So Katrina and I had to opportunity of a lifetime to go and see Rath Yatra in Puri. Essentially Rath Yatra is a Hindu festival that celebrates the Lord Jagganath, his brother Balarama, and his sister Subhadra. The Jagganath Temple in Puri is one of the the most sacred places in Orissa for Hindus and people of certain Hindu sects are required to make a pilgrimage there once in their lifetime.
Jagganath Temple
JMany people live out their entire lives without seeing the car festival but Mrs. Singhdeo surprised Katrina and I the night before and told us her father, Papa Rai, organizes a bus every year to Puri for Rath Yatra typically for people of his generation and asked if we wanted to go we could. We deliberated for about .2437 seconds and obviously accepted.
We met Papa Rai at 5:45 so we could walk to the bus, where seats are first come first serve. I have to say I am in awe of the lengths mature people will go to in order to secure a seat for themselves. Katrina and I both tried several times to get up and offer our seats to others who required them more than us for the two hour ride but as I have heard repeatedly, guest is king. Ultimately they brought plastic chairs on to the bus and placed them in the aisle so everyone could fit. I have to say besides the sardine effect, this was one of the most enjoyable bus rides of my life. Everyone was jubilant, singing songs and chanting, and we were provided copious amounts of Sprite and Thums Up (tastes sort of like Coke but 10 times sweeter).
We arrived outside of Puri, about 8 km, and had to hire an auto-rickshaw to take us into the city because traffic control was so tight. Once we went as far as the vehicle could take us we had about a 2km walk to the building that we were going to view the festival from. They streets were insane. Puri is generally a pretty quiet city but before we got there Papa Rai explained to us that over 10 lakh (1 million) people will be there.
Approaching Jagganath Temple
ANon-Hindus are forbidden to enter the temple save for Rath Yatra. However, we did not go in due to the sheer amount of people and we also wanted to get to our building before the crowds got too large. There were hundreds ans hundreds of policemen and volunteers lining the streets to make sure people did not get out of line or too rowdy. As such, we could not take the direct route to where we were going to spend the day and had to travel around the temple and back out on to the main street. It was so hot and everywhere I turned someone was shoving me, trying to push past, or sell me something. Luckily Papa Rai and his elder cousin were with us to shove people trying to take pictures of us out of the way, you could say they were our personal body guards.
On the walk around the temple
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When we finally reached the building we were ushered up to the top floor and given front row seats to watch the chariot procession. At about 9 am we were given chai and a breakfast of puri (sort of like dense, fried tortillas) and potatoe and lentil masala. For the next few hours we communicated in broken Oriya and English with the others who had come on the bus with us and watched the masses of people. It was estimated for the Rath Yatra 15 lakh (1.5 million) people came. Just standing over the balcony and watching the throngs of people was as if we were truly observing a sea of humanity.
After we were given our lunch the chariots began to make their way down the street. Both policemen and devotees help to pull the chariots that are about 45 feet high, each chariot carrying the three separate deities, with Lord Jagganath bringing up the rear. The chariots are ornately decorated with bright canopies and many people ride on the chariots who, from what I could see, were usually young boys to middle aged men. While the chariots were being pulled down the street people were chanting, singing and dancing in the Bada Danda or the Grand Avenue. The chariots were pulled about 2 km and stopped at Gundicha Temple where their Aunt lives. After 9 days the chariots are then pulled back to their temple.
Just a glimpse at how many people were there
If we thought getting into Puri was difficult it was about 10 times harder trying to find an auto-rickshaw out. It had also started pouring during the pulling of the Jagganath temple so the streets were getting water-logged and everything was soaked. When we finally found a rickshaw the driver tried to cheat us but Papa Rai set him straight. Evidently, and understandably, all of the vendors, hotel and rickshaw drivers jack up their prices during the festival so as to take advantage of all the incoming devotees. We finally made it back to the bus where we had a much needed rest and pleasant drive back to Bhubaneswar.
Although it is extremely sad but also surprising, only one person died at Rath Yatra this year in Puri due to stampeding. I think Katrina and I both were expecting that there might be a few more casualties just because of the sheer number of people present for the event. Also an interesting side note, evidently there are Rath Yatras held all over the world in hundreds of different cities including New York City, London, and Antwerp. I am surprised that I have only heard of this festival since my first visit to Orissa.
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