I like Indra jatra for its sheer wildness and primitive nature. Crowd, hustle and bustle, yelling, sweat, heat. Wild dance, ancient play, mask puja or some other weird thing taking place in one or the other corner of hanumandhoka, basantapur and toles surrounding them. You lose yourself and be part of that pulsating, swelling and about-to-burst crowd. Red-haired Lakhe, blue-haired sabha bakkhu, skeletal kankali-mankali, girant talankishi, rope-bound indra, white daagini (sort of pied-piper), chriot with ganesh, bhairav and kumari. Drunk and in-trance boys pulling chariot and yelling �hoste haise!� Girls, boys, villagers and awe-struck tourists on temple steps. King and cameras. Oil lamps, smart gorkha soldiers, musical bands. Dass avatar play on the steps of Shiv temple. Chirags lighted by sulphur powder. Painted faces of actors. Ancient box with tracing paper as foreground showing names of avatars. The whole jatra looks like one big primitive play in the middle of which you have landed yourself accidentally. Primitive� sensation over-dose and the adrenaline rush I won�t miss for anything� on 27 Sept.!!!!!! In a hurry� apologies for typos. SofT