HERE COMES THE JUGGERNAUT
All eyes are on Jagannath at the annual Rath Yatra in Puri. But behind the festival is an army of sevaks, whose families have helped keep this temple tradition alive for generations
problem has been brought to the notice of the SC and reviews on travel sites alert tourists about possible exploitation. While Pradipta Mohapatra admits that in the past there have been a few complaints of harassment by pandas, he insists that the temple administration is committed to taking action against offenders and avoiding such situations. “CCTV cameras have been placed in many parts of the temple to ensure security for devotees,” he says.
Recently, there were news reports that President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife were allegedly harassed by temple servitors during their visit there. But Pradipta Mohapatra denies this vehemently. “The President’s visit was peaceful and successful. We have received no complaints from Rashtrapati Bhavan,” he claims.
As for caste bias, Pujapanda gives the example of temple servitors to indicate its absence in the temple. “There are 119 categories of sevaks and they are drawn from across castes,” he says. Interestingly, it seems that though Jagannath’s sevaks are from across castes, they offer services that are traditionally associated with their castes. As Surendra Kumar Mishra explains, “The puja and preparation of the lord’s bhog are offered by Brahmin servitors. But there are those from the barber community who show him the mirror, cleaners, those who play music…”.
An exception is the daitapati sevaks, who are the ones allowed to be with Jagannath for a 15-day period preceding the Rath Yatra when the deity is said to be unwell and is kept away public view. During this period, it is the ‘low caste’ daitas, along with one Brahmin sevak, who serve the deity. “The idols are made of wood. Through a series of rituals the daitapati sevaks repair any wear and tear in the idols,” explains Pujapanda. The daitapatis are also the ones who identify and go to bring the wood needed to build the new idols when it is time to replace the old ones.
Caste is, however, a sticky subject here. According to Mishra, the daitas are low caste and the patis are Brahmins and these are two different groups of servitors. In a book on the temple and its culture, Rajesh Daitapati also explains that while the daitas are descendants of the tribal Viswavasu, the patis are the descendents of the Brahmin Vidyapati.
BUILDING THE RATHS
It seems lineage is adhered to not only within the temple, but even while constructing the raths. “There are seven groups of workers – the viswakarma or those who do the actual construction, the kartias or those who cut the wood, the bhois or those who carry the wood, the lohars or ironsmiths, the roopkars who do the artwork on the chariots, the chitrakars who paint them and the tailors. In total they number more than 200,” says Pujapanda, adding, “most of the workers, at least the leaders of each group, have been doing this for generations”.
Fifty-nine-year-old Bijaya Kumar Mohapatra is a singer and teaches music at a school. But for two months before the Rath Yatra, he stops all that to work as the chief viswakarma of Jagannath’s rath. His father held the post before him. “It is seva. My nephews will carry on the tradition, since I don’t have a son,” says Bijaya. Women are not allowed to participate in the construction of the raths. While Bijaya’s father and grandfather were fulltime carpenters, for him it is work that he does only for these two months. It is the same story for most of the lead sevaks. The 15-year-old son of the chief roopkar for Jagannath’s rath, Rajendra, joins him after school to learn the work. There is no doubt in the minds of the sevaks that the next generation will carry on the tradition.
It’s not the money. The daily earnings of the workers vary between ₹350-₹450, with the leaders earning a few rupees more than the others. “We don’t call it wages, it’s khorak, what we need to subsist for the day,” explains one. Most of them earn more the rest of the year. And it is heavy work, especially for the bhois. Accidents are common – from people being injured by pieces of wood falling on them to suffering serious cuts. The temple administration does pay for the treatments but a worker speaking on condition of anonymity says that the paperwork is often so lengthy that they end up paying for themselves.
On the day of the yatra, many of the sevaks who build the raths may have no role to play. “The bhois walk with the raths to help steer the chariots,” says Pujapanda. The bhoi leader, Rabi, recalls how one of his men had lost a leg when it came under the wheel of the rath. It is unclear how many of these sevaks can mount the rath to pay their respects to the deity from close quarters. They may have to worship him from a distance like other devotees.
The sevaks don’t seem to mind. “When we (the main sevaks whose names are on the temple records) die, fire from the akhanda jyoti that burns before the mahabprabhu will be brought to light our funeral pyres,” says Purnachandra, eyes bright with the hope of reward in the other world. He is the chief roopkar of one of the raths. Of course, there are benefits in this world too. As with most religious organisations and places of worship, the association with the temple does bring with it a certain social prestige among peers, which an enterprising few may even be able to convert into more material rewards.