Gai Jatra

Another opportunity today to attend a significant festival in Bhaktapur with a Newari friend. The festival of "Gai Jatra", the procession of cows, has its roots in the ancient age when people feared and worshipped Yamaraj,"the god of death".

According to the traditions, every family who has lost one relative during the past year must participate in a procession through the streets leading a cow. If a cow is unavailable then a young boy dressed as a cow is considered a fair substitute. In Hinduism, a cow is regarded as the most venerated among all the domestic animals. It is believed that the cow, revered as a holy animal by Hindus, will help the deceased relative's journey to heaven.

Consequently the streets of Bhaktapur were full of people, musicians and dancers. Way too many photographs to select just one, so I opted for this one, which is a little 'different'. I'm becoming slightly obsessed with the bleach by-pass process but I really like the collage effect that it's given this shot..I think/hope it highlights the chaos brought about by so many people in the street.

I'll be back to B&W tomorrow I suspect!

I'll try and post a link to some other photos from the day soon.