Lakhs of devotees witness Lord Jagannath’s return car festival
PURI: Lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad witnessed Lord Jagannath's 'Bahuda Yatra' –the return car festival which was held amid tight security.
A multi-layer security net was thrown in the town with heavy deployment of forces to ensure smooth celebrations and prevent any untoward incident, a senior police official said.
According to mythology, the three deities –Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and their sister Devi Subhadra wrap up their annual nine-day sojourn to Sri Gundicha Temple, their birth place and return to Sreemandir or Sri Jagannath temple riding their three majestic wooden chariots.
Several special rituals were performed before the deities were taken out of the Gundicha temple and placed on the three colourfully decorated chariots for the return journey amid chants of 'Jai Jagannath' and 'Hari Bol'.
The divine siblings were taken to their chariots in an elaborate ritual called 'Pahandi' to the beating of gongs, cymbals and blowing of conch shells.
Lord Jagannath was ensconced in the largest of the three chariots - the 45 feethigh 'Nandighosh', Balabhadra in his 44 feet-high 'Taladhwaja' and Subhadra in her 43 feet-high 'Darpadalan'.
Gajapati King of Puri Divya Singha Deb performed the 'Chhera Pahanra' ritual. He offered prayers to the deities and then swept the platforms of the chariots with a golden broom and sprinkled flowers and fragrant water. The giant chariots were then pulled by devotees amid gaiety and devotion on 'Bada Danda', the grand avenue leading to the Sri Jagannath temple up to the Lion's gate in front of it where they would be stationed till July 6.
The deities, who had embarked on a nine-day sojourn to the Gundicha Temple during Rath Yatra on June 25, would finally re-enter the 12th century shrine and again be placed on the 'Ratna Simhasana', the bejewelled throne, following a ceremony called 'Neeladribije'. AHMEDABAD: The tea stall in Guajarat's Vadnagar where Prime Minister Narendra Modi once sold tea during his childhood is all set to become a tourist spot with the Centre deciding to give it a face-lift.
The stall is located on one of the platforms of the Vadnagar Railway station.
Converting the stall into a tourist spot is part of a larger project of putting Modi's birthplace Vadnagar in Mehsana district of Gujarat on the world tourism map. Officials of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) visited the town yesterday.
The team of officials was led by Union Culture Mahesh Sharma, who later announced that the original charm of the tea stall will be preserved while giving it a modern touch.
"Apart from being the birthplace of our PM, Vadnagar is an important historical centre having famous Sharmishta Lake and a step-well. ASI had recently found remains of a Buddhist Monastery during excavation, which is still going on," Sharma told reporters at Gandhinagar yesterday.
Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Modi had often mentioned that he used to sell tea during his childhood at the Vadnagar railway station along with his father.
"Inside the Vadnagar railway station, there is a small tea stall, from where our PM had probably started his life's journey. We also want to develop that tea stall as a tourism spot. We will try to preserve the original charm of the tea stall while giving it a modern touch. Our aim is to put Vadnagar on world tourism map," Sharma said.
Earlier, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Ahmedabad division Dinesh Kumar had said the entire project of developing Vadnagar and adjoining places in Mehsana district would cost over Rs 100 crore.