Kushe Aausi (Father Day)

Father, mother and teacher are given the place of God in Hindu religion. Father, Pita or Babu is guru, rakshak and the palankarta. That means father is teacher, protector and the savior. Father's day is the day of paying respect once again to him. Father’s Day is also known as Kuse Ausi or Pitri Tirpani Aausi or Gokarne Ausi. This day Nepali people pay their homage to their father with their favorite food, clothing and other dad’s favorite stuff. 

Mukh Herne means "to allow someone as our relative or give respect or to recognize the achievement of someone". This is a special day, we recognize and pay respect to our father for his care and love to us during his life. Hence, this day is called "Babu ko Mukh herne din”. The literal meaning of Mukh Herne is to see someone's face. 

 A day when children show their gratitude and appreciation for his guidance and teachings in life. Sons and daughters, near or far, come with presents and confictions to spend the day with their fathers. Children spend their hoarded coins on presents, which expresses honour and love in their own special ways. The streets are a gay scene of married daughters on their way to their parents' home with delicacies . After the offering of gifts, they touch their father's feet with their foreheads , this act of veniration is done by the sons only , the daughters touch the hand. The ceremony is also known as "looking upon father's face".

People with or without fathers worship the Gokarneswor Mahadev on this day. It is a sacred shrine of lord Shiva , renowned for his singularly close communion with the souls of dead . The shrine lies in Gokarna village, five miles east of Kathmandu. The fatherless people honour the memory of their fathers and promote welfare of his soul here.

Mythology has placed the Gokarna shrine in prehistoric times when Lord Shiva hid himself in the Pashupatinath forest, disguised as a one-horned golden deer, from the gods and mankind. While he spent his days frolicking, the world suffered so Lord Vishnu, the preserver, Lord Brahma, the creator and Lord Indra, the king of Gods, took matters into their hands and searched for him. Finally a goddess revealed Shiva's disguise. So when they finally caught the deer by the horn , it burst into fragments and Shiva revealed himself. He asked the other three gods to establish his horn in their three worlds. So, Vishnu installed his section in his abode in Vaikuntha, Indra in his realm in heaven and Brahma enshrined it at the sacred site of Gokarneshwor. The following day the gods and goddesses descended and bathed in Bagmati river, paid homage to Shiva and established the present day tradition of ancestor worship at gokarna.

Gokarna Aunsi is yet another festival in the continuous procession of holy days, wherein homage is paid deities and the bonds of family and kinship is renewed and strengthened.