Chariot Festival Day 1 (Preparation & Palanquin Trip)

The annual festival of pulling Janabahaa Dyo’s chariot through the old part of Kathmandu kicked off from the southern end of Durbar Marg, just outside Teendhara Pathsala, on March 23, 2010, Tuesday, at about 5 pm.

Every year, this auspicious event coincides with Chaite Dashain, though it has nothing to do with that Hindu festival. Thousands of revelers joined in in this amazing event, and accompanied the chariot towards Ratnapark, Bhotahity and Ason.

Earlier, the statue of Janabahaa Dyo was put in an artistic palanquin at Janabahaa and carried to Durbar Marg by ten caretaker priests, who had undergone ritual purification procedures.

The palanquin procession was participated in by thousands of devotees, accompanied by several cultural and traditional musical groups who had converged at Janabahaa from different parts of Kathmandu to take part in this event.

Photos by Alok Tuladhar.

Janabahaa Photo Story in Republica Daily

A major win for the publicity of Janabahaa was achieved on February 5, 2010. On that day, the weekly edition of national broadsheet daily Republica published the blog entry entitled “A Day in the Life of a Caretaker Priest” in its center-spread photo feature. It so happened that the editor of the weekly edition (“The Week”) of the paper had seen the blog entry, and decided it was worthy of reproducing in the photo feature of The Week.

The online version of Republica, especially the weekly edition, has a huge and ever-growing readership among Nepali communities living abroad and among foreigners who are interested in Nepal.

The remuneration provided by Republica for contributing this feature has been deposited in Janabahaa’s clean-up funds by photographer/blogger Alok Tuladhar.

A Victory for Bijay

Bijay is only in his early-40s, but has the experience and confidence like that of a veteran. A highly successful businessman in a very unique product line, he has been the inspiration to many copycat entrepreneurs. The leadership qualities that he has honed to sharpness in business have visibly overflown to community work at Janabahaa.

Bijay takes bold initiatives, coming up with new ideas. And then he shows others the way by getting his hands dirty, literally speaking. Results are inevitable – and it is only a matter of time before others pitch in to support Bijay’s ventures.

Together with the preservation and promotion of Janabahaa, Bijay is especially concerned about its physical cleanliness. He has led a team of fellow compatriots from Janabahaa to publish a wall calendar on the occasion of Nepal Era 1130 New Year celebrations last fall. The funds saved from that project are being used primarily to hire a full-time staff member who oversees the cleanliness and general orderliness of Janabahaa.

In the last two months since the “cleanliness supervisor” has been deputed to Janabahaa, its overall neatness has improved drastically. Thanks to his able leadership and foresight, Bijay has now achieved victory in his war against filth in Janabahaa.

Bijay has an avid interest in history, and is a collector of historical coins. He grew up in the Janabahaa courtyard, but currently lives in the south-western part of town. Bijay is the owner and chief executive of Ratnapark Paun Bhandar, a confectionery that produces sweet, hot and sour candy from the “lapsi” or “aamali” fruit that is indigenous to the hills surrounding Kathmandu valley. The candy is hugely popular, especially among the younger generation, for its mouthwatering, savory, exotic taste.

Photos by Alok Tuladhar.