Gai jatra ,the festival (gai means holy cow and jatra means festival in Nepali). It is the festival celebrated in Nepal ,mainly in Kathmandu valley by the Newar and Tharu community.The festivel commemorates (to remember officially and give respect to a great person or event)the death of people during the year.
During the festival,cows are marched in the streets and generally celebrated in the month of Bhadra(August_September).It falls on the 1st day of the dark fortnight of Gunla according to the Nepal Era calendar.The festival of cow is one of the most famous festivals of Nepal.It is celebrated to remove the sadness of death of their family members.The whole complex of Gai Jatra festival has its roots in the ancient ages when people feared and worshiped Yamaraj,the god of death.The Gai Jatra festival entered the tradition in the medieval period of Nepal during the reign(the period of a rule of a monarch)of the Malla Kings.The present form of Gai Jatra is a happy blending of antiquity and the medieval era.According to the traditions since time immemorial(originating in the distant past),every family who has lost one relative during the past year must participate in a procession through the streets of Kathmandu leading a cow.If a cow is unavailable then a young boy dressed as a cow is considered a fair substitute(a person or thing acting or serving place of another).It is believed that the cow,revered(respect or admire someone or something) as a holy animal by Hindus,will help the deceased(dead)relatives journey to heaven.
According to the historical evidence,when King Pratap Malla lost his son,his wife,the queen,remained grief stricken.The king was very sad to see the condition of his beloved queen.The king,in spite of several efforts,could not lessen the grief of his wife.He desperately wanted to see a little smile on the lips of his sweetheart,and so he announced that anyone who made the queen laugh would be rewarded adequately.During the festival of Gaijatra,the cow procession was broght before the grief stricken(suffering from the effects of something unpleasant) queen.Then the participants began ridiculing and be fooling the important people of the society.Finally,when the social injustices and other evils were highlighted and attacked mercilessly(having no mercy),the queen could not help but smile .The queen cried and the king instituted a tradition of including funny jokes,satire(a way of criticizing people or ideas in a humorous way)monkey and lagoons into the Gai Jatra celebrating day.After the procession is over,in the afternoon,nearly everyone takes part in another age old tradition in which the participants dress up and wear masks.The occasion is filled with songs and jokes. Gaijatra is a healthy festival which enables the people to accept the reality of death and to prepare themselves for life after death.
According to Hinduism,"whatever a man does in his life is a preparation leading to a good life after death".♥♥♥♥♥♥♥