Hooghly, 16 July (H.S.): The historic Mahesh Rath Yatra, one of India's oldest chariot festivals after Puri, was celebrated with great religious fervour and enthusiasm on Thursday as it entered its 630th year. From the early hours of the morning, thousands of devotees thronged the Mahesh Jagannath Temple, while lakhs of pilgrims from different parts of West Bengal gathered to witness the grand festival.

As per tradition, the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, which remain inside the sanctum sanctorum throughout the year, were ceremonially brought to the temple entrance for public darshan. Devotees offered flowers, sandalwood paste and bel leaves before the deities were placed on the ceremonial chariot for their journey to the Masi Bari (Aunt's House).

The iconic chariot, preserved throughout the year beside GT Road in front of the temple, is a 140-year-old iron structure built by Martin Burn Company, replacing the earlier wooden chariot. Standing nearly 50 feet tall, with nine spires and 12 iron wheels, it is currently maintained by Kolkata's Basu family. The Mahesh Rath Yatra is regarded as the second-oldest Rath Yatra in India, after the famous festival in Puri.

A grand stage was set up beside the chariot, where Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar, West Bengal Minister of State for Public Health Engineering (PHE) and Labour and Serampore MLA Bhaskar Bhattacharya, Uttarpara MLA Dipanjan Chakraborty, BJP state spokesperson Debajit Sarkar, BJP Serampore Organisational District president Suman Ghosh, Mahesh Jagannath Temple chief servitor Piyal Adhikari, and several other dignitaries were present.

In the evening, amid loud chants of Jai Jagannath, thousands of devotees enthusiastically pulled the sacred chariot, which was taken to the Masi Bari, marking the beginning of the traditional journey.

A large fair has also been organised at the Snanpiri ground adjacent to the temple, featuring devotional music, cultural programmes and the distribution of Mahaprasad to devotees.

For the first time, the West Bengal government has provided a grant of Rs 5 lakh to major Rath Yatra committees across the state, including the Mahesh Jagannath Temple. The financial assistance has helped enhance the scale of the celebrations, while elaborate security and crowd-management arrangements have been put in place to ensure the safety and convenience of the massive gathering.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey