Odisha Plus Bureau
The third largest city of UK, Manchester hosted the Rath Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath for the second consecutive year, this year, with fanfare and spiritual fervour.
Commencing in the morning hours, all the religious rituals were performed before the ‘four deities’ stationed at the Gita Bhawan with utmost reverence and pure devotion by the main priest, Pandit Shyam Sunder Sharma. To mark the auspicious occasion, Gita Bhawan was aesthetically decorated.
This year’s Rath Yatra evoked unprecedented enthusiasm and unparalleled excitement among the devotees and spectators gathered on the occasion. Around 500 Odia and non-Odia devotees congregated at the Gita Bhawan to take part in the holy event. At around 12.45 pm, the four deities were taken in Dhadi Pahandi procession to the colourful 18 ft high chariot, parked outside the Gita Bhawan.
Superbly designed by Mike Sharkey and his team, the chariot was decked up with an amazing Patachitra painting drawn by renowned artists, Bibek Babu and Pragyana Babu.
The air reverberated with the chanting of hymns, roaring slogans like Hari Bol, Jai Jagannath, sounding of ‘Hulahuli’, blowing off conch and playing of traditional musical instruments like Ghanta, Mardala, Jhanja and Mrudanga.
The highlight of the celebration was the Pahandi of Goddesss Subhadra, performed exclusively by ladies. The Senior Trustee of Gita Bhawan, Raj Kaushal conducted the traditional sweeping before the chariot in, what is known as, the ‘Chhera Pahanra’ ritual. The most exciting moment arrived when the pulling of the chariot began at around 1.15 pm. The streets of Manchester witnessed the Royal Sojourn of the Lord of The Universe on board the chariot in a grand and majestic fashion. The caravan of the Gods and the Goddess marched through Wilbraham Road, Werburgh’s Road, Brantingham Road and Withington Road before culminating at the Gita Bhawan.
The distinguished dignitaries present on the occasion included the MP from Manchester Groton, Afzal Khan, MP from Stockport, Navendu Mishra and well-known physician Dr. Bibhu Mishra.
A spectacular cultural extravaganza comprising presentation of dance in Odissi and Bharatnatyam styles, Radha Krushna dance drama staged by kids and rendition of soulful Bhajans formed part of the mega event. The prime attraction of the cultural session was a mesmerising Odissi dance performance by upcoming classical exponent Nirushree Mohanty.
As announced by the temple management, the deities will be offered Anna Prasadam till Bahuda Day at the Shree Gundicha Temple. The entire arrangement of the Rath Yatra festival was well managed and neatly executed by main organisers like Dr Siba Senapati, Rekha Senapati, Siba Ranjan Biswal, Bishnu Dash, Bibek Babu, Jeeban Panigrahi and Durgesh Panigrahi. The hosts expressed their gratitude towards the Manchester Council, Manchester Police and Highway authorities for their unstinted support and overwhelming co – operation to make this year’s Rath Yatra a massive success.
Tags: #RathYatra #OdishaSociety #WithingtonRoad #ManchesterRathYatra #Odissi #Bharatnatyam #RadhaKrushnadancedrama #UKRathYatra #Patachitrapainting
We care for our culture
All your team members are doing very good job. We all indian feel very proud because u people follow our culture by observing our festival. May Lord Jagannath bless u