The glitz, glamour and opulence with which rath yatra is celebrated every year have made it one of the most extravagant festivals in India. Gigantic chariots, intricate artworks and the display of gold mesmerise visitors from all over the globe.

Over a thousand Jagannath sevayats devote their time, energy and labour to conduct a successful and pious rath yatra.

However, the labour and months of hard work of many of these servitors of the divine are often ignored or treated with nonchalance.

These sevayats get little in return, but their devotion and love for Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra has tied them with the festival for generations.

Three different chariots are crafted for the three Lords. Each chariot has its unique dimensions.

Narasingha Mahapatra, maharana of the Taladhwaja chariot (of Lord Balabhadra), takes care of the Herculean task of looking after the dimensions of the rath. It is his duty to ensure that the rath is exactly 44 feet high, has a diameter of seven feet and has 14 wheels.

“It is a strenuous job requiring tremendous responsibility. I have to make sure that every foot and inch of the chariot is accurate, the quality of work is intact as previous years and that the artworks are done properly. I have to go through every detail. It is demanding, but for the Lord I can gladly do anything. There are around 80 people working just on the chariot,” said Mahapatra.

The next thing that catches the visitor’s eye, apart from the chariot, are the complicated woodworks and elaborate artworks engraved or painted on the chariots.

Figurines of lions, tigers and various other animals are engraved all over the chariot accessorised by vibrant paintings of flora and fauna. Around 22 people are involved in this massive designing work.

“I have built the sarathis (chariot rider) for the chariot with my own hands. We mostly use enamel colour for painting. It is difficult to explain how honoured I feel when I see my sarathis during the yatra,” said Purnachandra Mahapatra, a sevayat of Lord Jagannath.

There is a separate section for the production of nuts and bolts used for the chariot, called the kamar seva.

Generations of this section of sevayats have devoted their skills of blacksmithing to prepare the metal fittings of the chariots.

Dasarathi Maharana and Kedarnath Maharana, experts of the iron works, begin this sacred work from Akshay Tritia, two months before rath yatra and continue till Netra Utsav.

“Around 70-80 types of pins are used in the three chariots. The amount of iron used is about 3-4 tonnes. Apart from nuts and bolts, we also make inner ring, outer ring, lock, inner ring lock, L-shaped clamp, U-shaped clamp.

“Every year about 20-30 per cent of these fittings are re-used,” said Dasarathi Maharana.

The three Lords are adorned with gold ornaments and flowers.

Experts residing in Balisahi craft these ornaments. More than 50 labourers work 24X7 to embellish the Lords with fine jewel and ornaments.

Visitors notice the gigantic chariots and the charming Lords, but many of the sevayats who carry on the expertise of their forefathers in preparing the grand event, remain forever in the background.