Durga Prasad Das, a law graduate, prefers to dance before the Lord during rath yatra and has been doing it for the past 21 years.

"For me, no love is greater than the love for Lord Jagannath. I will teach Odissi to my two daughters and see that they perform the dance in Puri," said Das, 38, an Odissi dancer by profession. "I find dance to be more satisfying than practising law at the court. Here one can get chance to explore himself and understand the meaning of life."

He has been performing Odissi during rath since his younger days. "When the deities come out of the 12th century shrine and are placed atop the chariots, I perform in the procession. I lack words to describe my feelings at that moment," said Das.

Defying the scorching heat, yesterday Das had danced for nearly eight hours before the chariots. Today, he performed for two hours when the chariots reached the Gundicha temple. "The entire stretch from the Shree Jagannath temple to the Gundicha shrine is 2.5km. But, I never feel tired while performing dance before my Lord," he said.

Das, a disciple of Odissi dancer Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra and Ashok Das, said he aspired to become an Odissi dancer after watching people dancing in front of Lord Jagannath during rath yatra and almost wept. "Lord is the manifestation of love. He binds all with his prem. After watching people dancing before Him, I decided to become a dancer."

He continued performing in dance shows on the stage. But, dancing before the Lord and, that too, in presence of more than 10 lakh people is something different. "When I perform before Him, I feel a strong bonding with my Lord. There is no relationship holier or more beautiful than this. This sense of feeling gives me the required strength to perform before Him."

The dancer said he was maintaining his livelihood by teaching Odissi to 17 students.

"Puri is a small town and a close knit society. Every one knows each other. When there is a marriage, people invite me for bridal make up. By doing this, I also earn a good amount of money. This is enough to sustain me," he said.

Das said his wife Annapurna was very supportive and proud of his dance. "When I get dressed up for a performance, she gets very happy. That shows her belief in me and it gives me confidence," he said.

The dancer said he did not expect any financial help from the temple administration. "Money has never been an issue with me," he said.