By Sahadeva dasa
On January 1st 2012, ISKCON Kukatpally Namahatta in Andhra Pradesh, India, conducted its 2nd Sri Jagannatha Ratha-yatra.
Procession started around afternoon from Lord Venkateswara temple in the down town area. Thousands of people participated in the 6 hour long procession and tons of prasadam was distributed. Many people turned up simply to have an auspicious beginning for their new year. Need for a holy start is being felt, especially in these times of uncertainty and hardships. What could be more auspicious than pulling Lord Jagannath’s Ratha and honoring His prasadam!
Nitai Priya Prabhu (from Africa) led the chanting with his accordian. The procession culminated in Pedda Hanuman Function hall, following by Maha-arati, cultural programs and presentations by HH Sukadeva Maharaja and other senior devotees. Finally, a crowd of thousands poured into prasadam halls and happily went home, glowing with the hopes for a happy new year.
The media took an active interest. Both the print and TV media provided good coverage.
Kukatpally namahatta center is catering to hundreds of devotees. Currently 130 devotees are enrolled in the Bhakti-sastri program and several hundred are attending Bhakti-vrksas and Sunday school. In coming 3 months, over a thousand children will receive training in Bhakti Yoga Camps.
Below is the link for other news reports.
https://picasaweb.google.com/116346798192551526936/ISKCONKukatpallyBaseRathaYatra2012Jan1st
Sahadeva dasa
sahadevadasa@pamho.net