One interesting element of the Gai Jatra dates back to the reign of King Pratap Malla. The Royal couple had lost a son and the Queen was inconsolable. The King announced that whoever could make his Queen smile again would be well rewarded. During the festival the procession passed in front of the Queen and the participants took to ridiculing and lampooning important society people. They mimicked social injustices and other evil acts of the state mercilessly. The Queen was amused by their antics and could not stop smiling. From that time onwards a tradition of jokes, satire, mockery and tom-foolery have persisted.