Story: Lord Jagannath's Annual Ratha Yatra (Cart Festival) - A Tradition That Brings Urban and Rural Communities Together in Dum Dum, Kolkata, India

Story: Lord Jagannath's Annual Ratha Yatra (Cart Festival) - A Tradition That Brings Urban and Rural Communities Together in Dum Dum, Kolkata, India

Aniruddha Sarkar

08 July 2024

#01

Yesterday evening, 07 July 2024, my son and I attended the Ratha Yatra Festival at Dumdum Nager Bazar, a North Kolkata suburb close to the Airport.

As we both started on foot from home, we first noticed a little boy pulling his Rath (the Holy Cart) using a rope and his father was following him while hammering the Bell (aka Kashor - Ghanta). Here, the kid was getting exposed to the experience of drawing a Rath (the Holy Cart) of Lord Jagannath. This is considered a sacred deed for a Hindu devotee (please see the photograph below).

On the way, we met a gentleman selling high-quality sweets on the roadside. We learned that he came from Laxmikantapur in South 24-paraganas. That's a place quite far from Dum Dum although well connected by suburban train services. We tasted his sweetmeats and then collected a few Nadu (a special sweetmeat delicacy in Bengal) for our home. A one-kilometre stretch of the Dum Dum Road was closed to regular traffic for the evening. Many vendors have gathered here along with their salable products from far-flung places in West Bengal.

We walked past another vendor selling household containers, mats, etc. There was a Fuchka vendor as well. Fuchka, also known as Golgappa, is a fast food immensely popular in India.

We took a few photographs.

We proceeded towards the junction of Dum Dum Road and Jessore Road. Half a kilometre stretch of the road here was flooded with numerous merchandise. The rural craftsmen and craftswomen have come directly with their handicrafts. There are household products for daily use. The community people are showing keen interest in collecting these products. The quality and prices offered are very attractive. We took a few more photographs.

#02

We negotiated through the crowd of visitors while watching the open-air stalls full of eye-catching items of daily use. By the next half an hour, we reached close to the Jessore Road.

The Jessore Road stretch of approximately two kilometres below the flyover was closed to traffic. However, the vehicular traffic from/to the airport flew unhindered via the flyover.

The volunteers announced the arrival of the Rath ( the Holy Cart) with Lord Jagannath accompanied by His Brother, Lord Balaram, and His Sister, Devi Subhadra, at the junction of the Dum Dum Road and Jessore Road.

The Deities started their journey from a Temple at Babu Tala, a neighbourhood near the Nager Bazar area sometime back. In this Babu Tala Temple, the Deities are worshipped daily for years together. The Rath (the Holy Cart) is also preserved there.

The Rath (the Holy Cart) would be travelling a substantial distance by the Jessore Road and then return to the Temple.

Here, we faced a challenge. There was a sudden surge in devotees who wanted to touch the rope and pull the Rath (the Holy Cart) for a while. A devotee considers this as an act of earning Punnya, meaning Divine Blessings.

A few of them were desirous of offering Puja (prayers) with a Dali (basket) full of puja offerings. The Deities were sitting on the Rath (the Holy Cart) at a height of above ten feet from the ground level. There were at least three priests who were busy collecting the Dalies (baskets) being offered by the devotees and conducting puja. Those post-puja offerings were then returned to the devotee concerned.

Our challenge was to manage a proper Darshan (View) of Lord Jagannath, His Brother Lord Balaram, and His Sister Devi Subhadra from a close range.

With devotees jostling and pushing each other to make way, it was difficult to manage a few photographs. Here are a few photos of the Lord Jagannath.

#03

We gradually proceeded by the Jessore Road towards the southern direction. On both sides of the road, there were numerous stalls. Here, we found many furniture stalls that displayed both wooden and cane furniture for daily use.

Incidentally, Nager Bazar Market Area is famous for its furniture manufacturing and sales around the year.

There were stalls selling cutleries and kitchen implements.

We were pleasantly surprised to find the temporary fair stalls doing brisk business. Both the buyers and sellers were engaged in serious negotiations.

Here are a few photographs:

#04

Realization:

Here, in Dum Dum, Kolkata, India, tradition and modernity go hand in hand. The local community here is well connected to the external world. Many of them visit a shopping mall for convenience under one roof. Even then, there is a deep-rooted yearning to cling to the Indian cultural traditions.

The craftsmen and craftswomen, belonging to the rural areas, bring their best handicrafts, and products, every year to this fair. Fortunately, they find many takers here.

In short, this fair is a confluence where the urban society meets the rural artisans.

The Municipal Authorities understand these dynamics very well. They make adequate arrangements to ensure that these annual buyer-seller meetings of minds are smooth and mutually beneficial.

The devotees find their chances to draw the Holy Cart of Lord Jagannath and earn Punnya (Divine Blessings).

The little kid finds his/ her first taste of drawing a small Rath (the Holy Cart) on the street, undisturbed by traffic.

This tradition is spontaneously observed all over India on the holy day of the Ratha Yatra during the Ashaar Mahina, the third month of the Bengali Lunar Calendar that also marks the beginning of the monsoon season in Bengal. The farmers sow paddy samplings in the fields with the hope of a bumper crop. Life continues.

'JAI JAGANNATH.'

(Glory To Lord JAGANNATH)

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