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Just before the monsoon really starts people all over Nepal start to plant rice and Nepal is lush in green. The Hills are green. Fields are green. Entire Nepal is green. The Monsoon is the greenest time of the year in Nepal. The Newar farmers of the Kathmandu Valley are supposed to complete the planting of the rice before the Ghantakarna festival which starts exactly on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of Shrawan (June-July). Planting of the rice rougly takes arround seven weeks. On the pictures you see 4 sisters of one newar family from harisiddhi working on the fields. During the brakes they and drink some raksi. Besides working hard they also have fun. And they help eachother out. Rice planting is not big business for small farmers. The costs are hardly earned back. But as they say what tastes better then eating dahl bhat (the local food) with your own grown rice. Newar Farmers who cannot get their work done before the deadline of the 14th day of the darkfortnight are not supposed to take part in Ghantakarna festival at all.