People celebrate Indra Jatra with enthusiasm

By Perina Pathak

KATHMANDU, Sep 5 – Hundreds of devotees throng the local Basantapur and Indrachowk to have a darsan (glimpse) and prasad of the facial image of Bhairab displayed at different places of the area during the Indra Jatra festival which is to last until tomorrow.

The gathering of the local people has been continuing from the beginning of the Indra Jatra which was marked first by hoisting a lingo (pole) on August 29. "Every evening a large number of people visit here and ask for prasad, even the passers-by do not miss to have a look of Bhairab and have prasad," says Sarad Kumar Dongol, Chairman of Aakash Bhairab Nath Ghuti Co-ordinator Committee.

A large number of people visit local Indrachowk to have a glance of Aakash Bhairab and Swet Bhairab displayed during the festival of Indra Jatra. "On the occasion,devotees take jaand (local beer) and samaya-baji distributed among the devotees," says Yam Tuladhar, one of the caretakers of the Swet Bhairab temple.

"I have been taking prasad every year and never miss even for a single day during the festival period," says Tirtha Muni Maharjan, 90-year-old man of the locality. Indra Jatra is my best festival among all the other festivals", he adds.

There is a tradition that from the first day of the festival images of God Bhairab and Indra, the rain god, are displayed at different places of the Durbar Square area in commemoration of the rain god Indra. The Newar community considers Indra and Bhairab as one god with two appearances. The tradition also has it that the image of Bhairab is brought out from each house or temple for display during the festival. It is believed that by displaying Indra and Bhairab, they are extending thanks to the rain god for good harvest.

On the occasion, the huge facial image of Swet Bhairab is also put on display which otherwise remains closed for the whole year. From the first day of the festival the huge head will remain opened for the festival. According to the scripture placed under the image of Bhairab, the image was made during the reign of King Rana Bahadur Shah in 1852 BS.

According to Yam Tuladhar, one of the caretakers of Swet Bahirab temple, the periphery behind the temple was a cremation ground (deep in the Newari language) during the rule of King Rana Bahadur Shah.

He says whenever King came out of his palace, he used to see the cremation of dead person every day. He used to return thinking the scene as a bad omen. Then to do away with cremation there, he installed Swet Bhairab just in front of the main gate. The temple is just in front of Degu Telaju temple. The entrance still remains there just behind Swet Bhairab.It was a belief that white is good omen and therefore is considered god.

The legend also has it that people used to get frightened of great facial image so it is closed throughout the year. There is also a belief that Swet Bhairab wore precious jewelry so it was kept in close wooden curtain for security.

"One Gurju (priest of Buddhist clan) worship Bhairab every day inside the wooden curtain. Special worships are performed three times a year - in Chaite Dasain, Bada Dasain and Indra Jatra ," says Tuladhar. In special puja one goat, one ox and one duck are sacrificed. The method is given in the Shila Patra (traditional book), he says.

On the eve of Indra Jatra, care-takers will clean up the image and sacrifice the animals from one window among the nine closed windows. They open the window amidst the beats of traditional musical instruments of dhime and jogi on the first day of Indra Jatra.

At Kumari Jatra, that falls on the third and fourth day of Indra Jatra, the ghuthiyars (care-takers) of Swet Bhairab will prepare the samaya bagi (mixture of five traditional food items) and jaand(traditional beer) as prasad. In Aakash Bhairab also they prepare the same prasad.

"Great competition takes place among the people to get few drops of prasad (jaand) of Swet Bhairab. They don’t take prasad from Aakash Bhairab because there is a tradition that all the jaand poured from the mouth of the image is sent to Patal Lok (below the earth)," Dongol says.

In this way, people celebrate the festival in the Hanumandhoka area along with Lakhe, Bhairab and Devi dances with full enthusiasm. The beats of traditional musical instrument are also heard in the periphery when the evening falls.

With lots of celebration, the eight-day festival, Indra Jatra is now coming to an end. People are celebrating the festival in excitement and the Durbar Square is nowadays full of devotees. Tourists are also seen enjoying the annual festival with the local people.

Writ petition quashed

KATHMANDU, Sept 5 (PR) - A full bench of the Supreme Court Thursday quashed a writ petition filed five months ago challenging the Clause 12 of Foreign Employment Act which the petitioners say discriminates women for foreign employment.

The writ petition filed by advocates Sabin Shrestha and Mira Dhungana had stated that the provision of Clause 12 of the Act is against the right to practise profession which is guaranteed in the Constitution.

The clause had required women to take permission from their guardians and His Majesty’s Government when they intend to go abroad for employment.

The order delivered by the full bench comprising Justices Krishna Kumar Verma, Bhairab Lamsal and Dilip Poudel states Clause 12 of the Foreign Employment Act is not against the spirit of Constitution and so it does not deserve to be declared null and void as demanded by the petitioners. The Clause intends to restrict only those women who want to go abroad through foreign employers who have acquired permission for the purpose. It does not restrict those women who go abroad in individually capacity.

The order sates further that Clause 12 of the Act restricts foreign employment for children also. The writ does not mention about children.

" It is a setback for gender equality and advancement of women" said Bharati Silwal, resident representative of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). " Equality means equal benefit and the court verdict shows we have to do more for gender equality," said Silwal while responding to today’s court verdict.

Advocate Sapana Pradhan Malla who had pleaded for the case said," The court has held formal model of equality and it is against the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women."

National Street Drama Day observed

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Sept 5 – Sarbanam Drama Society today staged a street play- Gantabya Kahan Chha (Where is the destination?) at Basantapur to mark the National Street Drama Day, 2001.

The drama society has been celebrating the day (Bhadra 20) as the Street Festival Day and the play is staged to observe the 19th Street Festival anniversary today.

The play directed by Ashesh Malla portrays the prevalent chaos in the country. The main objective of the play is to show the confusion, pain and suffering that the country is facing at the moment.

The actors of the play stressed more on the theme of blood, hunger and death which give the symbolic meaning to the present political situation in the country. The protagonists screaming "blood, blood everywhere" and "the flood of blood" shows a poignant picture that the countrymen are going through in the present political situation where the Maoists and the Government are killing each other for their personal benefit.

Sarbanam Drama Society started staging street plays since 1983. The first play that was staged in 1983 was Hami Basanta Khoji Rahe Chhaun (We are searching for spring). The main objective of the Drama Society is to reach the general masses through the street plays and make them aware of the social evils by staging plays in the streets, towns and villages. The Drama Society has already staged dramas in 52 districts of the country and trained more than 50 drama groups in the various parts of the nation.

Maoist students coerce donation

Post Report

BANKE, Sept 5 - Like in other parts of the country, cadre of Maoist-aligned All Nepal National Independent Students Union (ANNISU)-Revolutionary continued extorting donation in cash and kind for a mega meeting to be held by Maoists in Kathmandu on September 21, a report here said.

The union’s cadres are forcing businessmen, industrialists and common people to give donation up to Rs. 50,000 in cash, local businessmen said.

Locals said that Maoist-aligned students were creating terror in the city area by demanding huge amount of money as donation.

"They are extorting money from us," a local businessman told The Kathmandu Post requesting his name not be revealed. The students’ leaders are compelling the locals to give them fixed amount of money, displaying letters undersigned by ANNISU-Revolutionary’s central chairman Devendra Parajuli.

After they could not put up with their extortion spree, Hotel Entrepreneurs’ Association has asked the local administration to stop such activities by the union immediately.

Issuing a press statement Wednesday, the association stated that the union leaders have been terrorising the hoteliers when they refused to meet their demands.

The Maoist leadership, however, is tight-lipped over their cadre’s extortion spree. Vice-chairman of the hotel entrepreneurs association, Shyam Lal Aryal, quoted the responsible Maoist leaders as saying that the leadership did not allow anyone to
collect donation forcibly.

"I will take actions against those who extort money from individuals and have already ordered police to arrest those found involved in such activities," said Chief District Officer  Bal Krishna Prasain.

Piluwa Khola Hydel Project to generate power within a year

SANKHUWASABHA, Sept 5 (PR) - Power generation is scheduled to begin from Piluwa Khola Hydro-electricity Project by May 13 next year.

The project is under construction with the sole investment and technical assistance of Nepalis only.

Arun Valley Hydropower Development Company had started the construction work since January this year with the set target of generating 3MW power.

The company has completed 30 percent works and spent Rs 105 million so far. The project is estimated to cost Rs 300 million of which Rs 90 million was collected by issuing shares and the rest through loans from financial institutions, according to the company.

The power will be generated with the help of two generators at Ghatte Khola Phant of Chainpur VDC-1 after diverting water from Piluwa Khola of Siddhakali VDC through iron pipes directly up to the generators. The power generated here will be linked with the central grid at Tirtire Sub-station of Maling VDC, about 400 metres from the project site.

According to the Construction Company, the target is to electrify Madi Mulkharka, Madi Rampeni, Maodin, Nundhaki, Siddhakali, Siddhapokhari, Bana, Jaljala, Syabun, Sabhapokhari, Bahrabise, Dhupu, Matsya Pokhari, Manebhanjyang and Sittalpati VDCs.

If all these VDCs were electrified, two-third of the total area of the district will get supply of electricity. Power Purchase Agreement has already been signed, according to the company.

Similarly, feasibility studies have been completed to generate 8MW power from Sabha Khola and one megawatt from Lakhuwa khola. Arun Valley Hydro-power Company has been carrying out a study of Maya Khola to generate 8-megawatt power in Sankhuwasabha district.

Encephalitis claims three more lives in Dang

Post Report

DEUKHURI, Sept 5 - Encephalitis has claimed three more lives in Dang district. With the latest addition, the encephalitis death toll has reached 38 in this district.

The guardian of a patient who had come to Ghorahi from Deukhuri said, on condition of anonymity, that the patients were dying in Mahendra hospital one after another because of lack of proper care by the doctors. The hospital is based in Ghorahi, the district headquarters.

Medical record keeper at the hospital Abdul Maruph said Kamal Bahadur Budha, 23, of Duruwa VDC-7 died on Tuesday and Purna Bahadur Chaudhari, 34, of Shreegaon VDC-5 and Jumni Chaudhari, 12, of Simthana VDC-7 died on Wednesday while undergoing treatment.

Of the total 225 patients who had come to Mahendra hospital for treatment of encephalitis since the third week of July till date, 119 patients returned home after treatment while 25 were referred to other hospitals. Similarly, 38 patients died and 43 are still undergoing treatment at the hospital, according to the record keeper.

However, according to informal estimates, more than 100 people have lost their lives following the spread of encephalitis in the district. Most of the victims are from Tharu community.

Locals complain that the disease has not been brought under control as yet because the hospital management committee
office-bearers and the administration have not been active in their role.