Days of Himalaya Documentaries - On The Road With The Red God: Machhendranath

SYNOPSIS

The Rato Machhendranath is the God who has power over rain and is also known as Karunamaya, the God of mercy. The Buddhists identify him with Lokeshwar. The festival is celebrated by constructing a chariot (rath in Nepali) with a long steeple made of wood. This chariot is then moved about from place to place often taking more than a month to reach its final destination before it is returned to its resting place.

On the Road with the Red God: Machhendranath is a multiple award-winning film directed by Kesang Tseten. Every 12 years, impassioned devotees pull a 65-feet tall unwieldy chariot, its rider an enigmatic god, on a month-long journey through the Kathmandu Valley. The enterprise calls for extreme cooperation and rigorous observance of ritual in the building, sanctification and pulling of the chariot. But the jatra (festival) is an arena of gritty reality, where participants vie for everything from a share of ritual meat to status and proximity to the god. The chariot teeters, as does the community, between chaos and order, conflict or solidarity. Thus, every 12 years, the same question: will the journey succeed?

Special Jury Award, Slovenia Mountain Film Festival, 2007
Grand Prize at the Kendal Mountain Film Festival, UK, 2006
Special Mention, Bilan du Film Etnographique, Paris, 2006
Adjudged documentary of the decade by Nepal Motion Pictures