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Festival Of Horse Race In Kathmandu
By KTM Metro Reporter
March 23, 2012: indigenous people of Kathmandu and Patan celebrated the festival of horses yesterday. Sitting at the Army Pavilion, dignitaries such as President, Vice-president, Prime Minister, House Speaker and invited diplomats watched the various activities including the horse race displayed by the Nepal Army at Tundikhel. At the end of the festival, President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav: the Supreme Commander of the Nepal Army presented the trophies and credentials to the winners of various activities.
Living Goddess Kumari presided over the festival. A special place is reserved at the current building belonging to the Nepal Airlines Corporation for the Living Goddess Kumari to preside over the festival. Previously, this area and building belonged to Living Goddess Kumari but the government of the previous regime took it over for constructing an office building of the then-Royal Nepal Airlines Corporations allocating only a small room for the Living Goddess Kumari to preside over the festival of horses.
A legend has it that a demon called Tundi has caused terror among the residents of Kathmandu. With the help of the Goddess Taleju, the residents of Kathmandu riding on horses managed to trample on the body of the demon. Every year on this day of the festival of the horses, the white horse belonging to Goddess Taleju is taken to the ground to symbolically trample on the body of the demon early in the morning. Even today, the area is called Tundikhel derived from the name of the demon Tundi.
In Patan also, the indigenous people celebrate the festival of horse but bit differently, as a single horse is taken around. The festival is held at Balkumari of Patan on the same day when the festival of horses holds in Kathmandu. The Bhimsen Guthi (trust) of the Jyapu community of Olkhu chibaha holds this festival every year. The cavalry gunj of the Nepal Army at the Singha durbar provides the Bhimsen Trust with a horse for this festival.
Some people call it the festival of a blind horse or a drunken horse. However, the horse provided by the Nepal Army is neither blind nor a drunken. Perhaps they must have thought the horse was blind because at one time the horse was brought with eyes covered to keep the horse cool while taking it to Patan.
