Bhubaneswar, June 20: The chariots that would carry Lord Jagannath and his siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, are ready. Nearly 220 people worked on them day and night for about two months. For them, it is a labour of love and sacred duty.

It has always been so for them as their generations have been fashioning these giant vehicles. Bijaya Mahapatra, the chief carpenter of Nandighosha, the chariot of Lord Jagannath, says it is divine blessing that makes his job easy.

“What I experience during this period is Jagannath chetana (the awareness of Lord Jagannath being around) which is a state of pure bliss. This work is something we all enjoy to the fullest. And mind you, there is no restriction on food, barring on five days when the aagyan mala comes from the temple seeking our consent for the making of the chariots. On those five days we fast. Otherwise, after completing their work people can go and have fish curry,” he said.

According to Mahapatra, while wheels and other parts of the sacred carriages are made out of fresh wood every year, old figurines of horses and minor deities (parsva Devatas) are used but they are given a fresh coat of paint.

Mahapatra takes up the job of fashioning chariots only during rath yatra. Otherwise, he teaches music. “I love teaching music. It is my love for the Lord that inspires me to engage in chariot making at this time,” he said.

Such is the loyalty of these architects to Puri and its Sri Jagannath temple that they have turned down several proposals from other countries to make replicas of the chariots used during the rath yatra in Puri.

“We had an offer from Dhaka to make Puri-like chariots for a temple there. We denied saying that we cannot replicate it. We love our Lord. We have been blessed with the privilege of making his chariots. It is an emotional bond and a family tradition. How can we commercialise it?” said Mahapatra.