Rath Yatra celebrated amid festive mood in Shyamnagar
Ranjit Barman, Shyamnagar (Satkhira)
The Hindu religious festival of Rath Yatra was celebrated with great enthusiasm at various locations in Shyamnagar Upazila, Satkhira on Friday.
The grand Rath Yatra festival of Sri Sri Jagannath Baladev and Subhadra Maharani was held, organized by several temples including Gopalpur Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple in the Upazila headquarters, Ballavpur Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple, Bhurulia Sonamugari Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple, Harinagar Sadhu Para Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple, Munshiganj Dhankhali Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple, among others.
At 4 p.m., the chariot from Gopalpur Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple in the Upazila headquarters was pulled by thousands of devotees in a festive atmosphere accompanied by devotional music from the temple premises to Nakipur Harital Sarbajanin Temple.
From Nakipur Harital, devotees pulled another chariot to Ballavpur Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple. Before the Rath Yatra festival at Gopalpur Sri Sri Radha Govinda Temple, a discussion session was held in the temple courtyard under the overall supervision of the temple’s head priest, Brahmachari Shri Pad Krishna Sakha Das. Guests who spoke at the session included District BNP leader Advocate Syed Iftikhar Ali, Rabindra Nath Biswas, President of Bangladesh Puja Udyapan Parishad Shyamnagar Upazila branch, Advocate Krishna Pod Mondal, General Secretary, Bishnu Pod Mondal, President of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council Shyamnagar, Kiran Shankar Chatterjee, General Secretary, retired headmaster Krishnananda Mukherjee, district and upazila BNP leaders, leaders of Bangladesh Puja Udyapan Parishad Shyamnagar Upazila, leaders of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council Shyamnagar, and leaders of various religious organizations. During the discussion session, devotional songs were performed intermittently by the temple devotees and others.
Prasadam was distributed at the end of the session. At all Rath Yatra festivals, devotees solemnly pull the chariot ropes and slowly carry them to their destinations, maintaining a religious and reverent atmosphere.
