Nine-day Ratha Yatra begins

The Sanatan community began celebrating the nine-day Sree Sree Jagannath Dev’s ‘Ratha Yatra’, one of their major religious festivals, in Rangpur, Rajshahi and Brahmanbaria on Friday.

Elaborate programmes including inaugural function, discussion, ‘podaboli’ and ‘bhakti’ kirtans, offering puja and ‘archona’ and distribution of ‘Prasads’ and pulling of the chariot of Sree Sree Jagannath Dev were arranged to mark celebrations of the festival.

The nine-day celebration programmes also include ‘Agnihotro Jaggya’, ‘Sangkirton, discussion on Jagannathdeb’s ‘Leela Mahattaya’, ‘Raj Bhog’, prayers, ‘Mohaharinam Sangkirton’, ‘Ulto Ratha Yatra’ and cultural functions.

Deputy Commissioner of Rangpur Md Asib Ahsan attended the discussion held on the ‘Shree Shree Madan Mohan Thakurbari Akhra Paul Para Mandir’s premises as the chief guest.

Presided over by Vice-president of Rangpur unit of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Sree Bhaktipriyom Godadhar Goswami Maharaj, Trustee for Rangpur, Kurigram and Gaibandha of Hindu Religious Kallyan Trust Biswanath Sarker Bitu inaugurated the celebration in the function.

General Secretary of city Awami League Tushar Kanti Mandal, President of district unit of Bangladesh Puja Udjapon Parishad Ajoy Prasad Babon, its Vice-president Ram Krishna Goswami and General Secretary Dhiman Bhattacharya and other leaders of the Sanatan community addressed the occasion as special guests.

Later, tens of hundreds of the Sanatan devotees participated in the chariot that was pulled out on the city streets from the traditional ‘Shree Shree Madan Mohan Thakurbari Akhra Paul Para Mandir’ to ‘Shree Shree Radhagopinath Zeu Mandir’ at Mahiganj in the city.

After the ‘bhakti kirtan’ and offering puja there, the chariot of Sri Sri Jagannath Deb was replaced in the ‘Shree Shree Radhagopinath Zeu Mandir’ premises.

The nine-day celebrations will conclude by pulling the rope of the ‘Ulto Ratha Yatra’ of Shree Shree Jagannath Dev from ‘Shree Shree Radhagopinath Zeu Mandir’ at Mahiganj to ‘Shree Shree Madan Mohan Thakurbari Akhra Paul Para Mandir’ on July 9 next.

Members of the Hindu community celebrated their major religious festival - Ratha Yatra- with due religious fervour and festivity in Rajshahi like in many other places.

Thousands of Hindu devotees gathered at selected places and joined with full enthusiasm in the ritual of pulling chariots to celebrate the occasion.

Rajshahi Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, Bagmara Upazila Chairman Anil Kumar Sarker and Members of Hindu Buddhist Welfare Trust joined the rally.

As part of the festival, a huge ‘Rather Mela’ is also being held on the three-kilometre Kalpona hall crossing to Seroil bus terminal with the participation of a large number of shops displaying various traditional and handicraft items like furniture, handicrafts, toys and sweetmeat.

According to our Brahmanbaria correspondent, a rath yatra festival was held in Akhaura upazila like many other places in the country. Sri Sri Radha Madhav Akhra Central Temple organised a nine-day-long festival on the occasion.

Alok Kumar Chakraborty, general secretary of the temple management committee, said the festival would end next Saturday with a procession.