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Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra 2012 is underway with heaps of international travellers booking flights to India to partake in the auspicious event apart from the locals. The yatra will last till 29th June.
Hordes of foreign tourists have booked tickets on flights to India to sample the extreme form of merrymaking and revelries that accompany the annual Rath Yatra festival of Puri, in the state of Orissa. A highly popular event all over the world, the yatra remains one of the biggest cultural temptations for international travellers to look for airlines with cheap flight deals for India.
The Rath Yatra Festival of Puri got underway on Thursday, 21st June and the celebrations will last till June 29. Those already in India for their holidays can plan a tour to the east coast of the country to check out the mammoth size fanfare.
Rath Yatra is marked by the annual journey of the three deities – Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, and Devi Subhadra from the 12th century Jagannath temple in three beautifully decked up wooden chariots. The chariots are then carried by the devotees of Jagannath to the Gundicha temple located three kilometres away.
Tourists were impressed by the 45-foot-high “Nandighosh”, the chariot of Lord Jagannath, stood imposingly with 16 huge wooden wheels. Of the two other chariots, ‘Taladhwaja’ is 44-foot-high boasting 14 wheels and the other is Balabhadra’s and Subhadra’s ‘Darpadalan’ which is 43 feet tall and features 12 wheels.
As mentioned earlier, Rath Yatra festival of Puri is big and popular even among international holiday makers, enticing them to net airlines offering cheap flights to India to witness the deep religious values linked with this much-popular occasion.
With so many travellers and locals flocking to Puri to attend the festivities, the state government of the region has made elaborate security arrangements to maintain peace and decorum among the masses.