BHUBANESWAR: Odias living in the US are readying to celebrate Rath Yatra in Rhode Island, North Carolina, Connecticut, and New Jersey over the weekends after the festival is celebrated in Puri.
They will congregate at the temple of Hindu Society North Carolina as well as at the Connecticut Hindu Mandir on June 24. Rhode Island residents will celebrate on July 1 at Warwick and gather at the India Cultural Society, Mahatma Gandhi Centre & Hindu Temple, New Jersey, to celebrate Rath Yatra on June 24 and Bahuda on July 1.
The North Carolina festival started in 2016 at Morrisville and over the years the number of revellers has crossed 2000. “This year, we are expecting more people to come out in the open as the Covid-19 pandemic has fizzled out,” said Dhirendra Kar, one of the organisers. The “Chhera Pahanra” will be performed by a senior member of the Hindu Society and an Odia meal will be cooked in the temple’s kitchen and served to all those participating in the festivities.
The 30-metre-high chariot that was built by the volunteers last year will be used this year too. The cover for the chariot, in the Pipili chandua style, has been made by women members of the society under the guidance of Pallabita Pattnaika and Mayuree Patro, said Kar.
In Connecticut, Rath Yatra started in 2008-09 when a few families gathered at Middleton temple, brought the deities from a devotee’s home and celebrated it in a small chariot built by them. As more people started joining them over the years, the celebrations shifted to another temple at Stratford. But the deities had not been established in the temple till 2014. “We got the opportunity to establish the deities at the Hindu Temple, Wilton, and since then Rath Yatra is being celebrated in Wilton. At least 500 people participate in the festivities and this year also we are expecting a crowd,” said Ashok Panigrahi, an organiser. They usually keep the deities in the chariot after the pulling and conduct Bahuda the same evening. “The first wooden chariot was built by volunteers, which we donated to Rhode Island. At Wilton, the temple arranged a new chariot from south India,” said Panigrahi.
At Rhode Island, the celebrations will include bhajan and Odissi dance recitals by members of Rhode Island Hindu Temple Society and dancers drawn from a local Odissi school. “This year, Subhransu Mohanty, one of our members will do the Chhera Pahanra,” said Akshaya Mohanty, an organiser.
They will congregate at the temple of Hindu Society North Carolina as well as at the Connecticut Hindu Mandir on June 24. Rhode Island residents will celebrate on July 1 at Warwick and gather at the India Cultural Society, Mahatma Gandhi Centre & Hindu Temple, New Jersey, to celebrate Rath Yatra on June 24 and Bahuda on July 1.
The North Carolina festival started in 2016 at Morrisville and over the years the number of revellers has crossed 2000. “This year, we are expecting more people to come out in the open as the Covid-19 pandemic has fizzled out,” said Dhirendra Kar, one of the organisers. The “Chhera Pahanra” will be performed by a senior member of the Hindu Society and an Odia meal will be cooked in the temple’s kitchen and served to all those participating in the festivities.
The 30-metre-high chariot that was built by the volunteers last year will be used this year too. The cover for the chariot, in the Pipili chandua style, has been made by women members of the society under the guidance of Pallabita Pattnaika and Mayuree Patro, said Kar.
In Connecticut, Rath Yatra started in 2008-09 when a few families gathered at Middleton temple, brought the deities from a devotee’s home and celebrated it in a small chariot built by them. As more people started joining them over the years, the celebrations shifted to another temple at Stratford. But the deities had not been established in the temple till 2014. “We got the opportunity to establish the deities at the Hindu Temple, Wilton, and since then Rath Yatra is being celebrated in Wilton. At least 500 people participate in the festivities and this year also we are expecting a crowd,” said Ashok Panigrahi, an organiser. They usually keep the deities in the chariot after the pulling and conduct Bahuda the same evening. “The first wooden chariot was built by volunteers, which we donated to Rhode Island. At Wilton, the temple arranged a new chariot from south India,” said Panigrahi.
At Rhode Island, the celebrations will include bhajan and Odissi dance recitals by members of Rhode Island Hindu Temple Society and dancers drawn from a local Odissi school. “This year, Subhransu Mohanty, one of our members will do the Chhera Pahanra,” said Akshaya Mohanty, an organiser.