By Sugata Banerjee for the thekolkatanews.net
The 41st Kolkata Rath Yatra organized by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) was celebrated with much festivity in the city of Kolkata. To give the event a flavor of Russia, the theme was ‘Hare Krishna movement in Russia.’ It was selected to highlight the Russian Vaishnava movement and their glorious struggle for Krishna Bhakti, said Radharaman Das, General Manager, Iskcon.
It began in the morning with a procession alongwith the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Subhadra Devi from Park Circus Maidan. Russian devotees were found directing the kirtans in front of the three chariots. It was inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She said that her prayers to the Lord were for peace, prosperity, happiness and to awaken the conscience in the beautiful world. The venue of the festival at Brigade Parade Ground was well decorated with replicas of Russian landmarks and the entrance to the ground had the Saint Basil’s Church of Moscow.
Till the return car festival on June 29, cultural troupes from Moscow will perform at the venue. Besides regular Kirtan programmes, a youth festival including music performances, Russian drama and debates would also be held, Iskcon sources said.
For the first time in Gujrat, Rath Yatra was held. The procession began in the morning from the 400-year-old Jagannath temple in Jamalpur, with tight security arrangements.
Keeping the tradition in mind, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, performed the ‘Pahind Vidhi‘ of Rath Yatra (symbolic path cleaning on chariot of Lord Jagannath) which was followed by the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baldev and their sister Devi Subhadra. State Chief Minister also pulled the chariot of Lord Jagannath out of the temple premises which is an age old tradition here.
Narendra Modi said that Ahmedabad’s rathyatra has become the centre of attraction for the whole country and the world, after Puri. Thousands of saints have gathered here to participate in this Rath Yatra. Ha added that he prayed to the Lord so that Gujrat could progress and achieve greater heights of development with peace, unity and sadhbhavana. He also prayed for the rains to be good during the monsoons.
The 14-km procession passed through Kalupur, Prem Darwaja, Delhi Chakla, Dariyapur and Shahpur.