Ghantakarna festival is a Newar festival in Nepal. It is observed during the month of August and after rice plantation. This festival marks the beginning of several other festivals of Hindu and Buddhist in Kathmandu. Ghantakarna is also known with the name ‘Gathamuga’ and ‘Gathemangal’.

The festival features chasing away demons from homes in a symbolic manner. In the festival, Gatha Muga demons, made of wheat straw, are erect at every tole’s street. The straw demons are burnt outside of city or nearby river in the evening.

In the ancient time, when little water and violent storm brought illness due to diseases like gastrointestinal d
iseases, most common during the summer, people thought evil spirits were to be blamed. They said, it was because of the absence of the Nine Durgas that evil spirits were free to enter into the city to cause such troubles.

• Starts by cleaning the houses
• Acting out the legendary drama in the streets
• An effigy made of reeds is placed at the cross roads of the main streets
• Girls hang their hand-made dolls on this effigy to protect themselves from bad spirits
• People wear rings made of wrought iron metal on their fingers and ornaments made of silver or gold on the wrist and ankle of their children
• Girls put ‘mehandi’ on their palms
• Group of boys roams asking for alms shouting ‘Aaju Jaya Haa, Om Shanti Jaya Nepal’. In the past, the collected money is used for the ritual works of their passed family members.
• Local people gather to standing up the effigy and a monster like structure is sketched on it.
• ‘Aaju Jaya’, one who impersonates Ghantakarna by smearing himself with paint is served with beaten rice with curd under the effigy.
• ‘Aaju Jaya’ is then made to roam the streets with burning torch of husk and begging for donation. The man moves around the effigy for three times. Everyone volunteers to drag Ghantakarna to nearby river.
• But in the process ‘Aaju’ escapes on the way.

On this festival people, especially newars, visit to ritual places and temples to worship for peace. People worship ‘Bali‘ made of cooked or beaten rice at their home and eat ‘Samyabaji‘ as ‘Prasad‘ to avoid
the impacts of bad spirits. To avoid any effects from bad spirits, a three-legged iron nail is driven in on the doorway while burning incense.

History:

Even though nobody knows when this festival was started, it has been mentioned to be celebrated in Lichhavi era in the history of Gopal Bansha. But there are many myths about this festival being celebrated in the middle age too.

According to a folk lore, a demon called Ghantakarna with a pair of bells on his ears used to terrify people by killing them. He was called Ghanta (Bell) Karna (Ears) to identify him by his bells on the ear.

When, all attempts to kill the demon were not successful. A clever frog however was successfull in killing the demon by trapping him in a swamp when he was on his way to hunting. It is told that the day marks the celebration of Ghantakarna festival. That is the reason, people from newar communities worship frog on that day.

It is also controversial on whether Ghantakarna
was a demon or a god as Hindu worship Ghatakarna as a devotee of Lord Shiva while in Buddhism he considered a symbol of god Bhairab.

Visit the unique place on earth, Nepal to make the ‘Visit Nepal 2011’ a success.

Watch the full movie here.

Sanjiv Pradhan’s Nepali movie Ahankar under the banner of Dream Merchant Entertainment Pvt. Ltd was completed in 2007. But, due to the objection of censor board it was only finally released in the August of 2009. The movie features Sushil Chhetri, Dhruba Koirala, Richa Ghimire, Prerana Sharma, and Subhash Gajurel in leading role.

The movie was awarded Best Story and Jury award in the NEFTA Film Awards of 2065.

The movie was banned by the Nepal Film Central Committee to show it in theaters without censoring some of the scenes, and dialogues, saying it can provoke communal violence in the country.

The film shows attack by hill people on Madhesis, and the attack on the hill people by the Madhesis, rape of one community by another, satires, abuses and communal fighting. The excessive violence featuring dead people, weapons, blood pool and communality level violence can harm the centuries-old communal harmony in Nepal

Gravity rope-way is a simple technology to make big impact in Nepal.

Practical Action are installing such aerial rope-ways in Nepal to enable farmers to transport their good to market effectively. If you were a family living on a mountain in Nepal imagine how this would improve your life.

Stephan Harvey says, “Access is a big theme in Nepal. But for the people of Nepal, it’s access to markets, information, energy and basic services which is the issue, and also the theme for much of our work.”

See the ropeway in action:

And, a report on the rope-way:

If you are interested to know the details on the ropeway, there is a pdf document, Gravity ropeway technical brief in Practical Action website.