In Nepal, we’re getting into festival season. Recently, Indra Jatra was celebrated here in Nepal. The festival is related to the God Indra and one of his many realms is the rain and weather.
This festival is supposed to bring the end of the monsoon season (here’s hoping for that). One of the many things that goes on is that the living goddess Kumari is carried out on a chariot.
After meeting up with a totally awesome new friend who works for one of the Nepali publications here, I met up with my friend Kerry to watch Indra Jatra from Durbar Square.
Follow the jump to read more.
It wasn’t an easy feat to get into Durbar Square as it seemed the entire police and military force of Nepal was there. There was apprehension of possible political unrest and riots, so they were very prepared. Luckily, since my new friend in the media walked me to Durbar Square, he flashed his press pass and was able to walk me through the 4 lines deep of police officers with shot guns. I felt rather important.
We sat in front of the tourist area and everything was relatively uneventful and our view wasn’t that great. That is until another friend needed some medical attention from the red cross and we got moved to a stellar spot so she could have some space to sit. She felt bad for the commotion, but we ended up with a better viewing spot.
Here are some photos from the event (the police, the crowds, the festivities):
Click here for more about Bethany’s adventures in Nepal.
