For eight wild, magical and sometimes disconcerting days each September the great festival of Indrajatra turns Katmandu into a raucous celebration.
A living goddess rides a massive thundering chariot through narrow streets crammed with worshippers. A god battles demons by turns fierce and comical. A white elephant careens through a crowd that laughs even as their heads get knocked.
Young men jostle to drink beer spewing from a god's huge white-fanged mouth. The ferocious red-maned demon Lakhe dances through the streets with upraised sword, scaring the pants off every kid in town.