The Utkal Sanskrutika Samaj, a socio-cultural organisation of Odias residing in Visakhapatnam, has made elaborate arrangements for organising this year’s annual Jagannath Rath Yatra Festival on 1 July 2022. After a gap of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Samaj is reviving the nine-day celebration.
The colourful procession of the chariot carrying the deities of Lord Jagannath, Sister Subhadra and Brother Balabhadra (Balarama) will be taken out from the Jagannath Temple Complex at Daspalla Hills (near All India Radio) to Gundicha Ghar, the aunt’s place of Lord Jagannath near Shanti Ashram.
The Jagannath Rath Yatra is expected to attract people from all walks of life to offer their prayers, said the President of the Visakhapatnam Utkal Samaj, JK Nayak.
The journey of the chariot will commence from the main temple at Daspalla Hills to the Gundicha Temple located in Lawsons Bay Colony passing through Children’s Arena, Millennium Bunk, Andhra University Gate, Chinna Waltair, VUDA Park and Shanti Ashram. The deities will be decorated with Tulsi leaves on Thursday evening which is known as Tulasi Vesha/Besha as per the customs followed in the world-famous Puri Temple.
On the afternoon of July 1, the deities will be taken out from the sanctum sanctorum to the chariot in a ritual called Pahandi Bije, after the traditional Chhera Pahanra (cleaning of the chariot) by Lal Saheb Pramod Bhanja Deo, member of erstwhile Daspalla royalty.
The deities will have their sojourn in the Gundicha Temple and will come back to the main temple, which is called Bahuda Yatra (Return Yatra). Ethnic delicacies such as Poda Pitha, Chhena Poda and traditional Odia food will be offered as prasad during the nine-day festival. JK Nayak and General Secretary Bimal Kumar Mahanta urged the devotees to attend the chariot-pulling ceremony and later in the daily rituals at the Gundicha Ghar in large numbers.
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