KATHMANDU, August 20  –  Blue Diamond Society’s fourth Annual Gai Jatra Pride festival today was met with unprecedented support with an increasing number of different sub cultures.

Led by more than 500 cheerful and joyful lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender and more than 5000 local folks marching in outlandish costumes; the unity and harmony was shared by all in Kathmandu today.

There was a uniqueness of traditional and modern pertinence of the increasingly vocal gay communities in Nepal.

The festival of “Gai Jatra” is one of the oldest and most unusual of the many holidays celebrated by the Hindus/Buddhists of Kathmandu Valley. Some say the custom goes back more than a millennium, to the time of the Licchavi kings.

Falling on the day after Janai Purnima, the full moon day of August, Gai Jatra is a day for remembering those who have died in the past year. In addition to praying for their departed loved ones, family and friends of the deceased commemorate them in great processions, which wind their way through the streets of the ancient Newar towns of Bhaktapur and Kathmandu.

Despite its associations with the dead, the festival procession is not a dour or solemn event.  In fact, there is a great deal of merry-making connected with it.  Many of the participants wear outlandish costumes.

Traditionally, a good number of the young Newar men in the procession dress in women’s clothing.  Over the centuries, the Gai Jatra Festival developed a second purpose.  In the days when political expression of any kind was outlawed, Gai Jatra was the day when ordinary citizens could vent their frustrations through political and social satire, without fear of reprisal from the rulers.

Given this history, Gai Jatra seemed to be a ready-made occasion for the Blue Diamond Society, the Nepalese queer association, to stage Nepal’s inaugural Pride march.  The culture of cross-dressing was flamboyantly exaggerated with additions of inflatable breasts and backsides, considerable more make up and exposure of lean masculinity.

The pride was a mixture between political issues and celebration, highlighting HIV/AIDS and Human Rights issues delivered accessibly.  There was representation for gay communities throughout Nepal proving that this not purely an urban phenomena.  This year we also attracted a significant participation from non-Nepalese.

With the international media interest at this Gai Jtrat Pride festival it will be recognized as an international LGBT pride event in coming years.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS and VIDEO

LINK

Blue Diamond Society website