The chariots had been spruced up and the wheels had been oiled. But it was not just Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra who took a stroll out of their temples to visit their mashi today. Family deities like Lakshmi, Janardhan or Vishnu and even Narayana enjoyed their day out on Rath Yatra in Howrah.
The festival is celebrated in a grand manner as thousands gather to pull the chariots and then indulge in some hot papads and jalebis, which is a typical Rath ritual .
Kundu Chowdhury family
The Rathtala on Mohiary Road near the Andul bus stand is where the action shifts as Rath Yatra approaches. Two huge metal chariots, one 18ft and another 12ft tall, are brought out by the Kundu Chowdhury family and painted beside the road. The descendants of Ramakanta Kundu Chowdhury, the first zamindar of the dynasty who started the festival, continue to follow traditions introduced by their ancestors 300 years ago. Jagannath is placed in the smaller chariot, while the family deities Lakshmi and Janardhan (Vishnu) are placed in the larger one. Both raths were earlier made of wood, till Puskal Kundu Chowdhury, a young member of the family, designed two metal ones in 1992.
"On the morning of Rath Yatra, the deities are carried out from the temple. At Rathtala, they are taken around the chariots nine times before being placed inside," said Srikumar Kundu Chowdhury, a member of the family. The chariots were pulled by family members and thousands of devotees, who congregated here for the festival. "People come from nearby villages as well as from Calcutta for this colourful festival here. And Mohiary Road closes to traffic from afternoon this day," said Srikumar.
Both chariots were pulled a distance of 500m on Mohiary Road up to Talpukur Dhar. "Earlier, it went further up to Khatirbazar, but now the distance has been shortened. Earlier, Jagannath had a mashir bari at Khatirbazar, but after the building collapsed, the deity is brought back to the temple in the evening," said Srikumar.
A mela is held on both sides of Mohiary Road from Rathtala to Talpukur Dhar. What was once a week-long affair is now held on Rath Yatra and again on Ulta Rath on July 14. The festival also marks the countdown to Durga Puja when the kathamo or structure of the idol is prepared on the day of Ulta Rath and idol-making starts a few days later.
Bally Goswami family
Rath Yatra stepped into its 167th year at Srichandra Vidyanidhi's house in Bally. The family of pandits ran a tol at their house, which was reportedly visited by Iswarchandra Vidyasagar. Srichandra started the Rath Yatra after the birth of his eldest son, Dharmadas in 1850.
The family deity, Narayana, is taken out on the annual chariot ride.
According to tradition, the women of the house must first push the 15ft chariot out of its shed to Goswamipara Road. In the evening, the men pull the chariot half a kilometre along GT Road up to the Bally Nimtala crossing.
The deity is brought back to the temple while the rath remains at the spot for the next seven days till Ulta Rath.
"Thousands come for the festival at our house, including friends and relatives from Calcutta. Our rath is one of the oldest and biggest in north Howrah and draws people from far and wide," said Sanatan Goswami, a member of the family. A fair is held near Bally Khal for three days.
