By Our Correspondent
PURI/BHUBANESWAR:Today, on the twenty-first day, the workers building the three chariots arrived at the chariot yard before 8:00 a.m. and after the ceremony, began the construction work under the guidance of the chief Maharana.
(As of yesterday, the 20 wheels of the three chariots that had been completed were stored in the outer chariot shed, and work on various parts of the three chariots, such as the yoke, the niradi, and the muhanta chaupata, was in progress…)As of today, 25 wheels of three chariots have been completed.
The construction of the remaining wheels of the three chariots, as well as the construction of the *yoka* and *niradi* of the three chariots, has been completed, and the construction of the four *muhan* of the three chariots has reached the final stage.
Each chariot has one nirdi and one muhant on each of its four sides. In the first phase, Rath Amin provided four pieces of 20-foot Dhaura wood for the three chariots, two muhants, two nirdi pieces for the remaining muhants and nirdi pieces. Yesterday, in the second phase, Rath Amin provided two more 20-foot Dhaura wood pieces through Bhoi Sevak to build the remaining muhants and nirdi pieces. (These muhants are fitted on both sides of the chariot’s five bars. After fitting the guj on these muhants, the biradi is placed on the guj and the gayal is twisted.)
In addition, the work of laying the first *ground floor* of the three chariots has begun today. This afternoon, the Rath Amin provided three 20-foot pieces of wood to each chariot through Bhoi Sevak. The Maharana Sevak of the three chariots has continued the work of laying the ground floor of the said ground floor.
As of today, 7 out of the 14 wheels of the Taladhwaj Rath have been completed. The 8th wheel has reached the final stage of the Pai Kalsa, the 9th wheel has been finished after the Singada Batiya and the axle has been fixed in the tumba. In addition, the work of laying the four earthen floors is in progress.
Till date, nine out of the 12 wheels of the Dharpa Dalan Rath have been completed. Apart from this, the work on the two-wheeled biradi and two-wheeled muhant has been completed, and the work on the wooden frame of the Bhuin Chauta is in progress.
Of the 16 wheels of the Nandighosha Rath, 9 wheels have been completed till today. The 10th and 11th wheels are being made after the sari and the kalsha. In addition, the work on the last two wheels of the Nandighosha Rath and the two munhas has been completed and the work on the wooden sari is in progress.
The sculptors continued carving the shapes on the three chariots’ shafts and continued polishing the finished carvings with sandpaper.
At the temporary blacksmith shop in Dolavedi, the Ojha Sevaks have completed the production of the 12 wheels of the three chariots, the required ar kantar and pandari bracelets, and are continuing to produce the ar kantar, pandari, and bracelets for the remaining wheels of the three chariots, and the pandari keys and the yoke pins for the plate giants.
The presence of the charioteer*
*Tiniratha Maharana Sevak – 78
*Tiniratha’s servant – 77
*Three Chariots Karti Sevak – 4
*Three chariots, Ojha Kamar Sevak 20
*Servant in the form of a three-wheeled chariot – 21
*Tum Bindha Craftsman – 2
*Rathakhala Assistant (Water Carrier) 1
Total – 203 people
