Stella Grasso: जात्रा – Jatra

“I visualize sound.

I hear the visible.

fragrance I taste.

and the ethereal is palpable to me.”

Laxmi Prasad Devkota

As soon as I reached the last of the 365 stone steps leading to Swayambhunath (The Monkey Temple) and looked up at the “Buddha Eyes” and all the way down at the Kathmandu Valley stretching at the foot of the hill, I had a vivid déjà-vu, a very strong feeling …like I had been there before, and the longer I walked around the Stupa the more intense that sensation was.

All seemed so familiar, it was strange but I wasn’t scared… I was in peace, calm and comfortable,

I was back home.  Well…and home it became! After that first visit of two months, one year later I moved to Nepal. I spent two years living in the heart of the old Newari town of Patan, getting lost in, then familiar with its narrow alleys and the smell of incense and flowers for the pujas.

I loved the country and bonded with its people immediately, tried to learn their language and costumes. I made deep connections and true friends. I met teachers, or better…gurus… who guided me at the discovery of their rich culture. I was lucky enough to participate in traditional festivals, ceremonies, weddings, funerals, family gatherings…like a local, welcomed as another member of a very large family.

Here I share my journey with a selection of images from the series: जात्रा – Jatra, taken in the World Heritage sites of Patan and Backtapur and in the ancient rural villages of Kohkana and Sankhu, indigenous Newar settlements on the outskirts of Kathmandu Valley.

I was there ,medium format expired film loaded on my old twin lens Mamiya ,absorbed into the crowd of the “Jatras”(Traditional Nepali Festivals), recording all in black and white .

The main ones, like Indra Jatra and then Sikali Jatra/Khona Jatra  happen between the pick / end of monsoon season and the beginning / middle of rainy season;Ganta Karna takes place during the month of Shrawan (July/August) marking the last day of the rice transplant; then the Indus Swasthani Purnima ceremony , not forgetting the big festivities of  Dashain and Tihar.

Those days are filled with big celebrations, family reunions, typical food ,traditional costumes, unique worshiping practices,sacrifices,devotional pilgrimages, purifying baths, religious performances, tantric rituals and tribal dances . A spectacular carousel of colours, incense, flowers, candles where Folklore merges with the sacred and the mystic…just magic!

A heartfelt Thank You to my Nepali “Godfather” and “alternative photography Guru “Jagadish Upadhya together with my dear friends and brilliant artists Abhishek Shah,Rupesh Man Singh and all members of the awesome collective Film Foundry; without them I would have never witnessed what I am sharing with you in this book and I couldn’t  have had access to supplies, tools, facilities and to that Alchemy Space that is THE DARKROOM.

धन्यवाद

NOTES: All photos are from 120mm black and white negatives of film self-processed in the darkroom with home-mixed chemicals.