India celebrates 137th Rath Yatra on Sunday

The 137th Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra began on Sunday morning, with the entire nation getting involved in pulling Lord Jagannath's rath (chariot).

This custom is followed to symbolise the journey of the deity from his temple to the garden palace in the countryside.

The epicentre of the festival lies in Puri (Odisha) where several people visit the city on this day to be a part of the annual event that is celebrated with great pomp and gaiety.

Every year the three chariots of Balarama, Subhadra and Jagannatha are newly constructed with wood of specified trees like phassi.

The artists and painters of Puri leave no stone unturned to make them appear grand as they decorate the cars and paint flower petals and other designs on the wheels, the wood-carved charioteer and horses, and the inverted lotuses on the wall behind the throne.

Thousands of devotees flock to the road just to get a chance to drag the Lord's chariot from his temple to Gundicha mata's temple through his aunt's home (Mausi Maa Temple which is near Balagandi Chaka in Puri).

Jagannath is accompanied in this jouney by his brother Balarama, and their sister Subhadra.

Three beautifully decorated chariots which resemble temple structures are pulled through the streets of Puri by thousands of people who consider it to be a pious activity to help Jagannath reach his aunt's residence.

It is a customary tradition to bring the wood for the chariot from the ex-princely state of Dasapalla by a specialist team of carpenters who have been performing this activity for ages. 

The logs are traditionally set afloat as rafts in the river Mahanadi and are then collected near Puri and transported by road.

Interestingly, the three chariots are decorated as per the unique system that is prescribed and followed for centuries and kept on the Bada Danda, the Grand Avenue in Puri.

The chariots are covered with bright and beautiful canopies that have been made of stripes of red cloth and combined with those of black, yellow and blue colours.

The giant-sized chariots are then lined across the wide avenue in front of the beautiful temple, close to its eastern entrance, which is also known as the 'Sinhadwara' or the Lion's Gate.

Lord Jagannath's chariot is known as 'Nandighosa'. The huge chariot is forty-five feet high and forty-five feet square at the wheel level. 

It takes a period of almost two months to construct the chariot.

The chariot of Lord Balarama is called 'Taladhwaja' and it has a Palm Tree on its flag. The forty-four feet high chariot has 14 wheels and each of them is seven-foot in diameter and covered with red and blue cloth.

The chariot of Subhadra is known as 'Dwarpadalana' , which literally means "trampler of pride". The 43-foot high structure has 12 wheels which are seven-foot in diameter.

This chariot is decked with a covering of red and black cloth - black being traditionally associated with Shakti and red with the Mother Goddess. 

Rath Yatra or the chariot dragging festival is followed in every city in India. 

In fact it is also quite popular outside India with chariots being dragged in cities like Dublin, Belfast, Birmingham, London, Bath, Budapest, Melbourne, Montreal, Paris, New York, Singapore, Toronto, Antwerp, Kuala Lumpur and Venice.

In Gujarat, state Chief Minister Anandi Patel  performed the 'Pahind-Vidhi' (symbolic path cleaning on chariot of Lord Jagannath).

Following the ceremony, the annual rath yatra of Lord Jagannath, elder brother Lord Baldev and their sister Devi Subhadra, begins. 

As per the traditions here, elephants have the first glimpse of Lord Jagannath, and they lead the procession along its 14-km route. 

The procession comprises 18 elephants, 100 trucks, 30 religious congregations, 18 singing troupes, three chariots and seven cars. 

In Kolkata, the chariot of Jagannath is dragged across the city with huge fanfare on this day. 

The largest chariot of the city is brought out by ISKCON. 

The "idols" are brought back after a week in the chariots as the festival is then called 'Ulto Ratha' ("reversed Ratha") .

Kolkata also witnesses numerous fairs that are held to mark the mood of festivity and celebration.

Kids in different localities bring out small raths (chariots), decorated with flowers and canopies to celebrate this occasion.

Food is an integral part of any Indian festival and for 'Rath', the Bengali community has special dishes to match with the mood and ambiance. 

On this day, 'papad' (Indian crispy thin flatbread) and 'telebhaja' are the most popular served snacks.

 Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the people on the occasion of Ratha Yatra. 

“My warm greetings to the people on the occasion of the Rath Yatras that would be held across India today. We bow to Lord Jagannath on this auspicious day. Today once again he sets out on his chariot, giving blessings to the people. 

"We pray to Lord Jagannath for peace, prosperity & happiness in India. May Lord Jagannath bless us with good monsoon that will help farmers," Modi tweeted.