The first Rath Yatra amid the Covid-19 pandemic brought to the fore never-before concerns. Collective pulling of the chariot, an ageless tradition, was for the first time brought under the lens of social distancing. At many places, out-of-the-box solutions combined pragmatism with tradition. But at one district, organisers flouted Covid norms as crowds tugged at chariots.

The Telegraph takes a look at the many moods of Rath Yatra in the time of the coronavirus

Those who obeyed norm...

Hetampur (Birbhum)

Monks and a few devotees of Gouranga Math, numbering less than a dozen, tied a rope to a car decked up as a chariot with the deities of the Hetampur royal family, and pulled it around the temple to continue the tradition symbolically. Usually, thousands pull the brass chariot, in-charge of Gouranga Math Bhakti Baridhi Tridanda Maharaj said, but this year safety took precedence.

Burdwan

For 135 years, Dhaneswari temple authorities have been taking out the deities in Burdwan town in a brass chariot, but the pandemic forced a break in the tradition. This year, the chariot did not roll out. Organisers let out the ropes of the chariot from a temple window for devotees to ceremonially tug at it. Devotees were also let inside the temple one at a time. Priest Manik Mishra said a few of them pulled the chariot inside the room

Mahishadal (East Midnapore)

The 244-year-old Rath Yatra in East Midnapore’s Mahishadal was cancelled this year, for the second time after 1932 when villagers and British forces had a falling out. In 1932, Rath Yatra organisers of the Mahishadal royal family took the deities in a palanquin. After 88 years, history repeated itself on Tuesday. The deities were again carried in a palanquin. Tilak Chakraborty, the deputy chief of Mahishadal Panchayat Samiti, said they recorded the palanquin tour and shared it on social media.

Cooch Behar

The historic Rath Yatra started by the Cooch Behar royal family saw an unprecedented change. The formal Rath Yatra was cancelled. Instead of a wooden chariot, a truck carried the deity Madan Mohan to Gunja Bari, eliminating crowds.

Mayapur (Nadia) & Siliguri

Iskcon authorities at its international headquarters in Nadia’s Mayapur and Siliguri celebrated Rath Yatra on Tuesday inside their own premises. The chariots did not roll out.

Behrampore

The Gundicha Rath Yatra committee in Murshidabad’s Behrampore converted a car into a chariot, cancelling the formal rath. A driver took out the deities for a spin and returned.

...Those who didn’t

Nabadwip (Nadia) & Santipur

Temple authorities and Gaudiya Math outfits suspended Rath Yatra celebrations to eliminate crowding, but people of Nabadwip and Santipur, hubs of the Vaishnav tradition, took to the streets in hundreds, pulling chariots and flouting social distancing norms.

Reporting by Snehamoy Chakraborty, Subhasish Chaudhuri, Main Uddin Chisti, Anshuman Phadikarand Alamgir Hossain