Kathmandu, Aug 14 - Two years after one of Nepal's Living Goddesses -- the Kumaris -- was sacked by her priests for travelling to the US, another Kumari will make her appearance in the Indian city Kolkata next month to keep a date with her counterpart, Devi Durga, the Hindu goddess of power.
However, the September appearance of the Kumari in Kolkata's Manoharpukur area will not ruffle traditionalists.
Nepal Tourism Board and Nepal's consulate in Kolkata have welcomed the move as a means to strengthen the cultural and religious ties between the two countries as well as help the Nepal government meet its target of wooing one million tourists in 2011.
The Tridhara Sammilani Club in Kolkata, established in 1947, the year India became independent, is one of the major organisers of the Durga Puja in the city, choosing a different cultural theme every year.
'This year, they are focusing on Nepal,' Nepal's consul-general in Kolkata Suresh Man Shrestha told IANS.
Nepal's historic, cultural and religious landmarks will be displayed in the puja pandal in Manoharpukur for a week from Sep 22, when the Durga Puja celebrations start.
One of the major attractions will be the spectacle of a young girl dressed up as Kumari, wearing a replica of the traditional crown the Living Goddess wears with a third eye painted on her forehead.
The Kumari will be kept company by a towering statue of Bhupatindra Malla, the 17th century king whose dynasty once held sway over Kathmandu valley and initiated the worship of the Kumari as the protector of the royal family.