London Ratha Yatra Huge Success - by Vipramukhya Swami

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London Ratha Yatra Huge Success
By Vipramukhya Swami

CHAKRA (London, U.K.) - June 24, 2001: Ratha Yatra was held in London, England, today. Thousands of devotees danced along the route in the center of the city from Marble Arch to Trafalgar Square. There were about 5 to 6 thousand onlookers. The BBC, and other TV and radio stations covered the event. Members of Parliament also spoke before the enthusiastic crowd.

The London Rathayatra was immortalized by Srila Prabhupada in the Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya Lila Chapter 13, in the purport to text 19. Srila Prabhupada writes:

In the year 1973 there was a gorgeous Ratha-yatra festival in London, England, and the car was brought to Trafalgar Square. The London daily newspaper The Guardian published a front-page photo caption: "ISKCON Ratha-yatra is rival to the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square." The Nelson Column is a very impressive statue of Lord Nelson and can be seen from a good distance. Just as the residents of Puri compared the Ratha-yatra car to Mount Sumeru, the residents of London considered the car rival to the Nelson Monument.