Bhaktapur: Bisket Jatra, often hailed as an identity of the cultural and historic town of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley, has begun Tuesday with the pulling of 30-feet-tall chariot of Lord Bhairavnath.
The Jatra is celebrated for nine days and eight nights. The chariot pulled from Nyatapole temple area marks the beginning of the festival.
Locals from different areas in the town compete to take the chariot toward their area, pulling the chariots with the help of 10 ropes. The battle of rope pulling makes an interesting sight.
Pole erecting ceremony of Bisket Jatra
This year Bhaktapur Municipality has installed CCTV camera at 35 different areas to provide security during the festival. According to Superintendent of Police Kiran Rana, one can see all the happenings of the Jatra live at Metropolitan Police Station, and 1,300 policemen have been mobilized on site during the period of the festival.
According to Prof Dr Purushottam Lochan Shrestha, an expert in culture and history, the Jatra used to be a national festival for more than 300 years in the pre-medieval period when Bhaktapur used to be the national capital. Later, after the fall of Bhaktapur kingdom in 1769 AD, it became a local festival.
This year the chariot building started on March 13 with the help of more than half dozen artists.
The chariot is unique in itself; it is built without using any iron nails to attach different parts. But still, the chariot is so strong that it does not break even when hundreds of men pull it from both the sides.
Every year after the completion of the Jatra, the wood used in the chariot is kept behind the store of Nyatapole temple for reuse next year. Only the damaged wood is exchanged. Thousands of people come to Bhaktapur to witness the festival that continues till April 18.
