By Sankirtana dasa
ISKCON Solapur held its annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra on Tuesday, 16th March 2010 coinciding with the celebration of the first day of the Hindu New Year. Solapur is located in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 10 hours South-East from Mumbai by train. Thousands of thousand of the 1.4 Million citizens of Solapur lined the streets of their city to receive their Lordship. Along the route colourful welcome gates had been erected and regularly the cart had to stop for receptions of fruits and flowers offerings. Bands and firecrackers resounded along with the traditional Kirtan reverberation.
Solapur is somewhat notorious for violent clashes of political and religious rival groups. Preventatively, a presence of armed soldiers guards the parade, particularly while passing the Muslim section of the town with the local mosque. However, Lord Jagannath’s festival, arranged already for the third time by the able management of H. G. Istadeva Prabhu, seems to evoke only joy and not cause any frictions. Furthermore, His Holiness Lokanath Swami melodious singing of the Maha Mantra changes people’s hearts and definitely was inspiring to have hundreds of young locals to dance vigorously throughout the whole parade.
The procession began from Balaji Temple, at 2:00 p. m. and continued 7:00 p. m. with a Hare Krishna Festival along with cultural Program & distribution of Sri Jagannath Prasadam. Dignities such as the Police commissioner, Members of the Legislative Assembly as well as the Mayor of Solapur spoke to the assembled participants. The local TV station and Newspapers covert the event giving highly favourable commentaries. Jagannath Ratha Yatra on the Hindu New Year day in Solapur is becoming a customary local festival.