Khokana is a stunning Newar town in Kathmandu, located in the south of the Kathmandu Valley. It is 25 minutes away from Bungamati town towards the west course. This Newar town is predominantly for the development of mustard seed and items like mustard oil. We can see a ton of rice terraces here. The lifestyle of the Newar people is here. The Rudrayani asylum has a stunning plan with its pagoda style.
The solitary opposite of this asylum is that there is a goat killing lake, and dependably they celebrate a festival that is standard in here. Khokana will be amassed by people when the feast offers to throw the goat into the lake, and pull through different people and they murder them. This is the representative clash of the power of this inhabitant. Nowadays, they have changed the killing game plan of the goat and simply kill the goat in the lake with a sink. Another Sikali festival has been celebrated since 1206 AD.
In this festival, the resident celebrates by worshipping the goddess Indrayani. Khokana is the social explorer town where visitors can observe the rigorous practices, advancement of designs, Newar way of life, open latrines, agro-industry, artificial lakes, clothing, history, wells and rest houses. Neighborhood wine, Newari food and red virus are celebrated here. We can simply see ducks here and see no chickens here. The view of enveloping climbs is so great.
Khokana – History
The essential Rudrayani asylum is said to have been developed by King Amara Malla in the fifteenth century, and as such the town of Khokana emerged. It is said that the Maharjans and Dangols of Pachali Bhairav have moved to present the space of Khokana, as shown by various similarities in the lifestyles and shows of the people of the two regions. It is said that King Amar Malla established the asylum of Rudrayani to remedy scourges that used to spread in archaic events. Moreover, he named the settlement as Sitapur.
Khokana was a special city for oil pressing. The town is the first to be lit by the Pharping Hydropower in the prime minister’s hour Chandra Shamsher. Rudrayani Madhyamik Vidyalaya is the most populated school in Nepal after Durbar High School. Before the improvement of the passable road through Pharping, people used to walk around this town to reach the safe place Dakshinkali.
Sikali Jatra is celebrated by a section of the ethnic Newar social class living in Khokana, an archaic Newari heritage town in the southern part of the Kathmandu Valley. The residents, practicing Hindus anyway, do not perceive Dashain. Instead of Dashain, they prefer to follow the clear Sikali Jatra. The five-day festival is dedicated to the goddess Shikali, who is called “Ajima” or Mother Goddess in every case.
Hidden movements following tantric traditions are performed by artisans dressed in beautiful garments amid the festival. The artisans address 14 celestial creatures and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. A wooden chariot bearing the symbol of Goddess Rudrayani is taken through the streets of the city and finally stops in front of the Shikali Temple, which is arranged on a rich slope just outside the city. The motorcade, driven by Newar clergymen in their white pageantry robes, sees the speculation of sweethearts from Khokana and different parts of the Kathmandu Valley. The retreat is surrounded by magnificent views of the Chandragiri and Champa Devi, Kirtipur and Chobar mountains.
Regardless of the fact that now Khokana shows up basically another torpid development city, it was once seen as a state of the art area. It guarantees the sophistication of being the essential place in Nepal to get electricity in 1911 AD, in the middle of the standard of Chandra Shamsher Rana.
The town is known for the age of mustard oil and its traditional oil pressers. Khokana used to supply mustard oil to Kathmandu valley. Its reputation dissolved after the market was flooded with oil produced by clubs at cheaper prices. The traditional oil presses that were pre-substance of this town were shut down one by one and now they are clustered together.
Fortified with standard houses, the altogether gotten streets lead free of Khokana to the broad three-layered pagoda asylum of Shree Rudrayani at the point of convergence of the town. The shelter is focused on the female sign of Lord Shiva. Near the shelter is the standard lake known as ‘De Pukhu’, the site of another wonderful festival in this city. Known as “Goat Festival”, it is praised in the middle of “Gai Jatra” celebrations and involves youngsters searching for a goat in the lake.
Khokana – some interesting facts
There is a captivating story about how ‘Khokana’ got its name. The word ‘Khokana’ comes from the Newari word ‘Khona’ which means ‘telling while crying’. As the legend goes, a Maharjan priest of Pachali Bhairav Kathmandu fainted in the face of a high cool fever. He was then made to depend on Bagmati River for cremation.