Cow Festival (GAI JATRA)

According to the lunar calendar this festival Gaijatra falls in the dark fortnight (Bhadra Krishna pakchhya -August) the next day of the Janaipurnima festival. This festival is observed grandly in Katmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan cities. People decorate the cow and small children like a joking cartoon and walk throughout the city in small groups. It's believed that if this festival is celebrated in this way with the help of cow, the deceased persons' soul who has died during the year, will get chance soon to rest in the heaven; and he will bless us a lot of good luck from there. Cow is respected like our own progenitor mother in the Hindu religion.


After our death there are many horrible places for us to cross to reach in the heaven. If we are sinful we fall in the peep kunda (Pus' pond) where all the rubbishes like the snizzles, urine latrine and so many other stench stinking things consist there. Scriptures say if we have done sin in our life we can't get out of this horrible place to reach in the heaven; so if we worship to cow on this day in this manner, immediately our dead relatives will get way to cross this stench emanating ugly place if they have fallen there; and get way to go in the heaven. Also, there is the vast sea called Baitarani to cross to reach the heaven; which we can cross only by the help of the cow. If we are sinful we can't cross this place without the help of the cow; so people decorate cows in the name of their deceased relatives' and pray to god for their quick arrival in the heaven. People who doesn't have cow they decorate children in the name of their past souls.

Gai Jatra FestivalsAlso in Nepal this day is famous as a humor satirical day as well. The newspapers publish many mocking cartoons and statements denoting mostly to the political figures of the country. Comedians organize ticket shows and demonstrate farcical and funny skits in theatres. Another aspect of this Gaijatra is prevailed to say as a proverb in our society. That is, if some thing is seen unplanned and messy in our house then the people say "Don't show Gaijatra" means don't keep any thing unplanned in the house or yourself. The demonstration of cartoon children lasts for a week in the valley.

Also some elderly persons say on this festival that, once King Jagat Prakash Malla's queen had become very seriously sad for the cause of her son's death. So the King ordered to demonstrate some farcical cartoons to appease the queen; and the people started to show such kind of parodies for the queen's amusement as per the king's order. But it seems more religious valued to this fete than the king's for this festival's celebration.