Ghanta Karna

Celebrated in the month during July- August of each year, the Ghanta Karna festival is symbolizes the defeat of the mythical demon known as Ghanta Karna (bell ears). As the legend has it, the demon wore bell earring in order to drown out the name of Lord Shiva with their jingling and attributing to him as acts of robbery, murder and kidnapping of children. This festival therefore is the relic of the belief in demonolatry by the people of Kathmandu valley where the demon Ghanta Karna is and other evil spirits are propitiated and exercised on this particular day. The festival commences with a person being painted in all kinds of colours till he looks like a grotesque figure representing the demon Ghanta Karna who then goes on begging in the locality and at the end of the day gets dragged into a river on the green reeds symbolizing the driving away of the demon from the locality. Seen in the picture is a Nepalese youth, his face-and-body painted sits on bamboo plants and asks for money to mark the festival of "Gathemangal" also known as Ghanta Karna in Kathmandu. The Nepalese festival, which celebrates the defeat of the mythical demon Ghanta-karna ("bell-ears"), is celebrated by acting out the legendary drama in the streets. To begin with, children from every neighborhood collect money from passerby, which is then used to make an effigy of the demon.

Glance of Nepal