Indra Jatra or “Yenya” in Nepal Bhasa usually falls on the month of September and it kicks of the month long festival season of autumn. It is one of the most revered festivals of the newar community of the Kathmandu valley. “Ye” means Kathmandu and “Ya” means celebration in Nepal Bhasa, so “Yenya” literally means celebration in Kathmandu. The festival is commenced with the erecting of a wooden pole in the Basantapur durbar square in front of the Hanuman Dhoka Palace. The celebrations is comprised of two separate events. One is “The Indra Jatra” marked by the dances of masked dancers portraying various deities and demons and exhibition of various sacred images and tableaus. The other is “Kumari Jatra” which is chariot procession of the living goddess Kumari.

The festival is an eight days long event that commemorate the time when “Indra” the King of heaven came down to earth in human form to look for some flower. It is believed. The Indra Jatra” was started by Gunakamdeva during the 10th century and the Kumari Jatra by Jaya Prakash Malla in 1756 AD.

As per the myth of the festival goes, Indra came down from heaven upon request of his mother to gather some Parijat flower (Night Jasmine) on his ride “Airawat” elephant also known as “Pulu Kisi” in Nepal bhasa. He was then accused of theft for stealing the flowers and imprisoned and put on display by the town people. Indra’s mother herself had to come down to rescue her son and in exchange for her son, she gave the people fog and dew for their winter crops. And hence the Indra Jatra is celebrated to honor Indra and the events. As time went by many other processions were added to the festival like the Kumari Rath Yatra, Devi Pyakha, Mahankal Pyakha, Lakhe and pulu kishi making it one of the biggest street festival of Kathmandu.

The Shrines around the Durbar square are aglow with lit oil wicks and butter lamps. Various processions take place though out the day and night. Such as the enactment of ten incarnations of lord Vishnu is performed each night in front of the Kumari Temple. The enormous idol of Akash Bhairab is put on display in the open facing his temple in Indra Chowk. The most awaited is the chariot procession of Kumari followed by other two small chariots of Bhairab and Ganesh. Masked Dancers (Lakhey) and others take to the street along with beat of the drums enacting other different processions.

As fascinating as the myth behind the celebration is, the festival itself is a captivating spectacle. Horde of Crowds, Masked Dancers, lit oil wicks around the durbar square, music, and feast make it a surreal experience.