Bhubaneswar, June 14: Writing computer programs keeps these hard-working engineers busy, but a group of techies in Richmond, Virginia, still find time for devotion and spirituality.

When the eyes of the whole world will be gazing at the entrance to Puri Jagannath temple on June 21 for the deities to come out and be seated on their chariots on rath yatra, far away, this group of young devotees will be carrying the idols of the divine siblings to the chariot they are making with the labour of love.

Hailing from Odisha, the youngsters from the 15 families that are working on building a grand chariot for Lord Jagannath, are mostly software professionals. Moreover, there are scientists, science professors, federal employees in this team of “rath” architects.

“We celebrate all Indian festivals here. But, just like there is anxiety and enthusiasm about the divine journey of Lord Jagannath in Odisha, the entire Odia community here gathers in large numbers. We enjoy building a special rath for the festival,” said Abhinandan Patra, an Odia software engineer. “After work, all of us gather at a field where the construction is on. Though it is hectic, it is totally worth it,” he said.

Last month, the techie devotees started building the chariot, using wooden frames and columns to make a wide chassis that will roll over on wheels made of wood and rubber tyres.

The amateur chariot builders are using bright enamel paints. They have also kept in mind the major colours used in the three chariots of the deities in Puri and plan to use them in plenty on their rath.

“We have ensured that the major colours of the three raths — Nandighosha, Debadalana and Taladhwaja — are used in our chariot since we have made a wide throne where all the three deities will be seated together. A lot of green, yellow, red, white and black has been used to paint the chariot,” said Tapan Parida, another young Odia chariot builder, who works as a federal employee.

The rath yatra in Virginia dates back to 1998, when there were only three to four Odia families residing. Under the initiative of late Bijan Rao, a Telugu from Odisha, the community used to celebrate the festival in a small way.

“Last year, a Hindu temple was built here and the Odia community instituted the idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra that were brought from Bhubaneswar. So, we built a chariot last year and that marked the first grand rath yatra for the whole of Virginia,” said Abhinandan.

However, last year, the upper portion of the chariot was built completely with wooden frames that made it quite heavy. “We are planning to replace it with aluminium frames this time, so that it is lighter and easier to pull as well as more stable. The rest of the chariot frames are wooden. We are still working on giving our chariot better mobility,” said the young engineer.

One of the co-ordinators of the festival, Ram Prasad Mishra, said the chariot would be ready by June 22 and the community would celebrate rath yatra by pulling the chariot with deities mounted the following day. They would observe bahuda yatra on June 24.

“Though we would have loved to make it grander and follow all rituals as in Puri, our busy schedules do not permit us the opportunity. But, we will surely observe the festival with true devotion,” said Pramod Mohanty, another member of the chariot-building team.