A Taste of Nepal's Indra Jatra Festival Comes to London

LONDON — The famous Indra Jatra festival, a unique celebration that takes place over eight days in Kathmandu, has been held in London for the first time. The event, held on a Saturday in Feltham, gave everyone a glimpse of the culture and traditions of Nepal's capital city.

Over three thousand people, including both Nepali people and foreign visitors, came to the 'London Indra Jatra' to see the festival. The organisers, a group called Pasa Puchah Guthi, UK, explained that they wanted to show a piece of Kathmandu's culture in London, combining traditional Nepali style with a British feel.

A main part of the festival was a parade with special chariots built in the UK for the occasion. These chariots carried images of Kumari, a living goddess from Nepal, and the gods Bhairav and Ganesh. Many young people were very excited to take part in the parade. Before the main event, special prayers were held for Bhairav and Ganesh. The festival ended with the ceremonial lowering of a large pole, called the yasinh.

The celebration was full of traditional Nepali music and dance. Groups of young people performed on various traditional drums and instruments. They had been training for nearly a year just for this festival. Visitors enjoyed seeing dances like the Lakhe Nach and Kumari Nach, which were performed by talented artists. There were also stalls selling delicious Nepali and Newari food, which were very popular with the crowd.

The Nepali Ambassador to the UK, Chandra Kumar Ghimire, attended the event and said it was a great way to "make history" by bringing the festival to London. Ghimire praised the organisers for their work and told the audience that even while living abroad, they should continue to celebrate all of Nepal's different cultures and languages.

The head of the organising group, Sushil Prajapati, said their goal was to promote their native culture in the UK. Prajapati explained that after years of organising various other cultural events, adding the Indra Jatra was a big step. He believes it will help the second generation of Nepalis in the UK learn about and follow their traditions.

The festival was originally planned for 2020 but had to be postponed due to the pandemic. The organiser of the event, Ojesh Singh, said they finally held it this year to mark their organisation’s 25th anniversary, making it a truly special occasion.