Bhaktapur (Nepal), April 11 (ANI): The ancient Taumadhi Square of Bhaktapur was lively on Thursday, with revelers and devotees congregating to watch the Biska Jatra, which, according to folklore, signals the arrival of the Nepali New Year. One of the popular religious festivals of the Kathmandu Valley, the festival starts with the ascension of Lord Bhairab onto a chariot built in front of the Nayatapola temple, the tallest temple in Nepal. The three-storey chariot made of wood in the pagoda style is pushed and pulled around the settlements with the statues of Bhairavnath and Betal as a part of this festival. Two groups of locals struggle to pull on the chariot to either side. This festival of cultural and historical importance is celebrated for nine days and eight nights. Believed to have started from the Malla Dynasty, Biska Jatra formally starts four days before the start of the Nepali New Year. Biska Jatra is the only festival that does not follow the lunar-based Nepali Calendar. It commences after a special Tantric ritual is performed in the Bhairab Temple in Taumadhi Tole in Bhaktapur.
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