Baripada: A day after the world-famous Rath Yatra was kicked off in Puri, Baripada hosted the festival in pomp and gaiety on Monday.
According to sources, thousands of devotees thronged Bada Danda, the Grand Road leading to the Harbaldev Jew temple in Baripada to pull the chariots of Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. The car festival here is considered second in importance after Puri. Unlike Puri, the festival at Baripada, however, continues for 13 days.
One of the many unique traditions of the second Shreekhsetra Baripada Rath Yatra is that only women pull Devi Subhadra’s chariot. On the first day of the two-day pulling of chariots, Devi Subhadra’s chariot is pulled halfway and another halfway to reach the Gundicha temple on the next day. On these two days, only women pull the Darpadalan chariot of Devi Subhadra. Every year a large number of women participate in this pulling of chariots. In 1975, women were allowed for the first time to pull Goddess Subhadra’s chariot. With this unique tradition marking 50 years of completion, Deputy Chief Minister of Odisha Pravati Parida visited Baripada and pulled the Subhadra chariot.
On this occasion, Parida said, “It’s an honour for me to reach second Srikhetra and pull Goddess Subhadra’s chariot. Women here have been pulling the chariot since 1975. Being a female Deputy CM, I have joined other women to pull the chariot. I believe that Goddess Subhadra will protect all the women.”
While devotees pulled Lord Balabhadra’s chariot to Mausima temple (Gundicha), women devotees managed to pull Devi Subhadra’s chariot till Town police station on the Grand Road by Monday evening. The chariot of Lord Jagannath will be pulled on Tuesday.
Apart from the Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, Queen and princess of the erstwhile princely state of Mayurbhanj came to pull the chariot of Subhadra. Amidst the dense crowd of devotees, the chariot pulling took place with great joy and enthusiasm.
Besides, Housing & Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra, Mayurbhanj MP Nabacharan Majhi took part in the Baripada Car Festival.
The Rath Yatra at Baripada, the second most important car festival after Puri, has many unique features. After the ‘Pahandi Bije’, Lord Jagannath is placed on His chariot on the day of Rath Yatra. The chariot, however, waits for two days before it is pulled.
The Mayurbhanj police administration has deployed two additional superintendents of police (SP), eight DSPs, 17 inspectors, 78 sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors, 11 havildars, 121 constables, 24 female constables, and 13 traffic constables, along with 8 platoons of security forces for the smooth conduct of Rath Yatra.
