Ratha Yatra

From today, Ratha Yatra, the chariot festival in India commences. Mother would say that on the days this festival starts and ends, it has to rain, most probably heavily. I’m sure that parts of India will not receive rainfall today though.

This isn't celebrated all that much where I live now but was quite a festival in East India where I grew up. I will miss seeing kids pulling their tiny carts with the three sibling gods Krishna, Balaram and Subhadra. This ceremony brings back fond memories from my childhood when we would pull tiny decorated wooden carriages on our terrace. They’d be decorated with flowers, colourful paper and incense sticks.

The first term would be on in school along with class tests during that time. I'd study on the patio and while my mother quizzed me for the next day's test, I would pull the trolley. We had a one-storied handcart and my cousins a three-floored one. Our joint family had sadly not been taught to share and take turns in pulling both the chariots. I always wanted to pull the bigger one. Mother explained that it was not the size of the vehicle that mattered but the fact that the same gods travelled in both of them.

The first fair I visited in my colourful India was the one held to mark Ratha Yatra. India is a riot of vibrant hues, and via the earthy merry fairs which sell things of diverse colours, our country seems to be projected through a kaleidoscope.  These monsoon exhibitions would sell an amazing variety of goods at reasonable rates, some of which were very alluring for a child in the 1980’s decade. Nowadays, privileged urban kids go to malls and may never know the quaint charm and sweet joys of these simple gatherings.

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https://pixabay.com/photos/patachitra-orissa-odisha-india-3859251/: Image by Prasanta Sahoo from Pixabay