Rath Yatra Celebrated with Fanfare

BY: SUN STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Jul 13, 2010 — JAGANNATHA PURI, ORISSA — It was the D-day for lakhs of Oriyas, who have unflinching faith in Jagannath, the reigning God of the state, and the universe. And they left no stone unturned to make the day memorable. The blazing sun failed to deter their indomitable spirit, and religious fervour reached a crescendo as devotees in hordes pulled the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra with great élan on Rath Yatra today.

Hymns, chants, slokas and traditional music created an atmosphere of spiritual ecstasy as the city erupted in joy to accompany the Deities, who headed towards Gundicha Temple (believed to be the birthplace of Jagannath) on a nine-day vacation.

From dawn, devotees started occupying their positions in and around the temple to witness the annual extravaganza. Notwithstanding wide coverage of the grand festival on several television channels, the inflow of pilgrims has not subsided.

For many, Rath Yatra is a ‘must watch' aspect of life. "Lord Jagannath is our reigning God. Being a staunch believer of Jagannath, I have been coming here since last four years. I am fortunate to be part of the Lord's sojourn," said Biswajit Padhy, a devotee from Balasore.

65-year-old Manasi Sahoo came all the way from Berhampur just to touch the chariots. Even though she had come last time, she failed to go near the chariots due to security obstacles. But she was the most happiest oldie today as she stole a chance to touch the Deities' chariots.

"I cannot express my feeling in words," she said as her eyes misted with joy. "Last time I had failed to touch the chariots. But today my son requested some policemen, who were kind enough to me. The policemen allowed me to go near the chariots," she told.

But lady luck did not smile on Harekrushna Pradhan (54), who came from Sakhigopal in Puri district. He had a tough time in viewing the Deities, who were almost overshadowed by a large number of priests onboard the chariots.

"I could not see the Deities properly. The idols were completely hidden behind the priests. I was really upset," Pradhan said in a somber mood.

Meanwhile Prakashnanda das, an ISKCON devotee from America, drew the attention of many by serenading before the chariots in gung-ho spirit. It was his maiden visit to Puri. "It was my long cherished dream to participate in Rath Yatra. I am grateful to the Lord that he fulfilled my wish," das said.

Tabuchi Hikoshi (53), a retired electrical engineer from Japan was elated to witness the festival for the first time. "In fact, I made my plan to visit Puri in July only, so that I could see Rath Yatra. I really liked the proceedings. The tradition and culture of Orissa is simply great," Hikoshi said.

He said he was initially a bit worried to venture into the crowd. "I had read in news about the reported molestation of some Japanese girls during Rath Yatra in 2008. I was a bit tense. But the hotelier sent his men with me for my safety. I enjoyed a lot," Hikoshi said.

The high point of Rath Yatra was ‘discipline'. All the rituals, including the chhera pahanra (sweeping of the chariot's decks) by the Puri King, was started and completed much before scheduled time today -- a trend rarely seen in living memory. "Yes, the rituals began and ended much before time. Credit goes to the priests. They cooperated with the district officials and police in conducting the rituals smoothly," said Temple Chief Administrator, Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra.

The temple's Public Relations Officer, Laxmidhar Pujapanda, confirmed that all three chariots reached Gundicha Temple before evening today. There were instances in the past when all the chariots had not reached the destination due to delays in chariot pulling. Pulling of chariots is usually stopped after sundown.

"But this year, the chariot pulling started much earlier and ended after cars reached Gundicha Temple, before sunset," said Pujapanda.

Puri SP, Sanjay Kumar said, "The festival was smooth, barring the tragic incident involving the death of an old woman in crowd". He denied it was a stampede.