Pustau
A digital vamshavali: family tree, tithi and patro in Bikram Sambat, in Nepali and English.
हाम्रा कथा। हाम्रा मान्छे। हाम्रा जरा। Pustau keeps the names, places and stories a Nepali family would otherwise lose, along with the ritual dates that depend on them.
The problem
A family's vamshavali often lives in one elder's memory or a notebook. When that person is gone, names, relationships and villages go with them.
Ritual dates make it harder. A shraddha is set by the tithi of a death in the lunar calendar, which moves against both the Bikram Sambat and the Gregorian calendars every year. Families rely on a priest to work it out.
What I built
Pustau is a private family record. Members add people and relationships to a shared family tree and record the places and stories behind them. The app shows tithi and patro in Bikram Sambat and works out shraddha dates the way a priest would.
Nepali is the default language, English is one tap away, and names can be written in either script.
What it does
Family record
- A shared family tree
- Names in Nepali or English
- Places and stories for each person
Calendar
- Tithi and patro in Bikram Sambat
- BS to AD conversion verified from 1970 to 2100
- Shraddha dates calculated the way a priest would
Access
- Sign-up with only a name, an email and a password
- Passwords of at least 10 characters
- Installs as an app on the phone
How it's built
| Framework | Next.js 16, TypeScript |
|---|---|
| Data | PostgreSQL |
| Hosting | Docker, behind Cloudflare |
| Security | HSTS with includeSubDomains; a nonce-based CSP with strict-dynamic in report-only mode |
Pustau is a Next.js 16 application in TypeScript with PostgreSQL, packaged with Docker. The whole app sits behind sign-in because a family record is private by nature.
A nonce-based Content-Security-Policy runs in report-only mode with a reporting endpoint, so violations are collected before the policy is enforced.
Engineering highlights
A calendar engine that families can trust
The Bikram Sambat calendar has no fixed formula; month lengths are published year by year. Pustau's BS to AD conversion is verified against published data for every day from 1970 to 2100, which covers everyone living today and the next generation.
Shraddha dates, worked out properly
A shraddha follows the lunar tithi of the day a person died, so its date changes every year. Pustau calculates it the way a priest would, so families can see the coming year's dates without guessing.
Where it stands
Pustau is live at pustau.com. Families sign up with a name, an email and a password and start building their record.
It is a small product with a hard core: a calendar engine that has to be exactly right, in two languages and two scripts.
Planning a product like Pustau? I design, build and launch web apps for businesses in Nepal and abroad.