Two-day Newa Festival begins at Mangal Bazaar (Pictures)

Setopati

Kathmandu, May 29

Photos: Suryamsha Upreti/Nepal Photo Library

A two-day Newa Festival organized by Yala Newa Society, Lalitpur, began on Friday at Mangal Bazaar.

People from the Newar community scattered across the globe organize the Newa Festival at various times to promote their language, art, and indigenous culture.

According to the organizers, the festival especially showcases the traditional identities of Patan’s ethnic communities through handicrafts, metalwork, sculpture, stone carving, and other cultural expressions, while also promoting authentic Newari cuisine and culture.

Yala Newa Society President Nani Kaji Shakya said that the festival is not a commercial trade fair but purely an exhibition of the traditional skills of Patan’s ethnic communities. Patan has 21 ethnic community groups.

The organizers said that the festival will feature a seminar on indigenous peoples' rights granted by the Bagmati provincial government and sessions sharing information on the importance of the Newa script.

The festival is sponsored by Lalitpur Metropolitan City Ward No. 16.