Twentieth Annual Baroda Rathayatra Observed by Hundreds of Thousands

Twentieth Annual Baroda Rathayatra Observed by Hundreds of Thousands
By Basu Ghosh Das

ISKCON Baroda, Gujarat, observed the 20th annual Sri Jagannath Rathayatra on Saturday, 23 June, 01. The Rathayatra, which was flagged off by Mayor Bhartiben Vyas at the Baroda Railway station started with 10, 000 members of the public in attendance.

Citizens traditionally line the streets of the town in anticipation of having the darshan of Their Lordships as it passed along the 10 kilometer (6 mile) route through the main streets and huge crowds of upto100, 000 (one lakh) people gathered and accompanied the procession - especially at the densely crowded area of Madan Zampa, towards the end of the Rathayatra.

Some of the other dignitaries who participated in the Rathayatra were Sri Bhupendrabhai Lakhawala - Labor Minister in the Government of Gujarat, Ex-Mayor, Shabdasharan Brahmabatt, Sri Krishnakant Shah, Chairman of the Baroda City Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and also Chairman of the VUDA (Vadodara Urban Development Authority), Sri Madhubhai Srivastav, MLA (Member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly) , and also many municipal corporators from various wards of the city.

More than 120 policemen with high ranking police officers were deployed just around the Rath itself throughout the entire duration of the procession.

After the completion of the Rathayatra, at the Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar Mandir of ISKCON Baroda, full prasad (bhojan) was served to approximately 3000 people.

Approximately 500 devotees from various ISKCON temples and surrounding villages took part in the festival, headed by H. H. Bhakti Vikas Swami. Also, Sriman Mahaman Prabhu, Temple President of ISKCON Vrindavan was present as were devotees from Mumbai, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Ahmedabad, and also from various towns and villages of central Gujarat.

Please see the photos accompanying this article. Hare Krishna! Jaya Jagannath!

The following article about the Rathayatra appeared in the local "Indian Express" newspaper on Sunday, June 24:

"Rathayatra passes off peacefully in the city"

"Traditional fervor marked Lord Jagannath's Rathayatra in the city on Saturday. Every year, since the last twenty years, this procession has been organized by the ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) followers in the city. The yatra passed off peacefully with heavy police bandobast. Mayor Bhartiben Vyas, following the traditional ritual swept the road with a special broom before the Rathayatra commenced from the station area in the afternoon. Similar to the procession in Puri, the devotees pulled chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra. The procession was led by two kirtana parties throughout the main parts of the city. Large number of devotees from the city as well as from abroad, participated in the ritual of pulling the chariots. The main chariots were followed by a cart which distributed halva as prasad to the devotees. Animals and tableaus from the Rambo circus also added color to the procession. Traditionally dressed children and devotees danced to the kirtans. The Rathayatra ended at Polo Ground in the evening, where a maha arati was performed. Swami Bhakti Vikas addressed the devotees on the occasion. "

© CHAKRA 1-July-2001

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