While the French town in Puducherry was lit up for the Bastille Day celebrations on Saturday, away from the boulevard area on Tindivanam Road, several Odia community members gathered at the Jagannath Temple to observe their annual tradition.
Starting early on Saturday morning, Pondicherry Utkal Samaj recreated the Jagannath Rath Yatra celebrations of Puri in Puducherry through a day-long rituals and cultural programmes.
Mangal Arati was performed at 6 a.m., followed by rosha homam, surya puja and dwarapala puja, khechudi bhoga and ratha pratisha. Subhash Chandra Parija, Director, Sri Venkateshwaraa Group of Institutions and President of Pondicherry Utkal Samaj said: “As part of the ritual, pahandi, idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabadra and Subhadra are taken from the main temple,” he said.
He added that the rath yatra is the most famous festival of Lord Jagannath which starts 15 days after ‘snana purnima.’
“The deities are supposed to fall sick with fever after a bath. When they are sick, the deities are not available for public darshan. The divine physician Dhanwantri treats them. They recover and go for convalescence to their aunt's place (the palace of the queen at Puri) for nine days. They travel in their chariots. During this sojourn, devotees can have darshan,” he said.
The ritual of drawing the chariot began at 5 p.m. when thousands of devotees in Puducherry offered their prayers. Following this, Ankita Das performed an Odissi dance.
Office bearers of Pondicherry Utkal Samaj Srikant Khatua and Kulamani Panigrahi were present.
