Digital Dakshina in Dashain Tika: Have you tried this trend?

Digital Dakshina (a type of cash offering) during Dashain or any festivities is now a growing trend among the “connected” smartphone users. The ease of internet access and mobile phones makes it a convenient mode of offering Dakshina during this Dashain festival. We believe many smartphone users during the Tika ceremony would love to incorporate the idea of digital transactions for all the right reasons.

The idea of offering dakshina via mobile apps emerged and grew during the COVID-19 lockdown. As contactless payment was encouraged, people started using online payment and fund transactions. It’s safe to assume that digital and mobile payment was the silver lining the lockdown gave us. Mobile payments have become commonplace. This is one thing you can do during the Tika rite.

With the 10th day of Vijadashami on Thursday (Ashoj 16, 2082) and Tihar also approaching, Dakshina will form one of the key factors for the celebrators. Traditionally, we offer Dakshina (a form of monetary payment out of love, joy, and respect) hand-to-hand or in an envelope. But with the non-negligible COVID-19, Dengue, and other health sensitivities, and more so, the established desire not to carry cash, we can resort to the benefits of electronic offerings that could be more than convenient for all smartphone users.

Dashain Tika Sahit 2082

Nepal Panchanga Nirnayak Bikash Samiti has shared that 11:53 AM on Thursday, Ashoj 16, 2082, is the most auspicious time for the Tika ceremony. While the whole day is considered ideal for offering and receiving Tika and blessings, the time announced by the NPNBS is considered the most authentic.

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Virtual Tika Is Now Real

In the last few years during Dashain and Tihar, social media witnessed something unique and logical. Some Nepalese posted videos and pictures of themselves receiving a virtual tika on their smartphones and laptops. Check out: How to celebrate the Dashain festival online?

Relatives, however distant, found a most immediate hack in turning to technology. On Zoom, Messenger, and other video calling platforms, people observed the auspicious Tika ceremony with ultimate joy. Obviously, the experiment does work for all. On the surface, the idea of a virtual Tika sounds like a trend in pop culture, but it works as a great alternative. The idea is to keep ourselves connected during the festivities, be it physical or virtual. And Digital Dakshina completes it.

This is how eSewa offered the digital Dakshina feature in Dashain 2081.

We have even digital wallets promoting the idea of digital Dakshina on their apps. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) always advocates for mobile transactions too. This is why the idea of the electronic transfer of Dakshina can be a necessity and a new cultural experiment. Also see: Latest transaction limit in mobile banking, internet banking in Nepal

On the other hand, there is a whole set of merits to not using paper bills. Let’s rephrase: digital money has many advantages over physical paper money. Let’s enumerate some reasons to establish why digital Dakshina will have the upper hand over its real-life counterparts.

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Reasons you should follow the trend of Digital Dakshina in Dashain 2082

Here are the advantages of Digital Dakshina over the cash Dakshina in the Dashain festival.

1. Safety measures: Most of us became habituated to digital payment during the adverse times wrought by COVID-19. The pandemic instilled in us good reasons to go for cashless transactions. Digital transactions help us avoid contact with contagious viruses and bacteria. Paper bills incur touches from many hands and from many surroundings. Therefore, not using the physical bills would be a rational thought for the health-conscious.
2. Convenience: The biggest advantage of digital Dakshina is the convenience. No need to carry cash in your pockets! You don’t have to worry about using an envelope or keeping cash in your pockets, dropping it, or having it stolen. Just wire the amount wirelessly, and you are good. If you have a smartphone, an internet connection, and a digital wallet app or a mobile banking app such as eSewa, Khalti, Hamro Pay, etc., which is very likely these days, you can do it in a few clicks. Similarly, you can transfer money via scanning QR codes, which is not that easy!!
3. Sparing the blushes: Although Dakshina is merely a blessing, it is a thing for many, especially the younger siblings. So, it can be awkward at times in regard to how much one is offering. Transferring the blessed money over the air would spare the blushes of both the giver and the recipient. It also helps avoid the awkward stares everyone gives while you open and start counting the paper bills or draw them out of your pockets.
4. Sustain paper bills’ life: Paper bills also have a life span because they are made of materials. The cool thing is that by not using them, you will be helping expand their life span. Time and again, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) issues requests to people to be careful with paper bills and not cover them in red tika and puja materials. To no avail, those poor notes get drowned in tika during the celebratory days. This deteriorates the physical condition of those notes, and their longevity gets shorter. Our little effort gives more life to the dear paper notes, and the federal bank saves some amount spent otherwise on printing them.
5. A new experiment: Going digital is fun and cool too. Digital payment is everywhere these days, and having some loads in our mobile apps does help. Some of the best digital payment platforms are helping many of us pay online. Receiving Dakshina over such mediums will add some value via digital cash we could redeem while shopping, top-up, or for other purposes. Let’s just say that we could do it to break away from the convention and bring noble fun to it.

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These are some of the reasons we believe digital Dakshina should be your favorite mode of transaction for the Dashain and Tihar Tika ceremonies. Of course, there could be more, and depending upon your choice of transaction, you could adopt any form.

But but but …

There is one thing that might act to dissuade you from offering digital Dakshina. Payment platforms charges Rs 10 VAT charge for fund transfers, so the service charge may pinch you for sending the offering to your loved ones.

Likewise, lack of internet access, awareness of the feature, app crashing, and so on may prove too much to use the mobile and internet to send digital Dakshina for some. Except for them, going electronic is an extremely potent and efficient way of offering the Dakshina.

Anyway, to promote electronic transactions during Dashain, Tihar, and Chhath, the payment system department of Nepal Rastra Bank has allowed digital wallet users to transact up to 40 times, increasing the limit from the existing 10 times per day. This facilitation is effective from September 29 to October 7 for Dashain and from October 20 to 24 for Tihar.

Have you tried this before, or are you planning on doing it this year? Feel free to add more to this opinion piece in the comments below.