The story
Bhaktapur Gai Jatra in Bhaktapur
Gai Jatra, or Sa Paru, is a Newar festival honoring family members who died in the past year, celebrated in Bhaktapur with processions, cow-themed costumes, and, distinctively, tall cow-effigy structures carried by mourning families through the city's streets. It falls in the waning fortnight of Gunla, roughly August or September.
Gai Jatra, known by its Newar name Sa Paru or Saya, is a Nepalese festival celebrated mainly across the Kathmandu Valley by the Newar community in honor of relatives who died during the previous year.