Devotees pull chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra at Courtpeta in Berhampur and (top) women pull Goddess Subhadra’s chariot at Chandni Chowk in Cuttack on Wednesday. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das and Gopal Krishna Reddy

Cuttack

The car festival was observed on Wednesday amid police security here.

Around 10 platoons of police were deployed during the celebrations at Haripur-Dolmundai, Chandni Chowk and other parts of the city.

“Adequate security and traffic arrangements were made for smooth conduct of the rath yatra at Chandni Chowk and Dolmundai, while similar arrangements will also be made for the Bahuda and suna besha,” said a senior police official.

Devotees in large numbers pulled the chariots of three deities — Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra — at Dolmundai, where the annual has been followed since 1962.

“Rath yatra is grandly celebrated here while devotees attend the celebrations that continue till return of the deities,” said Bulu Pradhan, a member of the Dolmundai Jagannath temple.

Pradhan said the temple management would organise cultural programmes on the occasion.

“Devotees have attended the rath yatra and arrangements were made to ensure all the rituals and traditions at the temporary structure inside the Gundicha temple complex,” said secretary of the Chandni Chowk Jagannath Temple Management Committee Bhikari Das.

According to the tradition, the deities used to be taken on a nine-day sojourn to Gundicha temple since 2000.

“We are happy that there was no deviation in the rituals,” said Basudev Mohapatra, a devotee. He said the yatra symbolised unity and brotherhood.

Various youth associations also observed rath yatra by pulling miniature chariots at other parts of the city.

Kendrapara

The rath yatra was observed in Tulashi Kshetra, the abode of Lord Baldevjew, who is the presiding deity of this natural calamity-prone coastal district.

The chariot, carrying the three deities, strode majestically on Grand Road as thousands of devotees pulled the chariot amid tight security.

A large turnout of women devotees came forward to pull the chariot.

Keeping in tune with local tradition, striding chariot came to an abrupt halt midway on its march towards the Mausi Maa temple — the deities’ temporary abode. Unlike Puri Jagannath’s chariot journey, the yatra here is a two-day affair.

“The chariot marches for two days as Baldevjew, being the Lord Jagannath’s elder brother, holds an exalted place than His more famous younger brother. That’s why Tulashi Kshetra’s chariot is not only taller than that in Puri, but also larger in its circumference and width than the Puri rath,” said researcher Basudev Das.

Berhampur

Some devotees of Lord Jagannath have produced an audio compact disc (CD) in Telugu titled Jai Jagannadha which has got good response from the Telugu-speaking people in Odisha and outside.

“This is for the first time that a CD has come out on Lord Jagannath in Telugu and I think that the Telugu-speaking people in Odisha and the people in Andhra Pradesh would appreciate it,” said D.V. Brahmam, a city resident, who has produced the CD.

Seven songs depicting suna besha, Hera Panchami, rath yatra and Dasabatara has been placed in the CD besides a few bhajans. Neelima of Berhampur, Ramu of Chennai, Satish and Ram Mohan Rao of Srikakulam have sung the devotional songs.

B. Prasad Rao of Berhampur composed five of the songs and one each by Somayajula Murty of Chennai and Srirangam Jogi of Visakhapatnam. Brahmam of Ragatarangini in Berhampur has composed the music. These songs were recorded at Sangeet Sagar Studio in Berhampur and Aalayaa Studio in Chennai.

“Me and my friend K. Kedarnath have spent more than Rs 1 lakh to produce the CD,” said Brahmam. Co-producer of the CD Kedarnath said that though Puri Jagannath dham was one of the four dhams, there were no devotional songs on Lord Jagannath in Telugu. “Ours effort is just a beginning,” he said. Two years ago, Brahmam had produced a CD Amma Majhi Gouramma in Telugu. I expect a positive response for Jai Jagannadha, he said.

Yatra on Telugu channels

Many Telugu news channels in Andhra Pradesh aired live telecast of the Puri rath yatra on Doordarshan and Odiya Regional channel.

“Almost all the Telugu private TV news channels, including CVR, Studio-N, N-TV, TV-5, MAA-TV, TV-9 and Sakshi TV, relayed the yatra on DD national and Odia regional channel at short interval during their regular news telecast,” said Sachidanda Patnaik, 85, who resides at Vamini village of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh.