Sujan Upreti, like many college students across the United States, returned to his hometown in December for the winter break.

During Dashain, a significant festival in Nepal, family members receive "tika" (a mixture of yogurt, rice, and vermilion) on their foreheads along with blessings from elders. The Sanskrit hymn ...

Representarive image of a family celebrating Dashain. Credit: Getty Images/AFP/Prakash Mathema, Getty Images/Jennifer A Smith, Getty Images/Jasper Neupane ...

Dashain is the great harvest festival of Nepal, is a time for family reunions ... On the culmination of celebrations, known as Tika, people are seen moving around with their foreheads covered ...

This time of year has been the hardest for Nabin Gautam since leaving his family in Nepal ... the tika [symbolic red dot on the forehead] on, which is a tradition on the 10th day of Dashain ...