With Indra Jatra less than a week away, preparations for the festival have gathered pace at Basantapur of Kathmandu.
As part of preparations for the festival, three chariots are being built at Basantapur and the area is also being cleaned up.
Known as Yenya in the Newari language, the eight-day Indra Jatra is the biggest religious street festival in Kathmandu.
Indra Jatra begins with the raising of the Yosin or Lingo, a ceremonial wooden pole, with the banner of Indra, the Hindu god of rain and good harvest, at Kathmandu Durbar Square. The pole is brought from a forest near Nala in Bhaktapur by people from the Manandhar clan.
The Yosin for this year’s Indra Jatra was brought to Kathmandu from Bhaktapur on Saturday.
Kumari Jatra also takes place on the third day of Indra Jatra when chariots of the living goddess Kumari, Ganesh, and Bhairav are pulled through different parts of Kathmandu. The chariot processions continue for three days.
Masked dances such as Majipa Lakhey and Pulu Kisi, cultural and musical processions, and displays of various deities are other major attractions of the festival.
This year, Indra Jatra begins on September 15 with the raising of the Yosin. The government has declared a public holiday in the Kathmandu Valley on September 17 to mark the festival.
