Hundreds of devotees witnessed the Rath Yatra held at Brahmanagar Third line on Wednesday as lord of the Universe Jagannath began a nine-day sojourn with his chariot moving in a procession en-route Brajanagar, Brahmanagar, Siddharthanagar and the main roads of Brahmapur and finally terminating at the Mausima temple.
Shree Jagannath tasted the typical Odia heritage cake Poda Pitha at the Mausima temple as per the tradition. Hundreds of devotees jostled to have a glimpse of the deity who came out of his small shrine built in the house of late advocate Arjun Patra of Brahmanagar Third line.
The Yatra is being performed by Patra’s family members Asutosh and Anup with the cooperation of local residents since last one decade, said Sasirekha Patra of the family. Several young devotees dancing to the tunes of Ghanta Badya, cymbals, drums and blowing of conches and trumpets presented a serene and celestial atmosphere in the whole area. The Pahandi (ceremonial procession) began at about 3 pm and was completed at 5.30 pm in the same tradition followed in Puri.
The locals hailed the efforts of the Patra family, which has retained the long tradition left by Arjun Patra. Among others who coordinated the Yatra were Niranjan Mohanty, Ramakanta Pattnaik, Nirup Pattnaik, Devadutta Mohanty, MN Bisoyi, Bhaskar Dora and Jitendra Panda.