Rath Yatra 2018: At Saraspur, every pol is ready with food for yatris

At the Loharsheri pol (housing cluster) in Saraspur, more than 50 people are rolling away puris and peeling away onions in a makeshift pandal. For a first-time visitor, it might seem like preparations for a wedding are in full swing. But the residents have a different task at hand. They are busy preparing a grand feast for devotees who will be accompanying Lord Jagannath's chariot during rath yatra on Saturday.

In the 10 to 12 pols in Saraspur, believed to be Lord Jagannath's mossaad (maternal uncle's place), locals prepare food for devotees every year.

At the Loharsheri pol, the residents have so far prepared 1,400 kg of Mohanthal, a popular local sweet, with 22 cans of ghee, 456 kg of flour and 550 kg of sugar, among other things. "The food preparations begin three days in advance," said a member of the Loharsheri Yuvak Mandal. "Mohanthal is prepared first as it does not get ruined. Then the puris are made and on the early morning of rath yatra at around 2.30 am, the potato curry is made,"

Each pol makes enough food to ensure that no one goes hungry. And what is interesting is that they never go looking for donations for this. "Every year, people donate on their own. In fact, three days before the yatra, we stop accepting donations. We have never been short of money or material," said the member.

He said residents chip in a day before the festival. "We have engaged the service of a Maharaj. But the locals chip in," said the member.

Saraspur is home to Ramji Temple that used to host a feast for sants and mahants who visited it. "Then 40 years ago, the people decided to help the devotees who accompany the chariots. It began small but now no one goes hungry," said the member.