Sikkim's Newar community reveres Lord Indra in vibrant Indrajatra celebration

Indrajatra a festival of the Newar community which is one of the ethnic communities that prevails in Sikkim was celebrated across Sikkim with full enthusiasm.  Indra jatra celebration at Gangtok By Sikkim Newar Guthi. On this occasion the Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang attended the event as chief guest along with other dignitaries present in the program.  

The celebration also saw the Kumari Puja which is an important Puja for the day. Sikkim Newa Gutthi organised the Gangtok celebration. Various dance troupes, who were part of the Indrajatra celebration presented cultural dances at the event.

Indra Jatra or “Yenya” is the biggest festival for the Nepalese “NEWAR” community in Sikkim and is celebrated with much fanfare throughout the state. Named after the Hindu God of Rain and also the King of Heaven, Lord Indra, the festival’s prime objective is to seek his blessings in the form of rains and showers. Huge chariot processions accompanied with eclectic drum beats, masked dance performances and various classical dance performances are the integral elements of this vibrant festival that takes the streets of Gangtok in great awe of its cultural harmony. Needless to say, for cultural aficionadas, sociologists and anthropologists, this is one of the best times to plan their trip to Sikkim and other parts of North East.

The legend of the festival goes back to the Vedic times when Lord Indra was imprisoned by the people of Kathmandu Valley, after having him caught stealing the rare and fragrant ‘Parijat Flowers’ from the valley for his mother. It is then when the people realized who he actually was, they released him and promised to dedicate one of the most colourful festivals to him, also in return requesting him to visit the valley every year, thereby blessing it with rains and prosperity.

While it is pre-dominantly a Nepalese festival, it is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm by the Nepalese Newar Gutthi community in Sikkim too and was introduced here in the year 2000 followed by its declaration as the state holiday in 2011.
The legend of the festival goes back to the Vedic times when Lord Indra was imprisoned by the people of Kathmandu Valley, after having him caught stealing the rare and fragrant ‘Parijat Flowers’ from the valley for his mother. It is then when the people realized who he actually was, they released him and promised to dedicate one of the most colourful festivals to him, also in return requesting him to visit the valley every year, thereby blessing it with rains and prosperity.

While it is pre-dominantly a Nepalese festival, it is celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm by the Nepalese Newar Gutthi community in Sikkim too and was introduced here in the year 2000 followed by its declaration as the state holiday in 2011.
Indra Jatra is one of the biggest festivals celebrated with much fanfare by the Newar community and is celebrated to pay tribute to Lord Indra and seek his blessings for a good harvest for the devotees.