Sirahaq, Nov. 5 -- The annual "Bhoot Mela" or the Ghost Fair has convened on the embankments of the Kamala River in Nepal on Wednesday, with thousands of people attending the fair.

The river that serves as a boundary between the Dhanusha and Siraha Districts was crowded with devotees performing rituals from early morning, marking the occasion of Kartik Purnima.

According to traditional beliefs, bathing in the Kamala River on Kartik Shukla Purnima is said to ward off evil spirits, appease deities, and alleviate various afflictions. Shamans perform rituals for ancestral spirits and deities on this day, giving the event its name, the "Bhoot Mela."

The religious chanters move their bodies and spin their heads in response to the beats of th...