KOLKATA: A unique chariot carried Lord
Jagannath and his siblings to their makeshift mashir bari, marking the 50 years of
Iskcon Kolkata Ratha Yatra
. This year the traditional pulling of the three chariots was suspended but the 40-feet long and eight-feet wide chariot carried the Trinity as part of a convoy that saw
Kolkata Police
pilot cars in front of the procession of 15 cars.
The route was not announced to prevent crowding. CM
Mamata Banerjee had sent bhog for the Lord that was carried to the temple by MP Subrata Bakshi. After the bhog was offered, the idols were placed on the chariot and the procession started from Albert Road to Park Street and then to Jawaharlal Nehru Road, S P Mukherjee Road, AJC Bose and finally the
Iskcon
temple on Gurusaday Road.
A shamiana has been set up and an altar has been created to act as the temporary mashir bari for the next seven days. Devotees were allowed to enter from 4pm in small numbers with the monks and other sevaks ensuring that safe distance was maintained and everyone was wearing mask. Aarti was done and kirtans filled the air. These were
livestreamed
from the social media pages of Iskcon.
At the Balaram Mandir at Bagbazar of the Ramakrishna Mission, near Mayer Bari, the monks celebrated Ratha Yatra, though it was a restricted affair.
For many in the city, the day offered some relief from the prevailing pandemic fatigue. Paromita Banerjee, a social entrepreneur, performed puja both and home and office. “What a relief it was to cook bhog and offer to the Lord, breaking the usual monotony of
virtual meetings
and working on the laptop,” she said.
At the 625-year-old puja of Mahesh, the idols were kept inside the temple where the aarti and other offerings were made while the ‘Narayan Shila’ was carried to Mashir Bari. MP Kalyan Banerjee was present. The ASI did not allow crowding at Brindaban Jew temple at Guptipara.
The 250-year-old Ratha Yatra of Midnapore town did not move and the puja was completed inside the temple.
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