Puri, July 26: Bhramara Jena, 50, and his wife Bini, 40 have a divine bond with bahuda yatra. They have not missed a single yatra for the last 20 years.

The couple hail from a small village near Satasankha and make the 30km journey to Puri every year to sell their wares - diyas (earthen lamps) and cotton wicks and ghee (clarified butter) - to devotees. More than a business, the couple see it as a service.

The bahuda yatra is a painful moment for them. "On the first day of the car festival, only Lord Balabhadra came and his two siblings came the next day. We were happy when the rituals started here near the Gundicha temple. But today, when the return journey began, we felt a sense of loss. The eight-day long association with the deities has come to an end. It really hurts,'' they said.

"It is a special attraction of the city, especially this place called Saradhabali that brings us here, irrespective of weather conditions. We have been here always without fail, but this Nabakalebar was not as rewarding as the car festival last year. I was hoping for something extraordinary in return, but it never happened,'' said Bhramara.

Every year, the couple sells diyas worth Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,500 each day during the festival. This year sales dropped to around Rs 500 to Rs 600 a day. "During the yatra, we sold diyas worth around Rs 800 to Rs 900. But, after the rain started, our income dropped," said Bini.

Tight security measures also took a toll on income as the swelling crowd forced police to stop the sale of diyas to prevent any mishap.

"The police came and, at times, destroyed diyas if they were being sold close to the crowd,'' said Bhramara.

The couple, however, praised the cops for doing their duty to ensure security. "We are not complaining, but the strict measures meant we did not get as much as we had expected from an occasion like this. The crowd, too, was not as big as had been expected. We did not notice any significant change in the size of the gathering,'' he said.

SNIPPETS

Kiosk shelter

The information centres and other kiosks set up by government agencies, private bodies and voluntary organisations around the Gundicha temple turned into shelter hubs for the bahuda yatra. Every time it rained, devotees were seen scampering under the polythene roofs of these structures. The officials present at the centres were also helpful and made space for the devotees in the centres.

Clean beach

Thanks to the beach cleaning drive done by the tourism department, the Puri beach is wearing a clean look. Around 195 personnel from Jagruti, an agency, have been working three shifts a day before the bahuda yatra to keep the beach clean.