When Puru Niroula, a member of the 3rd STEPS traditional Hindu singing group, told me about deusi bhailo, he described it as being "like trick or treat."

"We get together and go to people's house. We will sing song, dance and, after 15 to 20 minutes, we will get some food or money from the house where we performed," Niroula told me via Facebook. Another Bhutanese friend later described the activity as akin to Christmas caroling.

The song deusi bhailo is performed on three nights of Tihar, a five-day-long Hindu festival that is the Nepali variant of Diwali. The first four days are dedicated to animals and birds that are considered important to humans and gods. The last day celebrates familial relations.