Devotees pull Nandighosha through the waterlogged Grand Road on Thursday. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Puri, July 11: The rath yatra is also a place where you can buy unique items from vendors who congregate here from all over the country at this time of the year.

Rajini, a 55-year-old hawker, has brought different varieties of rudrakshya, a special bead used for prayers, from Maharashtra. She is here with a group of 150 members from Maharashtra who know that devotees who gather here from across the country like to pick from her collection.

“I have been coming here for the past 12 years and every year, we have observed that the sale is 10 times higher than the rest of the year. The rudrakshya we sell is of very good quality. We bring the most popular varieties such as the ekamukhi, do mukhi and teenmukhi beads. Sales are really high,” said Rajini.

The group from Maharashtra stay for 10 days during rath yatra. But selling her wares is not the only reason Rajini and her group members are here for rath yatra. “We also take part in the festivities and make sure to have a darshan of Lord Jagannath,” she said.

Like the Marathis, there are also orange and lime juice sellers from Haryana and Punjab, who come here ever year. All the way from Gujarat, hawkers come here to sell toys and accessories for religious rituals. Miniatures of Lord Jagannath are another popular item sold by people from Bihar, while hawkers from Andhra Pradesh sell bangles.

“It is an auspicious time of the year. We believe our business will do well with the Lord’s blessings,” said Paramjit Singh, a juice seller from Punjab. They are here in a group of 40 and have set up their kiosks near the Gundicha temple. “Until the day before rath yatra, we settle near the Gundicha. But for the convenience of commuters and chariot pulling, we usually move towards the bus stand later,” he said.

Local residents and regular rath yatra visitors wait for the vendors. “We usually go to other states to buy authentic rudrakshysa beads. But since the sellers from Maharashtra offer us great quality beads for a good deal, we eagerly await their visit during the festival every year,” said Kunjalata Patra, a local resident.

Vendors from outside the state sell their wares in Puri on Thursday. Picture by Sarat Patra