By Renuka Dhakal
Kathmandu, Aug 5: Gaijatra is an important festival for Nepali comedians. However, this year the Gaijatra special comedy has gone virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Reporters Club Nepal Tuesday organised a Gaijatra special programme on Tuesday in Kathmandu.
Gaijatra is a major festival of the Newar community. It is also a festival of cows. Satire and comedy are the essence of this festival, which is marked in memory of the deceased family members.
For artistes and comedians, this is one of the important festivals to show their comedy talents and make people laugh through their mickey, imitation and satire.
In the programme, many comedians, including Daman Rupakheti, Shailendra Simkhada, Shree Krishan Simkhada, Subodh Gautam, Laxman Gamnage, Shiva Shankar Rijal and Palpasa Dangol (Chamsuri) talked about Gaijatra and showed their short Gaijatra special comedy.
Comedian Daman Rupakheti said that he was saddened by the inability to celebrate Gaijatra this year and hoped that the festival could be marked without fear of coronavirus next year.
He also said that artistes are the jewels of the country, but he felt sorry when some Nepali artistes were unable to give answers to simple questions about Nepal. In particular, he targeted actress Pooja Sharma, who was unable to answer simple general knowledge questions. Likewise, veteran comedian Shailendra Simkhada said, “I have been performing in Gaijatra for the last 40 years and will continue this journey for 10 more years.”
When asked why the one-day Gaijaatra is more important while Gaijatra is being staged in the country on all 365 days, he said that the entire year's Gaijatra was incorrect and the one-day Gaijatra celebrated with various elements of comedy was real.
When asked why satires were mostly targeted at political leaders during Gaijatra, Shiva Shankar Rijal said that in other countries mockery of political leaders and system was minimum but in our context audience is updated with the political activities and they find parody connected with the ills of political sectors. According to historical evidence, Gaijatra festival was started by the then King Pratap Malla to soothe the mind of his wife who was mourning the untimely demise of her son.
In the programme, the comedians mimicked Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, NCP leader Puspa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, journalist Rishi Dhamala and various other Nepali leaders and recited parody poems.