By Our Correspondent
BENGALURU: The Annual Rath Yatra Festival was celebrated in Bengaluru by Shree Jagannath Temple Trust with much fanfare and Festive fervour. Commencing from the wee hours of the day, the religious rituals like Mangala Arati, Abakash, Mailam, worshipping Sun, praying Gatekeepers and Sahanamela were performed at the main Jagannath Temple of the city situated at Agara. Unusual enthusiasms and unprecedented excitements were marked among the devotees during the occasion. Since Bengaluru had rain in the morning and cloudy sky with pleasant weather remained throughout the day around 30,000 visitors descended at the Festival site from the Metropolis and nearby localities.
The Dhadi Pahandi of all four Deities were started around 12.15 p.m. in afternoon. Lord Sudarshan, Lord Balabhadra, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Jagannath were taken in a procession from the Anasara room to the 28 ft. high immaculately decorated chariot stationed in the Grand Road in front of the Temple. Trustee of the temple Punya Sloka Khuntia did the traditional job of sweeping in front of the Chariot called Cherrapahanra. Around 2.30 p.m. in the afternoon the pulling of the chariot started with the playing of Ghanta, Kartala, Mrudanga, Jhanja and chanting of Jai Jagannath slogans by the servitors and spectators. The colourful chariot carrying Four Deities on Board was pulled till 1 KM distance to Gundicha Temple and reached there at around 6.00 p.m. The scenes of long lining up of devotees in both sides of the Car Festival route to have an auspicious glimpse of the Lord of the Universe were just memorable and mesmerising.
The entire arrangements of the Festival were conducted smoothly by the Trustees and Members of Temple Management Committee like Nihar Samantara, Dr. Pratap Pani, Kamakhya Panda, Justice J.P.Udgata, N.R.B.Pattnaik, Dr. Sitikantha Sadangi, N.K.Jena, Chakradhar Swain, Manoj Mohapatra, Prakash Samantara, HaraPrasad Mohapatra and Manoj Patra.
