Gai Jatra festival of Nepal

23rd August 2021
11th August 2020
19th August 2019

Most festivals in Nepal have turned into a coersion today. However, in specific cases, it has become a burden financially and time-wise due to the dilution of the sources and concealed reasons.
The Gai Jatra (Sa Paro in Newari), or the cow festival, is one such event that is more appropriate these days than ever. It is a festival that helps family members cope with the death of a near and dear one. It is an essential factor in helping with the healing process. Every town within and outside the Kathmandu valley celebrates this festival differently.
History has taught us that King Pratap Malla, the ruler of Kathmandu from 1641 – 1674 AD, began the festival to heal his wife’s grief after the demise of their son. The long parade concept was to help her recognize that many families in the city had also lost a loved one the same year. He believed that this experience would lessen her grief a little. He then is supposed to have announced a reward to anyone who could bring a smile to his wife’s face when the parade could not help.
To achieve this, he granted complete ‘freedom of speech during this festival—the public dressed in ridiculous attire and makeup and performed satirical performances. Then, seeing the queen smile, he began to pay them to perform in front of their houses as well.
The queen then voiced her request to bathe in numerous confluences of rivers in the region. King Pratap Malla was again faced with the challenge of fulfilling her wish. The king, renowned as an innovator, had Rani Pokhari (Queen’s pond) constructed, filled with water from all the holy sites she yearned to visit.
Today when you drive into the heart of Kathmandu city, you will notice a dry pond under construction after the 2015 earthquake. During the Gai Jatra festival, families where death has occurred will bring a cow or dress up young boys as cows and parade in Kathmandu’s streets.
It is believed that the deceased will make it to the gates of paradise safely by holding on to the cow’s tail. In the old days, one could get a sense of the number of deaths that had taken place in that particular year among the Newar community by counting the number of participants.
Moreover, the parade was a simple way to keep consensus and begin healing the deep sorrow caused by any form of death of the bereaved families. The satire with the complete ‘freedom of speech, where no one is spared, helps speed up the healing process.
Cartoons, comic books, cross-dressing, mimicry, poetry, street theatre, speeches; you name it, and you will be able to enjoy all of these and more both on the streets and stages (dabali). There will be music and feasting everywhere. Recently, the public has complained that some of the presented materials are of poor taste and downright vulgar. This festival is a great outlet to release resentment, annoyance, and dissatisfaction while making fun of those whom you usually would not be permitted to be ridiculed.
Traditionally the parade walked past the palaces of the old Malla period in the valley. The parade marches past Birendra International Convention centre (BICC), where the reinstated parliament meets. The politicians need to be reminded of the corruption and inconveniences that the Nepalese must bear and make sure the politicians are reminded that the public sees everything.

There is a similar story that prevails from the time of the Buddha. When the Buddha was going around giving Dhamma lessons, a woman named Krishna Gautami approached him, carrying a dead child and wailing. She insisted that her child be brought back to life if he was as great as people claimed. So the Buddha gently asked the woman to get some mustard seeds from a house where no deaths had occurred so that he could sprinkle the seeds on the child to bring them back to life.
The woman happily agreed and began searching for seeds from a household where no one had died. She went from house to house only to be told sad tales of death in every home. Finally, the woman realized the futility of her efforts as the way went on to understand that death is inevitable, and every family experiences it. Hence her healing process began.

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