Drizzle and breeze cool Puri, thanks to Lord Jagannath

PURI: A cool breeze brings some relief from the sweltering heat and high humidity of the Holy Town on Monday. The oppressive heat has been taking its toll on the devotees, who have been taken ill. The change in weather is perhaps a metaphor for the sea-change Puri has undergone over the past few days. Everyone in town appears to know the reason behind the sudden change in the air.
“The Lord is back. This is all His doing. It is not just the weather, the entire period when He was ill, we suffered. There was a massive slide in business. There were very few tourists even last Thursday. Cases of jaundice surfaced a couple of months ago. But look now, everything is fine,” says Gangadhar Sahu Sharma of Nrusingha Sweets in Puri in elation.
The Lord’s absence from the temple had a major impact on the people here. “The whole universe exists because of Lord Jagannath. If He is not there in the temple, seated where He must, how can things be all right? The change in weather is only because of Him. I am lucky I could play a small role in this,” said Rajendra Kumar Mohapatra, who was in charge of Nandighosh, the chariot of Lord Jagannath.
This is also the first Rath Yatra since the death of Sashimani Devi, the last devadasi of the 12th century shrine, who passed away in March this year. “She was very lucky. She served the Lord all her life. Who gets such an opportunity?” said Sabitri Paikray, 54, who came from Nuapada. She was among the several devotees, who were of the opinion that those who died in the stampede during Rath Yatra have attained moksha.
The place around Gundicha temple, where the chariots are stationed, as well as the beach are crowded in the afternoon. The number of visitors is less than Saturday and Sunday, but the enthusiasm has not dampened. Sarika Singh, a visitor from Raipur, who has come with 12 family members, said, “We have never come to Puri during Rath Yatra. But considering the hype around the festival, we decided to make plans two months in advance. I could never imagine that the weather would be so good even during the day.”
The perception that technology has diluted the religiousness of the event, was proved wrong by the people in Puri. “There were many in Odisha who would not have known about Nabakalebara in 1996. Today, the festival has witnessed unprecedented crowd, thanks to the news media and social media,” said Raj Kishore Patra, general secretary of the Puri Hotel Association.
“The best tourist season for Puri is between December and February. From mid-April to August, there’s a drop in the tourist flow. Rath Yatra falls right in the middle of this lean season. The Lord understands our pain. The money we earn during these few days helps us sustain ourselves for the next couple of months,” said Narendra Behera, who sells ice-creams on the beach.
As a mild drizzle settles on the sand, it becomes quite apparent that Puri is Jagannath and Jagannath is Puri.