Mud-covered farmers playing in a rice field during National Padi Day in Tokha village on the outskirts of Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, on Monday.

The festival, which takes place on the 15th of the Nepalese month Asar, marks the start of the annual rice planting season. The month of Asar is favourable for rice planting as it is during the monsoon season.

The day is typically celebrated with people planting rice, singing folk songs, dancing and playing with mud in the rice fields. People also enjoy a dish known as "Dahi Chiura" - consisting of yogurt and beaten rice - to mark the day.

According to the Nepali Times, rice is by far the most important crop of Nepal, the primary source of livelihood and income for more than two-thirds of farm households.