New Town is getting ready to celebrate its first big Rathyatra. Come June 20 and nearly 1,000 devotees would be on the streets pulling the chariot across the township.
While New Town has seen other chariots before, they have usually been for brief distances but this one, by New Town Sanskritik Sangathan, will travel over 6km starting from the Shiv Kali temple near 18 tola (Greenfield Heights) to Shiv Parivar and Kali temple in CC Block, near Biswa Bangla gate.
“The entire festival got organised within a month. We found out that the temple near 18 tola was getting a Jagannath idol and since it was around the time of Rathyatra decided to involve everyone and celebrate it as a whole,” says vice-president of the group, Manish Gandhi.
The chariot will leave the 18 tola temple on Tuesday at 3.30 pm and reach the CC Block temple by 7 pm. On the way, the procession will cross streets 302, 298, 263, 278, 276, 240, 254, 256 and 237 besides crossing landmarks like Biswa Bangla Gate, Croma, the Novotel petrol pump and Sankalpa 4. It will cross blocks like DA, DB, CC, CD and CE.
“We chose the route to include as many blocks as possible while avoiding traffic. For instance, CE is a huge block in New Town and we wanted to cross it without fail. However, some lanes within blocks had to be left out as the chariot — 15ft high and 10ft wide — won’t fit through them,” explains Gandhi.
The chariot is being built at the factory of member Arun Chharia and sponsored by Biswanath Singhania. Many aspects of the puja are being sponsored by members in their personal capacity.
United in faith
"Eight different groups have been roped in to perform Santhali dance, dhaap dance and other cultural programmes on the move alongside the juggernaut,” says Ajay Agarwal, a member who is a resident of Sunrise Symphony. “The procession will also make 10 pitstops for refreshment outside homes of members.”
Besides family and friends of members, residents and passers-by are expected to join in large numbers, taking the total expected participation to about 1,000. “This weekend we shall be sending out vehicles around the township announcing the schedule on loudspeakers so all and sundry can join,” says another member Manmohan Dalmia.
The lord’s Snan Purnima itself, on June 4, saw over 200 devotees bathing the idol.
Weeklong festivities
The rath will be stationed at the CC Block temple for eight days and Ulta Rath will begin from 3.30 pm on June 28 and reach the 18 tola temple at 4.30 pm.
“We also are also donating a glass enclosure for the idol to the temple, that would be travelling on the chariot too,” says Vinod Gattani, who has been coordinating with the two temples. For the eight days between the two processions, bhog will be distributed to about 500 people from 12.30 pm to 2 pm.
There will be arati at 8 am and 6 pm, and Bhaja Govindam discourse by Brahmachari Divakar from Chinmaya Mission at 7 pm daily. Different groups will also perform devotional music and cultural programme from 8 pm.
“Till last year, devotees from New Town had to head to Salt Lake to draw the chariot but this time we are doing our best to bring the chariot closer to home,” says Gandhi, a resident of CE Block.