The artist arrived in our city from his native Odisha early this month. Since then, Gopal Mopalo has been applying a shiny coat of colours to scores of sacred idols, sculptures and illustrations that grace the beautiful Sree Jagannath Mandir in Hauz Khas. This humid afternoon, he is concentrating on the figure of a lion—see photo. The venerable man is extremely polite, not showing irritation on being interrupted from his immersive work. He hails from a “heritage village” in distant Odisha, and was summoned to help prepare the temple for the festival of Rath Yatra, due tomorrow.
Overlooking the Hauz Khas village road, the all-white temple has its sanctum sanctorum enshrined with a black-faced idol of Bhagwan Jagannath, the “Swami of the Sansar.” An avatar of Vishnu, Bhagwan Jagannath is depicted with brother Balbhadra, and their sister Subhadra. The temple in Hauz Khas draws citizens from across the capital, including a large number of Odia-speaking Delhiwale.
This isn’t surprising, for the most important shrine to Bhagwan Jagannath lies in Odisha’s Puri. That coastal town has traditionally been the site of an annual Rath Yatra festival in which the three aforementioned deities of Puri’s great Jagannath Mandir are seated in chariots that move through massive crowds of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. The procession was historically believed to develop a kinetic energy of such extreme magnitude that, once in motion, it appeared unstoppable, no matter what might happen on the way. The English word juggernaut originated, in 1638, from this phenomenon in Puri.
This Friday, parallel to Puri’s iconic Rath Yatra, hundreds of thousands of Jagannath temples all over the world will host their own rath yatras—Hauz Khas temple shall mark its 47th. It will be the busiest day in the temple’s annual calendar. The serving of “bhandara” food to pilgrims will begin by noon. The holy meal shall comprise of meethi peeli khichdi, arhar dal and suji halwa. At around 2.30pm, the temple’s stately sal wood chariot, the rath, will be launched into its symbolic journey. Pilgrims will take turns to draw forward the hefty carriage. Two thick strong ropes will be positioned towards the front of the chariot. An additional rope will be knotted to the rear, so that the people behind the rath can control the pace of its progression. The chariot will wade through the traffic-heavy Aurobindo Marg, turning back near the AIIMS flyover.
This moment, the rath is parked outside the temple. Sheathed under a rain-proof cover, it too is receiving last-minute touches.
The complete festivities will last until July 8. The day after the festival, Sree Jagannath Mandir will slowly return to its silent serenity. The temple’s towering shikhara shall again be a place of rest for Hauz Khas pigeons.