Gai Jatra: Nepal’s festival that ‘celebrates death’

In 1995, cultural expert Purushottam Lochan Shrestha was one among the many people who took out a cow around the city. It was in memory of his late father and the day was Gai Jatra (also spelt as Gaijatra).

According to Shrestha, the traditions of Gai Jatra have changed in the Kathmandu Valley in the past three decades. He observes the practice of celebrating the festival with a child dressed as a cow or cow-like structure made from bamboo as a symbol has increased. But, to retain the original culture of Gai Jatra, he remembers people of his neighbourhood in Bhaktapur used to bring the cow from Duwakot.