Luto Phalne tradition is dying out. What was it? Why was it in existence?

Before he migrated to Kathmandu at the age of 10 in 2001, Saaune Sankranti used to be one of the most interesting days of the year for Dinesh Sharma, a native of Kavre. Since then, every year on the first day of Saaun/Shrawan, the fourth month of the Nepali calendar, he just misses the day—for he cannot celebrate it in the way he used to do.

“The biggest fun was in the evening,” Sharma, now 30, narrates, “The whole family would gather on the yard, outside the house, ignite small pieces of firewood and throw them on all sides—wishing we would not catch luto (scabies) throughout the year.”