Nepal UK
Newar organisations in the UK celebrated Mha Puja and the start of the Nepal Sambat 1147 new year on Tuesday 10 November, with a large gathering in south-east London and the first such event in the Midlands.
In London, Pasa Puchah Guthi UK's South East London chapter held the ceremony at an Asian community centre with around 200 guests, Newar and non-Newar, according to a Nepali-language report. British-raised teenagers performed dhime and flute music and traditional dances, and the eighth London Kumari procession, a tradition begun in 2016, took place.
In West Bromwich, the newly formed Midlands chapter, chaired by Nishentman Bajracharya, held its first Mha Puja and new-year event. The chapter was launched in Leicester on Saturday 7 November, when its first committee was named. A Newar Everest climber who holds two Guinness World Records for football juggling was honoured.
Mha Puja honours the self and is observed by Newars on the fourth day of Tihar; Nepal Sambat begins the same day and is regarded as Nepal's indigenous era. Chapters outside London matter for passing language and heritage to British-born Nepalese.
Both accounts come from one Nepali-language outlet and are unverified. Attendance is the organisers' estimate as reported.
