Indra jatra

Indra Jatra is a festival celebrated in Kathmandu, Nepal. The main attraction of the festival is the procession of chariots and masked dancers representing deities and demons.
Yanyā Punhi (Indra Jatra) is a holiday related to Hindu god king of heaven, Indra. The festival begins with the carnival-like erection of Yosin, a ceremonial pole, accompanied by the rare display of the deity Aakash Bhairab, represented by a massive mask spouting beer and liquor. Households throughout Kathmandu display images and sculptures of Indra and Bhairab only at this time of year. Finally, the Kumari, or virgin goddess (living goddess), leaves the seclusion of her temple in a palanquin and leads a procession through the streets of Kathmandu to thank Indra the rain god.
The people of Kathmandu celebrate the religious festival of Indra Jatra remembering Lord Indra, the god of rain. Indra Jatra is also called Yandya in Newari culture. this This festival was started by Lichhavi king Gunkamadev in Kaligat Sambat 3822. In Nepalese culture Indra is a very important god.
Indra Jatra begins every year from the day of the fortnight Dwadasi Bhadra month to Aswin Krishna Chaturdasi sthat is it is a eight day long festival. On the first day of Indra Jatra a pole known as Linga or Yasingh with a flag on the top is erected at Hanuman Dhoka area. This thirty-six feet long wooden pole is chosen with great care from the Nala forest in Kavre district east of Kathmandu. According to traditional beliefs, Indra had received this flag from Lord Vishnu for protection.
It is said that Indra’s mother needed parijat, a type of flower, for some religious ritual so Indra disguised as a human being came to the earth to fetch them. But, he was recognised when he was to steal the flowers so the people caught him and tied him with ropes the statue of which is still worshipped in Maru Tole in Kathmandu. This image is also put on display with others in different parts of the city during Indra Jatra festival.

Indra Jatra is a very interesting festival because for the whole week people enjoy various traditional dances and witness the chariot of Goddess Kumari, Lord Ganesh and Lord Bhairav being pulled through the older parts of the Kathmandu city. A day has been added to the original seven days of celebration and on that day known as Nanicha yaa the chariots are pulled through Naradevi, Nhyokha, Ason, Indrachwok and Hanuman Dhoka. This extra day of chariot pulling was introduced by king Jaya Prakash Malla in 1765 B.S.
In Indra Chowk, the famous Akash Bhairava bust is displayed and it is decorated with flowers. This Akash Bhairava’s head is related to the Mahabharata story. Some believe it to be the head of the first Kirat King Yalamber. In Indra Chowk, every night different groups gather and sing bhajans and hymns.
During Indra Jatra, there are a variety of performances including the dances of Sawa Bhakku Bhairav from Halchowk, Lakhes from Majipat, Devi Nach and Yeravat hathi (Pulukisi) from Naradevi, Mahakali and Kathi Maka Nach from Bhaktapur. All the dances take place around Hanuman Dhoka area. The Dasavatar or the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu is also staged every night.
The first day of the festival is also observed by the Newars as a day to remember the family members who passed away during the past year by offering small oil lamps along a traditional route covering all the parts of the oldcity. It is believed to have been started during the reign of Mahendra Malla.
The Linga (Yasingh) is pulled down signalling the end of Indra Jatra festival. It is taken to the confluence of Bagmati and Bishnumati in Teku to be put to rest..
The end of the Indra Jatra festival heralds the beginning of Dashain and Tihar celebrated with great enthusiasm not only in the Kathmandu Valley but throughout the country.

Laxmi Puja

Lakshmi puja is performed during Diwali, the festival of lights. According to tradition people would put small oil lamps outside their homes on Diwali and hope Lakshmi will come to bless them.
Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped by those who wish to acquire or to preserve wealth. It is believed that Lakshmi (wealth) goes only to those houses which are clean and where the people are hardworking. She does not visit the places which are unclean/dirty or where the people are lazy.
In the Sri Vaishnava philosophy however, Sri (Lakshmi) is honoured as the "Iswarigm sarva bhootanam" i.e. the Supreme goddess and not just the goddess of wealth. This is an important distinction between Sri Vaishnavism and other materialistic philosophies.

Bisket Jatra

The raised lingam in Khalna Tole
Bolting a public square in fear of being crushed by a giant, runaway wooden chariot was not how I saw myself celebrating Nepali New Years, but sometimes these things happen. And in this case it was literally out of anyone’s control. A short bus ride out of Kathmandu had Rod and I finding ourselves smack in the middle of Bisket Jatra in the historical town of Bhaktapur. New Years Eve was spent watching the preparation of the festival lingam, a 25m pole slotted to be raised and set into the stone yoni in one of Bhaktapur’s many squares, Khalna Tole. It’s symbolically supposed to be a giant penis being erected onto a giant vagina. So obviously, we thought it would be quite a spectacle to see all the men in town gather at Khalna Tole to raise this massive lingam using a few large ropes and some logs. The townspeople pulling the chariot.
At first, we just thought it wasn’t going to happen. There just weren’t enough people to raise this mother of all poles. But just as we were heading towards the edge of the square in the hopes of leaving to find some dinner, a mad rush of people came scampering around the corner screaming in Newari. I managed to cry out “THE CHARIOT!” a split second before the devil itself came screeching around the corner from the top of the hill and Rod and I dashed out of the way. Following the chariot was the rest of the entire town and it was at this point that all the men gathered up the lingam’s ropes and began pulling like crazy. The rows of men were lead by one or two locals calling out “PULL!” in Newari. The chants of the labourers repeating the Newari word in answer to their temporary leaders was enthralling as the whole square became focused on the raising of the New Years lingam. Khalna Tole during Bisket Jatra ,Would you believe that after three hours of fruitless pulling, the new infusion of manpower had that giant pole up in less than 30 minutes? All those hours of preparations, the intense labour of countless men, the triumphant cries of victory after achieving what seemed to be impossible….only to pull the freakin’ thing down the next evening!
We went back to Bhaktapur the next day to watch them yank that lingam down by the same ropes they used to haul the load up.
Let’s just say that I’m not surprised that it’s not uncommon for people to die during this festival. I cannot reiterate the shear massive size of this thing….
The lingam being pulled down.and then to watch it come crashing down in the middle of the square where thousands of people had gathered to celebrate Bisket Jatra. And it’s not just the falling mammoth penis that people have to worry about either. Let’s not forget my favourite giant runaway chariot. I’m not too sure what its purpose was, but the locals sure liked to haul that thing around. Again, it took dozens of men pulling on several long ropes and many tries to get that thing rolling. But every time they got it moving the whole square would erupt in cheers of triumph.
But really, us humans had it pretty easy. We had the freedom to flee for our lives whenever threatened by massive wooden objects being pulling around town. The chickens and the goats however…..well, not so lucky. Animal sacrifices. I saw my first one at Bisket Jatra. It was a chicken. It did things I didn’t expect it to do once its head was cut off.

Gai Jatra

Gaijatra, the festival of cows, (gai means cow and jatra means festival in is celebrated in Nepal, mainly in Kathmandu valley by the Newar community.The festival commemorates the death of people during the year. During the festival, cows are marched in the streets and generally celebrated in the Nepalese month of Bhadra (August-September). The festival of cows is one of the most popular festivals of Nepal. The whole complex of Gai Jatra festival has its roots in the ancient ages when people feared and worshiped Yamaraj,"the god of death". However, the ironical sessions synonymous with the Gai Jatra festival came into tradition in the medieval period of Nepal during the reign of the Malla Kings. Hence, the present form of Gai Jatra is a happy blending of antiquity and medieval era. According to the traditions since time immemorial, every family who has lost one relative during the past year must participate in a procession through the streets of Kathmandu leading a cow. If a cow is unavailable then a young boy dressed as a cow is considered a fair substitute. In Hinduism, a cow is regarded as the most venerated among all the domestic animals. It is believed that the cow, revered as a holy animal by Hindus, will help the deceased relative's journey to heaven. In terms of historical evidence, once when King Pratap Malla lost his son, his wife, the queen remained dumbstruck. The king was very sad to see the condition of his beloved queen. The king, in spite of several efforts, could not lessen the grief of his wife. By all means he wanted to see a little smile on the lips of his sweetheart. He announced that anyone made the queen laugh would be rewarded adequately. During the festival of Gai Jatra, the cow procession was brought before the grief stricken queen. Then the participants began ridiculing and befooling the important people of the society. Finally, when the social injustice and other evils were highlighted and attacked mercilessly, the queen could not stop smiling. The queen laughed, and Pratap Malla, the king, instituted a tradition of including jokes, satire, mockery and lampoon in the Gai Jatra days. After the procession is over, in the afternoon, nearly everyone takes part in another age-old tradition in which the participants dress up and wear masks. The occasion is filled with songs and jokes. Mockery and humor of every kind become the order of the day until late evening. Hence, Gai Jatra is a healthy festival which enables the people to accept the reality of death and to prepare themselves for the life after death. According to Hinduism,"whatever a man does in his life is a preparation to lead a good life, after death".