Behind The Divine Mask

As I approached to Basantapur to take photos of my favorite festival Yenya Punhi (Indra Jatra). I got informed by my friend that we are allowed to go inside the Lakhey’s house. I got really excited and entered the house.

I witnessed many people helping and preparing for the rituals for the dance. At first, I count notice who was the man behind the Lakhey mask. Finally, I noticed ( LAXMAN RANJIT ) who is the man behind the mask. Offering prayers to the mask is very important before wearing or putting it on your body and I always wondered how all those energy comes inside the mask.

As I started to take photos of the man behind the Lakhey mask and I could totally see the changing of his behavior. Other devotees were helping him to get him dressed up. White turban on his head before he puts on the mask of Lakhey and Four men were holding him on both side I wondered why they were holding him either he couldn’t see anything or because of the vigor of the Red scary Lakhey mask which he was wearing.

Before he got out of the house he got offered some rituals. An oil lamp circling around his face and with it his body started to shake continuously with a great enthusiastic strength. I peeped out of the window and hundreds of people were waiting outside the house like fans waiting for their favorite celebrity. And once he got out of the lakhey house his energy burst out like a rupture of a volcano. People were shouting and screaming which even fueled his erupted energy.

Throughout this festival what I have noticed is that how a normal regular person can have changed into vigorous powerful demon or a god after wearing the centuries old dresses and the mask. I am sure that it was not only the power of the mask intact it was the power of the faith, believes, devotion and the responsibility to continue the culture that we have been following from hundreds and hundreds of years. And still it will be continue last and years ahead only if we understand and respect all those people behind the mask who are putting their great energy on it.