Jagannath Rathayatra Mahotsav – Festival of the Chariots
Baroda, Gujarat, June 24, 2009 – Aashadh Shukla dvitiyaa
http://picasaweb.google.com/basughoshdas1/JagannathRathayatraMahotsavBarodaFestivalOfTheChariot
By Basu Ghosh Das
On Wednesday, June 24, 2009, ISKCON Baroda’s 28th annual Jagannath Rathayatra Mahotsav, aka “Festival of the Chariots”, was observed in the usual grand manner.
Baroda Mayor and recently elected Member of Parliament, Sri Balkrishna Shukla, inaugurated the procession by sweeping the road in front of the Lord’s Rath (Chariot) with a golden handled broom, following the age old tradition of the Maharajah of Puri, at the Baroda Railway Station at 2:30 PM, on Wednesday, June 24, 2009, which corresponds to the auspicious day of “Aashadh shukla dvitiyaa” (the second day of the fortnight of the waxing moon in the month of “Aashadh” on the Hindu calendar).
District Collector Vijay Nehera also participated in the inauguration of the the Rathayatra.
A huge crowd, including many political and social leaders of Baroda, were present at the Baroda Railway station for the inaugural function. Due to rain on the previous day, the summer temperatures had reduced as well! The procession followed the traditional route from the Baroda Railway Station throughout the main streets of the town. Some of the places that came on the route: Sayaji Bagh (garden), Kala Ghoda (statue of the black horse), Salatwada naka, Kothi, Raopura Main Road, Jubilee Bagh (garden), Sur Sagar (lake), Dandia Bazar, Khanderao Market, Nyaya Mandir, Madan Zampa, R. V. Desai Cross Road, Kevda Bagh (garden), and the procession end point, opposite the Polo Ground.
A number of senior ISKCON devotees attended Baroda Rathayatra including H. H. Bhakti Vikas Swami, Deena Bandhu Prabhu, Haripada Prabhu, Phalini Mataji, Isvara Prabhu and Govinda Kund Das from Estonia. Also ISKCON temple presidents Bhaktivinod Prabhu of Chandigarh /Kanpur, Murli Mohan Prabhu of Vijayawada, Sachidananda Prabhu of Vallabh Vidyanagar (Anand), and Surapati Prabhu of Lucknow.
ISKCON New Delhi Vice President and ISKCON IRGB all India Communications Director Vrajendranandan Prabhu, was also present along with ISKCON New Delhi “pracharak” Sachisuta Prabhu. Radha Ranjan Prabhu from Lucknow, Raghuveer Prabhu from ISKCON Allahabad, Nityananda Prabhu (Lativa) from Bhagavat Vidyapith, Govardhan also were present. Prema Bhakti Das came all the way from Chicago, USA, to attend Baroda Rathayatra!
A number of “kirtaneers” from Chandigarh and Vrindavan attended the Rathayatra as well. ISKCON Baroda IYF devotees, headed by Nartaka Gauranga Prabhu and Dr. Damodar Chaitanya Das distributed books throughout the procession.
One of the features of Rathayatra, which can be seen in pictures posted on the internet (URL below), is the distribution to the crowds lining the roads of ten tons of halava prasad, cooked in “deshi ghee” (pure ghee) from trucks that follow the Rath from behind.
At various places along the route, devoted citizens of Baroda offered fruits, flowers, incense, donations, and “deep arati” to Lord Jagannath! At two places, members of the Muslim community organized receptions with these very same offerings to Lord Jagannath as well.
Almost four hundred pictures of the procession can be seen at the follow URL on the internet (cut and paste into your internet browser):
http://picasaweb.google.com/basughoshdas1/JagannathRathayatraMahotsavBarodaFestivalOfTheChariot
After the completion of Rathayatra, huge crowds gathered at ISKCON Baroda to partake in the massive distribution of prasad (full dinner). The prasad was served to the general public in front of the temple, to ISKCON life patron members behind the temple and to “VIPs”, including Baroda Police Commissioner Sri Rakesh Asthana, in the basement, below the temple. A few pictures of the prasad distribution can also be seen on the internet at the following URL:
http://picasaweb.google.com/basughoshdas1/PrasadDistributionInTempleAfterRathayatra2009
Pictures of the press conference held two days before Rathayatra can been seen at the following URL:
http://picasaweb.google.com/basughoshdas1/RathayatraPressConference2009
Pictures of some of the newspaper articles, both in English and Gujarati, appearing in the local press on Thursday, June 25, 2009 can been seen at the following URL:
http://picasaweb.google.com/basughoshdas1/JagannathRathayatra2009NewspaperArticleScans
ISKCON Baroda extends special thanks to Sri Shivlal and Smt. Kanta Goyal, and Smt. Malvika and Sri Dinesh Dalal, for their extraordinary support towards making this festival a grand success!
Jagannath Rathayatra Mahotsav ki jaya!