Eight-day Indra Jatra concludes as women pull the chariot

Kathmandu Valley's eight-day Indra Jatra concluded on Tuesday with 'Nanicha Yah,' the day when only women pull the chariot.

On the final day, the chariots of the living goddess Kumari, Ganesh and Bhairav were taken out from Basantapur. The chariot procession, accompanied by traditional music, went around Pyaphal, Naradevi, Kilagal, Asan, Indrachowk and Makhan before returning to Basantapur.

Hundreds of women and young girls dressed in the traditional Newari attire, hakupatasi, took part in pulling the chariot. History records that during the Rana era, Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher added the third day's jatra at the wish of Nanicha of Kilagal.

With the community's consent, women alone have pulled the chariot on this day since 2069 BS. In recent years, this jatra has become a platform for women's empowerment and gender equality.

President Ramchandra Poudel visited Hanuman Dhoka to receive tika and prasad from Ganesh, Bhairav and Kumari. It is customary for the head of state to exchange a sword with the Kumari after receiving tika.

On Tuesday night, at the designated auspicious time, the 'lingo' (ceremonial pole) on which the Indra Dhwaja had been raised was brought down. The jatra formally ends once the felled lingo is pulled and immersed in the Bagmati River.

The jatra had begun with the raising of the Indra Dhwaja in the Hanuman Dhoka palace area on Bhadra Shukla Dwadashi. The Guthi Sansthan announced that the eight-day jatra concluded with the felling of the lingo.