Festival of the Masked dancers

Masked dancer at indra jatra 

Surprisingly amazing and full of amazing stories Indra Jatra is a festival that comes alive during its practice. From the living goddess Kumari to the chariot of Kumari, Ganesha and Bhairav people are busy in pulling and witness the one glimpse of the living goddesses. It is only during this festival that the living goddess Kumari comes out in public. People flock in thousands to pull the ton worth chariot with full force, with high tension and action, some get bruised some are fatally injured but the action keeps moving with the fulfilling the tradition.  . During the festival's many interesting dances, including the Procession of Living Goddess-Mahakali, Mahalaxmi and Dasha Avatara masked dances are staged at the Durbar square .

The chariot will be pulled along Basantapur, Ittkha, Naradevi, Tengal, Baangemuda, Ason, Indrachowk and back to Basantapur. The procession on the second day of chariot pulling is followed by a two-day break. After that, on the eighth day of the festival, the chariot is taken to Mahankal from Basantapur and back to Hanumandhoka for concluding rituals.

 The entire Basantapur and surrounding areas is covered by thousands of devotees who come to witness the procession. Nepal Police have been deployed over 1,000 security personnel to avoid any untoward incident during celebrations.

According to legends it is believed that  lord Indra’s mother Dakini was in need of a flower of ‘parijat’ to cure her ailments. Indra was plucking the flowers at Maruhiti, a sunken water spout at Maru, the people caught and bound him like a common thief. He was then put on display in the town square of Maru in Kathmandu.When the city folk realized they had captured Indra himself, they were appalled and immediately released him. Out of appreciation for his release, his mother(Dakini) promised to provide enough dew throughout the winter to ensure a rich crop. It is said that Kathmandu starts to experience foggy mornings from this festival onwards because of this boon.