Gaijatra at Basantapur (Pictures)

Nabin Babu Gurung

Kathmandu, Aug 12

The eight-day Gaijatra festival started on Friday.

The festival is primarily observed by the Newar community of Kathmandu Valley to commemorate their family members who have passed away in the past year.

Families of the deceased send cows or family members dressed as cows to take part in a procession around the town. Locals offer milk, fruits, beaten rice, curd and money to the participants.

King Pratap Malla is believed to have started the festival in an effort to console his queen who was grieving the death of their son. The king ordered the people to take part in a procession if they had a death in the family in the past year so that the queen could see that she was not the only one to have lost a loved one.

Here are some pictures of the Gaijatra procession at Basantapur.