A tradition that dates back to more than 100 years was observed once again on bahuda yatra when men and women from 80 families assembled in front of Gundicha Temple with terracotta pots of varying sizes.

These villagers from Sakhigopal near Puri come here every year on this day to prepare a special sweet dish chuda ghasa, which is a mixture of beaten rice and coconut, with milk and bananas as add-ons.

They prepare it on the spot and distribute it for free among the devotees. The villagers, most of whom are involved in farming, said they never sold the special sweet that they made.

While people have their own unique ways to serve the Lord during rath yatra, these residents of Sakhigopal have this sweet tradition to follow.

"We do it for spiritual satisfaction. Each of us spends around Rs 1,000 to buy the ingredients. But, it does not bother us. Since we cannot become servitors, we have found our own way to serve the Lord," said Sakhigopal resident Laxmi Narayan Sahoo, who was there with his elder brother.

Reminiscing about the times when his forefathers used to come here, Sahoo added: "They used to load the pots and ingredients onto bullock carts and travel to Puri on foot. The journey used to be long and arduous, but no one wanted to miss it. Nowadays, of course, we come here by bus."

Some of them were also accompanied by their children, who were seen lending a helping hand as their parents prepared the sweet dish.

"I want to learn how to make the dish and make it as tasty as my father does," said 14-year-old Nigam Jena.

The tradition initially began at Sakhigopal, but gradually people from nearby villages such as Tentulia and Satyabadi also joined in.

"This is a wonderful custom that promotes selfless service to the Lord. So, it gradually spread to nearby areas. My friend from Sakhigopal once invited me to join him and the experience I gathered was extremely fulfilling. I have been coming here for the past 10 years," said Tentulia resident Brajabandhu Rout, who was accompanied by his wife.

While Brajabandhu was busy preparing the dish, his wife was packing it into the terracotta pots.

"It has become a custom during bahuda yatra and one cannot pass by without tasting the delicacy. This is a unique tradition that the people of Sakhigopal village are carrying forward. Not many people know about it, so I feel the government should recognise it," said septuagenarian Maheswar Mishra, a resident of Puri.