Braving the unbearable humidity, a group of seven visitors from Italy has come down to Puri to experience the grandeur of the rath yatra. This is their first visit to Odisha and hence they are eager to see the spectacle about which they have heard so much.

“I have seen many festivals in other states. But I have heard this festival is different as the immensely popular and loved deity comes out to meet people. It sounds very interesting!” said Valentina, the only one to speak English fluently.

The group will be visiting Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb and the royal family in Puri and will also be viewing the proceedings of the festival from the terrace of the royal palace.

“It is very kind of the royal family to have helped us be seated on the terrace. In the rush of lakhs and in such humidity, we are glad to be getting the view from such an exclusive vantage point,” Valentina said.

Accompanied with her friends Fabiana, Maurizio, Andrea, Mimmi, Pietro and Maurizio II, the group (picture above) is here to understand Indian culture and explore the humanitarian sides of the country. “We are from Sicily and follow a social movement there called ‘Orlismo’.

People following it believe in weaving their own cloth and cooking their own food. Pietro has a big farm and we grow vegetables there and cook for ourselves. It is our effort to be united as friends and work towards depending on natural elements,” said Valentina.

The group of friends, who are in their 40s and above, are happy to have come to Odisha. “We first visited Bhubaneswar and while shopping one of us left our credit card there. It was fantastic to see how the shopkeeper made an effort to find out our guide’s phone number from other people there who know him and came to us to return it,” she said. “We all were very moved!” When it comes to rath yatra, they said they were not burdened with huge expectations.

“We will just be there to see the colourful chariots and the great festival of the sibling deities. Everything, from the crowd to the pulling of chariots, sounds exciting. We are looking forward to the experience,” said Valentina, conveying the feeling of her friends. Apart from the festival, the beach and shopping handloom is on the itinerary of the visitors.

“We feel very safe in India and if our experience of Odisha remains the same, we will be delighted to visit once every year, most likely during rath yatra,” said the Italian tourist.