Naya Barsha (Bisket Jatra of Bhaktapur)

The official New Year, according to the solar calendar, is celebrated throughout the country. The day falls on mid April. New Year day is celebrated with merriment. People extend best wishes to each other and organize music and dance programs. Vikram Sambat is the New Year day, after the name of Vikramaditya, the emperor of India sub- continent, more than 2000 years ago.

In Bhaktapur, a historical town 12 km. east of Kathmandu, the New Year day is celebrated in grand manner observing religious rituals. The festival is called Bisket and it has its origin in the ancient history, legends and mythology. Some linguists believe that the word Bisket originated from two Newari words ‘‘bi’’ for snake and ‘‘syako’’ for slaughter. People relate different stories about the festival; however, they are more or less similar. To sum up the differentialstories, serpent demons and the marriage of an extraordinary princess believed to have taken place in the pre- historic time.

On the day before the New Year, about eighty feet long huge pole, lingam, made of a shore tree, is erected with the efforts of thousands of people. The symbols of two dead serpents also are hung on the pole. In the afternoon of New Year’’s Day an enormous crowd gathers around the pole and feels it amidst great cheers and rejoicing. It symbolizes the end of the old year.

                                                                          Source: Nepal Tourism Board