Nepalese villages celebrate "cursing festival"

Young residents from villages of Parsawa and Laxmipur hurled insults at each other, their neighbours and passers-by just for a good laugh.

The locals gathered in parks and other public areas around straw arranged in the shape of a phallus and let the insults fly.

Insults vary from the milder "Monkey face, I hope your sons are as ugly as frogs," through "I hope your buffaloes die of diarrhea," to more obscene curses.

Elderly residents say the annual festival, targeting youngsters, has been held for as long as they can remember.

"The best thing about this tradition is after the festival is over, everyone feels good about each other. There are no bad feelings," 78-year-old Ram Kumar Mishra, of Parsawa, said.