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ItaliaBisket Jatra – Nepali New Year
Bisket Jatra – Nepali New Year
Celebrated since the time of the glorious Lichchavi dynasty, the Bisket Jatra festival ushers in the Nava Barsha (New Year) in Nepal the Newari way. Held in the ancient city of Bhaktapur in April, the festival marks the ancient solar Nava Barsha and is the only festival that does not follow the lunar-based Nepali calendar. The Bisket Jatra begins four days before the onset of the Nepali New Year and is celebrated for five more days afterwards. Bisket means ‘Snake is killed’.
On the first day, the Jatra commences early morning, after a special Tantric ritual in the Bhairav temple in Bhaktapur – a priest offers prayers to the Bhairavnath deity – following which the deity is worshipped in the streets of the city. In the afternoon, idols of Bhairav and Bhadrakali (fierce manifestations of the Hindu god Shiva and the mother goddess Devi respectively) are placed in rathas (large chariots) and towed by devotees through cheering crowds.
During the festival, people re-enact a traditional drama passed down the centuries. The rathas pause for a tug of war between the eastern and western sides of town and then move down a steep road leading to a river, where a 25-m high lingam or lingo (wooden pole) with the god Indra’s flag fluttering on top, is erected. The evening of the following day, the pole is pulled down, again in a tug of war; and as the pole crashes, the New Year commences.
The festivities conclude with several days of spiritually uplifting experiences, dancing, and merry-making.
Staying with the locals at their humble abode is an experience that is going to stay with you for the rest of your life. Such is the hospitality of the people of rural Rajasthan who believe in making the most out of whatever little they have. And at the end of the day, as the sun goes down in all its glory, the villages’ folklore will mesmerize you like you never could have imagined!
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“The Bisket Jatra festival is a little similar to the Rath Yatra of India. Statues of Lord Bhairavnath and Goddess Bhadrakali were taken out on chariots, traditional dance – dramas performed, creating an atmosphere full of celebratory passion. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world or where you are from, festivals magically unite people”.
Ajay Singh – Noida
“The Bisket Jatra festival is a little similar to the Rath Yatra of India. Statues of Lord Bhairavnath and Goddess Bhadrakali were taken out on chariots, traditional dance – dramas performed, creating an atmosphere full of celebratory passion. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world or where you are from, festivals magically unite people”.
Ajay Singh – Noida
Ganesh Prasad –Noida
“I spent an entire evening at the Samode village singing and dancing with the locals in their colourful traditional attire. I even tried the Chari dance with a pot on my head. Yes, a definite must try for everyone!”
Rural Rajasthan
Bright, traditional, rustic yet soulful – that is rural Rajasthan for you! Considering the chaotic and busy lives we live, visiting the interiors of the state will make you realize how meditatively beautiful life is beyond the hustle bustle of the cities.
While the desert state is considered a perfect embodiment of richness and royalty, it also offers a much humble sight of a Persian wheel irrigating the lush fields in its rural areas. A group of traditionally dressed women, carrying clay pots on their heads, walking down the dust roads and turban-clad men with majestic mustaches sweating it out in the fields, is a common sight that you will see as you drive through the state. And they do it so effortlessly without any trace of discomfort that, it will not just inspire you but will make you appreciate the simplistic beauty of life.
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Staying with the locals at their humble abode is an experience that is going to stay with you for the rest of your life. Such is the hospitality of the people of rural Rajasthan who believe in making the most out of whatever little they have. And at the end of the day, as the sun goes down in all its glory, the villages’ folklore will mesmerize you like you never could have imagined!
Read less
