The Jagannatha Ratha Yatra Of Puri Is A Sight To Behold

Carrying the huge, heavy idol of Lord Jagannatha up the make-shift ramp to his chariot ('ratha') is quite an ordeal, as hundreds of devotees lunge at him and his siblings Balabhadra and Subhadra, in an attempt to touch the divine idols or manage to get a floral souvenir from their crown. I stood watching as this chaotic scene was worsened by the fact that the Lord had got stuck at an odd angle half way up the ramp. However, on a day like this, with the surge of humanity all around, there was no time for divine dignity. It was more important to seat him in the chariot and get him ready for other rituals. The servitors were thus in no mood to relent. They pushed and pulled mercilessly at the idol as niceties were set aside and brute force was applied. Then suddenly, amid loud cheers of "Jai Jagannath", the idol came unstuck and went up the ramp smoothly. That was quite a sight to begin my sojourn at Puri, for the annual Ratha Yatra festival.