For Houston Hindus, a chariot awaits
Ratha Yatra honors journey to unity and understanding with health fair, music and dances
The Sanskrit word “ratha” means chariot, and “yatra” translates to journey. Combined, they become the chariot or car festival — a procession of deities on wheels, surrounded by devotees.
Each year, more than a million Hindu pilgrims head to the annual Ratha Yatra festivals in east India,
mainly in the state of Odisha, previously known as Orissa.
Houston has its own version of the event — created by former residents of Odisha who now call Texas home.
This will be the 12th year that the Orissa Culture Center will host the Houston Ratha Yatra, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday at India House, 8888 W. Bellfort.
Orissa Culture Center president Debananda Pati
explained that the festival revolves around Lord Jagannath, or Lord of the Universe, who appears alongside his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra.
Each deity is represented by a color — black for Jagannath, white for Balabhadra and yellow for Subhadra.
“It’s all symbolic,” Pati said. “It represents all of mankind. The idea is to promote universal brotherhood and multiculturalism.”
Celebrating diversity is at the heart of Ratha Yatra — and part of the Orissa Culture Center’s mission.
In fact, the theme for this year’s festival is “Samskriti-O-Sangam,” or confluence of culture, and a wide variety of programs will showcase the multiculturalism of Houston.
The day begins with a free health fair and dental clinic from 9 to 11:30 a.m.
“A lot of people come to the events, and many do not have medical insurance,” Pati said. “So we offer it for free.”
The service is in keeping with the way the festival is celebrated in India, he added. “In Orissa, people provide free food, free medical service,” he said. “People give water, food and clothes. People give so much. It’s all about giving and serving.”
After a devotional offering for Lord Jagannath, Dr. Sen Pathak, professor emeritus of cancer biology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Temple, will explain the significance of the chariot festival and universal brotherhood.
Riyaaz Qawwali will perform Sufi music from South Asia. Dance of Asian America and Oro de Mariachi will also take the stage, alongside the rock band Way Station.
The Odissi Academy, Kalaagan performing arts center, Anjali Center for Performing Arts and the Abhinaya School of Performing Arts will perform Indian classical dances.
The evening also will include chanting by Vedic scholars and priests of various Hindu temples in Houston.
“Then the procession begins,” Pati said. “It’s beautiful.”
The three deities will be placed in a colorful 21foot-long chariot, which is pushed by devotees. A mass offering is made by candlelight.
“Everyone just prays for universal peace,” Pati said. “That’s the whole idea.”
The evening concludes with a free dinner.
Girish Lenka has organized the event since it began in 2008. “This is the first of its kind in Houston,” he said. “It’s grown in popularity for the past several years.”
Part of the reason for the expansion is that several cultural groups are invited to participate, Lenka said.
“We don’t just invite our own community,” he said. “We invite folks from Mexico, the U.S., China and Vietnam.”
While the Hindu faith is the reason for the festival, Lenka said that all religions join the celebration.
“This is not purely religious — it’s more cultural,” he said. “It’s about spreading love and happiness, not just in our community, but beyond.
That’s the DNA of our festival. It’s celebrating different cultures and different backgrounds and making new friends.”
Pati said that Orissa Culture Center was established in 2008 and became a nonprofit the following year. A number of immigrants from Odisha arrived in Houston in the 1990s and early 2000s and needed a place to observe and promote their heritage and traditions.
“At that time, a lot of people came to Houston to work in oil and gas or the Medical Center,” Pati said. “There was a need to organize to promote our culture.”
Today, the center promotes Jagannath’s message of harmony, as well as the art, literature and history of Odisha. In addition, the group hosts events open to the community.
Bringing an annual Ratha Yatra event to the city was a key part of keeping the tradition alive, Pati said.
The town of Puri in Odisha has a temple dedicated to Jagannath, which was built in the 12th century. The summer festival is one of the most significant events in the state, Pati said.
“Everybody can come and worship, and millions come to the pull the chariot,” he said. “Ratha Yatra brings people from all over the world.”
In 2010, the Houston Arts Alliance awarded the Orissa Culture Center its first grant from the Mayor’s Arts Initiative to help with the celebration. The city has remained a major supporter ever since, Pati said.
This year, the festival received a grant from a new program supporting festivals, said Debbi McNulty, director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs.
The program was designed to encourage arts and celebrate Houston’s diversity.
“We’re such a city of culture,” McNulty said. “It’s part of our city’s strength, that our culture is so infused in dance, food and music. Our cultures mix, learn and riff off of each other.”
The Ratha Yatra festival completely showcases these ideals, she added.
“We’ve been reworking our grant programs,” she said. “Festival grants give as an opportunity to go deep into many cultures.”
Over the years, the Orissa Culture Center has grown to include a full schedule of performing arts and cultural events. The organization has sponsored visits by prominent Odisha gurus Nityananda and Bijay, as well as dance and drama festivals throughout the year. The group is also active in other local Indian cultural events.
“When we started, we had about 20 members,” Pati said. “We wanted to give back to the community. Now it’s around 300 members.”
The Orissa Culture Center is now poised to realize one of its dreams — establishing a museum and library to showcase artwork and culture from Odisha.
The organization purchased 2 acres at 2002 De Soto in 2009 with the vision of one day building a temple. The land was recently cleared and construction began.
Pati estimates that the new center will open in the winter, complete with a performance hall, kitchens, meeting rooms, classrooms, garden and playground.
“It’s a big piece of land,” Pati said. “It will be a beautiful, parklike center.”
He said that the center, like the festival, will be open to everyone to enjoy.
“Our whole philosophy is to promote multicultural exchanges and interfaith dialogue,” he said.