As the city gets ready for the 133rd Rath Yatra, DNA takes a look at the elaborate preparations for a safe festival. Here is a glimpse of all the big and small things that make it a unique experience for devotees.
Narendra Modi makes a 'king's entry' in temple
It was celebration time the whole day at the Jagannath temple. However, one of the most memorable moments was when chief minister Narendra Modi entered the temple, with a whole troupe dressed in tribal attire. The idea here was to revisit the century-old tradition when the tribal king used to come to present offerings to the God, a large group following him. Before Modi arrived, the 18 elephants were placed at the entrance to welcome the chief minsiter.
It was around 5:20 pm when Modi entered the temple. Some 5-6 men, dressed as tribals, moved towards him. The men were carrying baskets full of pomegranates, mangoes, jamuns, curd, cucumber, mung dal, rice, tuver dal, pumpkin and guvar, all offerings for the Lord. The moment Modi stepped into the temple, 50 men stood up, carrying the 'kalash', the symbol of Gujarat's 50-years celebration, on their heads. The chief minister performed the aarti in the temple, and took blessings from the God and the mahant of the temple.
People behind the concept told DNA that this was an attempt to revisit the century-old tradition when Vishnavasu, the king of the tribals, used to visit the temple a day prior to the yatra to offer presents to the God. Some also said that the king played a major role in the construction of the temple.
Every basket was decorated with special banana flowers which were brought from Vadodara's tribal areas. "This was the first time that the CM came with the troupe and the offerings. This was all a part of the celebrations for the completion of 600 years of the city, and 50 years of the state.
Moreover, this is also the 133th year of the Rath Yatra. Besides, Modi is the first CM to be a part of the Rath Yatra for the 10th consecutive year," said Mahendra Jha, managing trustee of the Jagannathji Mandir Trust.
NRI Yajman of Rath yatra
The yajman of the rath this year is an NRI named Raghuveer Amin, a resident of the US. While Amin's entire family will not be able to attend the yatra, Amin's wife will perform the main rituals. The yajman is the person who performs the ceremony of placing the God in the rath, and the pooja afterwards. It is after the pooja that the rath is taken out for the procession.
A yatra for the tiny devotees
With the theme of Swarnim Gujarat, Tripada International School will organise its annual Baal Rath Yatra today to commemorate the founding of Tripada Education Trust in the year 1968. The yatra will see a procession being taken out by school children and teachers. The procession will have students carrying flags bearing pictures of Gujarat's great personalities.
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