On December 12, thousands of Hindu devotees came to the southeastern Nepali city of Janakpur to celebrate Bibaha Panchami, marking the day Ram and Sita got married.
But compared to past years, the celebration got more coverage this year because a former Indian Hindu priest turned politician Yogi Adityanath was the chief guest.
He was there to witness the reenactment of the marriage ceremony between Ram and Sita at the latter's hometown.
Yogi is often accused of anti- Muslim sentiments or of supporting far-right Hindu organisations.
He leads one of the most populous north- Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. His Nepali counterpart Lalbabu Raut, who leads the Nepali province that includes Janakpur, welcomed him at the airport.
Leaders of Rashtriya Janata Party - a local political party, greeted him at the temple. The country's main opposition party, the Nepal Congress had earlier questioned Yogi's visit, but some of its leaders were also present to welcome him.
Before being declared as a secular state in 2007, Nepal was known as the only Hindu Kingdom in the world. A year later, the country got rid of its King and became a republic.
Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of the Indian state Uttar Pradesh meets Nepal's former King, Gyanendra Source: Twitter
Yogi has been a supporter of Nepal becoming a Hindu monarchy once again and last year had met Nepal's former King, Gyanendra in the Indian city of Lucknow.
After attending a prayer ceremony at Janaki temple, the Indian Chief Minister addressed the crowd saying he had come to Nepal carrying warm wishes and greetings from the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Diplomats say Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past has shown preference towards Janakpurdham. Earlier reports had suggested that Mr Modi would be the chief guest at the ceremony.
''Nepal has entered a new phase of good governance and inclusive development, there are so many ways we could help,'' he said.
He also talked about the cultural similarity between Nepal and India and how common faith linked people of both the countries.
"The importance of connectivity between the two countries will help the economic and social development of Nepal", he said.
Yogi's visit has been described as 'religious diplomacy' by the Nepali media. His visit, not long after the Indian Prime Minister Modi's visit to the city has a deeper meaning, say political analysts.
Source: RSS/Ajaykumar Sah
But foreign affairs experts also say that the phrase 'connectivity' is actually aimed at connecting two emerging powers in the region- India and China using Nepal's territory.
It remains to be seen whether Yogi's visit will aid make some inroads towards connectivity, something the Indian Prime Minister has repeated many times during his visit to Nepal as well.
The Nepali tourism industry is hoping that the visit from the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh to mark the celebration will help boost increase religious tourism in the region.
Who are Sita and Ram?
In an ancient Hindu epic of Ramayana, Prince Ram of Ayodhya marries Princess Sita from Janakpur. But instead of "living happily ever after", the couple, along with Rama's brother Laxman, are forced in an exile for fourteen years.
Religious texts address Ram as an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu and Sita as an avatar of goddess Laxmi.
The city of Ayodhya is now located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, and Janakpur is in Nepal.
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