Gaura celebrations in Kathmandu [In Pictures]

KATHMANDU: Gaura festival, one of the biggest festivals of Sudurpashchim Province, is being celebrated with great fanfare and rejoicing on Thursday. A special celebration was organized by Tunkdikhel of Kathmandu.

The festival either falls in the bright lunar phase or the dark lunar phase in the month of Bhadra. The exact dates are determined through astrological calculations. It is celebrated from the 6th to the 8th day of lunar phase.

Women of the community fast on the first day and soak five types of grains, known as ‘Biruda,’ in a copper or brass vessel. The soaked biruda is washed at a community water source on the second day, followed by the creation of a Gaura idol. After Gaura’s idol is placed in the Gauraghar, devoted women perform worship rituals to honor Shiva and Gauri.