Bhubaneswar: Chants of ‘Jai Jagannath’ filled the air in Bath and Manchester as Odias living in these English cities organised Rath Yatra on Sunday.
The festival was celebrated for the 19th year in Bath and witnessed a congregation of over 1,000 devotees from London, Scotland, India, Dubai, the US and even other parts of Europe. “Being a weekend, people started arriving in the city on Friday night to participate in the celebrations,” said Susmita Rajhansa, the main organiser and a member of the Jagannath Temple in Bath.

A chariot was built by engineers from among the Odia community in 4-5 days before the festival. The chariot’s cover and other decorations were sourced from Puri.
“The craftsmanship enthralled many Europeans who experienced Rath Yatra for the first time. They were curious to know about our traditions and soaked in the festivities,” said Susmita.
The chariot was pulled for three miles in the city by devotees with permission from authorities after rituals like ‘pahandi’ and ‘chhera pahanra’ were completed by businessman Ashish Rajhansa and other devotees. All were provided prasad free of cost with the festivities ending at 11 pm.
Bath MP Wera Hobhouse and mayor Michelle O’Doherty took part in the event.
In Manchester, over 500 people took part in the celebrations along with Manchester Gorton MP Afzal Khan. A chariot with the three deities on board was pulled from Gita Bhavan Hindu Temple and back, covering 2.5 miles. “Parts of the chariot are stored in the temple’s storeroom and assembled every year,” said Siba Kumar Biswal, a member of North West Odisha Society in Manchester.
People from Manchester, Boston, Leeds, Liverpool, Blackpool, Derby and Sheffield attended the event.

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