Gai Jatra brings cultural fanfare nationwide

KATHMANDU, AUG 23 -
Gai Jatra, also known as the festival of satire and comedy dedicated to cow (Gai), was celebrated on Thursday with great gusto.

The festival, which is also taken as license to throw satires on politicians, was marked with a number of comedy shows organised at various parts of the city.

Speaking at a comedy show in Baneshwor, comedy actress Deepa Shree Niraula proposed that the name of Gai Jatra be changed as Saande (bull) Jatra. “Our country is full of political bulls,” she quipped. “Therefore, Saande Jatra would be more meaningful here.”

Similarly speaking to Kantipur Television, comedian Sitaram Kattel, popular as ‘Dhurmush’ in a television serial “Meri Bassai”, said comedians are the only honest citizens standing against politicians who always make people cry with their “unholy tantrums”.

Meanwhile, the traditional cultural value of the festival was intact in the major alleys of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur, where people who lost their family members in the previous year led various processions in the streets, led by cows. While real cows would lead processions in the previous years, toy cows made of bamboo and clothes with flashy colours were seen this year.

In terms of traditional beliefs, the festival is dedicated to the dead kin in the Newar community in the three districts of Kathmandu Valley. Photos and names of the deceased family members are hung around the cow’s effigies.

The cow, a holy animal in Hindu religion, is believed to help the souls of the dead kin cross the eternal river, facilitating their passage to heaven.

The festival has been celebrated, especially in the valley since the medieval period. It is believed that the culture of celebrating Gai Jatra started when King Pratap Malla lost his son and the queen was overwhelmed by grief.  Then  the king decided that every family which had a member died in the past year would take part in Gai Jatra so that the queen would realise she was not alone to be struck by the tragedy.

On the occasion, local residents organised a clean-up campaign at the Basantapur Durbar Square to mark a “meaningful celebration” of Gai Jatra. Coordinator of the campaign, Ganapati Lal Shrestha, said that altogether 300 volunteers cleaned the entire durbar square area from 11am to 3pm.

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