Kathmandu, Oct 22. The Nepali Army is going to organize the Phulpati Badhai ceremony on Friday at Sainik Manch in Tundikhel, Kathmandu. The day marks the seventh day of the 10-day festivity Dashain.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari, the supreme commander-in-chief of the Nepali Army, will grace the event as the chief guest while very limited high-ranking government officials would be attending the ceremony this year due to the risk of COVID-19.

This year the special parade will be held in a symbolic manner just to give continuity to this cultural and religious tradition, shared Nepali Army’s spokesperson Shantosh Ballave Poudyal.

Poudyal said that the parade would be held for around half an hour only and very limited activities would be showcased given the threat of COVID-19 spread.

Around 100 guests have been invited to watch the parade this year, who will have to mandatorily comply with the health safety protocols.

Historian Prof. Dr. Dinesh Raj Pant shared that the Phulpati Badhai has a long history attached to Durga Puja, the worship of Goddess Durga, during the Dashain festival.  According to Pant, the Phulpati Badhai being organized in Tundikhel in Kathmandu on the seventh day of Dashain every year dates back to the reign of King Prithivi Narayan Shah.