Tihar Festival Countdown Fuels Boom for Bhaktapur Artisans: Round-the-Clock Production of Traditional Clay Oil Lamps as Festive Demand Surges

With the countdown underway for Yamapanchak (Tihar, the festival of lights), traditional pottery enclaves across Bhaktapur and Thimi have initiated round-the-clock production of earthenware oil lamps (pala/diyo) on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Responding to surging domestic demand for authentic earthen lamps, local Prajapati artisan clans are laboring intensively to fire, dry, and dispatch millions of lamps ahead of Laxmi Puja.