GAIJATRA

Gaijatra, the festival of cows, (gai means cow and jatra means festival in Nepali गाईजात्रा, and Newari) 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".