ASIA / PACIFIC
November 5, 2018
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5
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FESTIVAL OF DEITIES & DEMONS. Dancers wearing masks of the god Kawancha pose for photo-
graphs in Kathmandu, Nepal. For centuries, Nepal has celebrated the Indra Jatra festival of masked dancers,
which officially begins monthlong festivities in the Hindu-dominated Himalayan nation. The dancers, who come
from a variety of backgrounds, say they pull off the performance every year despite minimal financial support
from the government and other sources. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
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Nepal’s masked dancers
mark the end of monsoon
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — For
centuries, Nepal has celebrated its
masked dancers, who last month began
monthlong festivities in the Hindu-
dominated Himalayan nation.
Indra Jatra, an eight-day festival cele-
brated mostly by the Newar community,
the native residents of Kathmandu, is also
known as the festival of deities and
demons. It especially honors Indra, the
Hindu god of rain, to mark the end of the
monsoon. The masks and dances can be
fearsome,
entertaining,
and
awe-
inspiring, depending on the performers’
movements.
A child revered as the Living Goddess
Kumari is pulled around Kathmandu,
Nepal’s capital, in a wooden chariot;
families gather for feasts and at shrines to
light incense for the dead; and men and
boys in colorful masks and gowns repre-
senting Hindu deities dance to the beat of
traditional music and devotees’ drums,
drawing tens of thousands of spectators to
the city’s old streets.
The dancers, who come from varied
backgrounds, pull off their performance
every year despite minimal funding from
the government and other sources, they
say.
“It is not only about the dancers, we also
need to do many rituals before and after
the festivals, but the money and support
we are provided by the government cannot
be compared to what we spend,” said
Narendra Maharjan, a member of the Devi
Mask dance crew. He added: “I remember
many mask dances in my childhood, which
have stopped now because of these reasons
and we fear that one day our dance will
also stop.”
Some dancers, feeling they are not
adequately supported, are debating
whether to continue next year.
Rajan Maharjan, a former guardian of
the Living Goddess Kumari, recalled a
September 2008 riot that broke out after
Nepal’s then-Maoist government cut
funding and subsidies for Indra Jatra and
other festivals.
“The Nepalese government shows and
sells our festivals and cultures to the world
for tourism, but us being the preserver,
what do we get?” Maharjan said.
Others, though, are determined to keep
the tradition alive. Walking barefoot in
heavy masks and jewelry in the oldest part
of Kathmandu, the dancers say they hope
to get financial support so they can pass on
an ancient festival to the next generation.
Explosion at Indian
fireworks factory
kills eight people
LUCKNOW, India (AP)
— A powerful explosion at
a fireworks factory in
northern India killed at
least eight people and
injured three others, as
Hindus prepared to cele-
brate the highly popular
Diwali festival.
Police officer Ashok
Kumar said the blast badly
damaged the factory and
some adjacent shops in
Budaun district in Uttar
Pradesh state. It killed six
workers and two people
who were passing by. Three
people were hospitalized
with serious injuries.
The area is about 175
miles southwest of Luck-
now, the state capital.
India has a huge demand
for firecrackers, which are
used in religious festivals
and weddings. Accidental
explosions are common at
fireworks factories, which
often ignore safety.
In June last year, an
explosion at a fireworks
factory killed 23 workers in
Madhya Pradesh state.
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