The Silent Journey of Lord Jagannath

We celebrate "Rathayatra" to mark Lord Jagannath's Journey to his Maternal Aunt's house and his return is celebrated as "Phira Rath". Rathayatra is celebrated in many corners of India including Assam. Today we are going to talk about my Village "Jarailtola" and how we celebrated it. Yes 'celebrated' as we do not celebrate it anymore or may be I should say we are not able to celebrate it anymore due to COVID19.

Empty Road

The roads are empty this year just like the previous year. Both sides of the road used to be filled with temporary stalls. People would open temporary stalls during both "Rathayatra" and "Phira Rath" there would be some stalls of food, some potters would open stalls displaying toys and little idols made of clay and ofcourse there used to be a special stall for Ice Cream man. 

Potter's Stall Displaying Toys and Idols made of Clay

A plate of Momos and a Glass of Chuski

These empty roads were not empty as people were everywhere and they would fill the air with a sense of joy. Some people were busy eating "Momos", some were clicking selfies, some were having "Chuski" and everybody were enjoying themselves. Then the Rath (Chariot) would come out and start it's journey.

The Rath (Chariot) with Lord Jagannath's Iconic Wooden Idol

People would pull the Rath for blessings, some would touch its tire and bow. Someone from the Rath would have a mic in their hand and control the crowd. They would say "Aste aste" or "slowly slowly" if the crowd is pulling the Rath too fast. They would also make sure everyone is safe. Devotees would offer fruits and the priest who is also riding the Chariot would take it and then give them back some of the offerings as "Prasad" 

Time to time the priest will also throw fruits like Bananas and Apples to the crowd this is widely known as "Horir Loot" where devotees would try to catch it and anyone who would be able to get it is believed to be blessed by the lord himself. 

Some people would do their own sort of ritual, the Rath would stop and let the person do their rituals and complete the Puja and then the Rath would start it's jounrey once again.

Jagannath Arti

It takes the Chariot to reach its destination an hour or so and then there would be other kinds of rituals to follow. Masses who came out of their houses to celebrate this festival would return as soon as the Rath enters it's destination. 

There used to be a lot of fun and noises which used to fill the air with joy. Unfortunately from last year we are not able to enjoy this festival like we used to do. Due to COVID19 we have to restrain ourselves from such crowded festival which is why this year Lord Jagannath's Journey had to be silent. We can only hope that things would come around soon and we will be enjoying Rathayatra like the way it is suppose to be once again. 

This Year much like Last Year the day of Rathayatra seemed gloomy, sad and empty. I wish it won't be this way next year.