes a holy bath as they undergo the ritual of “Pardesh Yatra” through the forest of Changu Narayan Temple in Bhaktapur on February 13, 2022. Pardesh Yatra is a ritual of touring various religious places around Kathmandu Valley and Banepa following the holy scripture of Swosthani Brata Katha which also is recited throughout the month. The Swosthani Brata ends on coming Wednesday for the year. (Photo by Amit Machamasi/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Nepali Hindu Devotees undergoing month long Swosthani Brata holds prayers ahead of the bathing ritual in the forest of Changu Narayan in Bhaktapur of Nepal as they ramp up the tradition of touring various religious places around Kathmandu Valley and Banepa on February 13, 2022. (Photo by Subash Shrestha/Rex Features/Shutterstock)