id: 8825459
Indra Jatra, the main festival of Kathmandu Valley (especially celebrated by the Newar community) is an eight-day long festival. It all starts in Hanumandhoka/Basantapur, where the palace of the living goddess Kumari (aka Kumari Ghar) is located. The celebration behind this festival has a lotta other fascinating stories yet it's also the time when Kumari can be seen publicly in the towns of Kathmandu. Many other mythical characters join the celebration, and one of them as you can see in the first photo is called Pulukisi (an Elephant). It's said that when God Indra (in a form of a human) descended to the streets of Kathmandu in search of Parijat ful (Night Jasmine Flower), one of the locals detained God Indra assuming he was stealing a flower. And that time the elephant (God Indra's carrier) was staggering the streets of Kathmandu in search of his master. And still those characters are presented in the same way they used to be in the past. Apart, other characters include Lakhey (a ferocious masked demon), and Akash Bhairav (The God of Sky).
Every first day of Indra Jatra is celebrated like this. Everything is set up in front of the Royal Palace (Kathmandu Durbar Square). A large gathering of armies, and other authorities perform various rituals. The Chariot procession usually starts after the inaugural ceremony by a President. The places around Durbar Square is tightly packed up with mass gatherings of people, especially waiting for that one big event — The Chariot Procession of Lord Ganesh, Lord Bhairav, and finally Goddess Kumari.
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