Chariot Festival in Mahesh

The beautiful and refreshing rainy season reminds us the famous Rathayatra Festival of our country India. It is an important religious festival of Eastern India specially of Orissa and West Bengal. The most famous and colourful Rathayatra ( A colourful procession of chariot with idols of Sri Jagannath, Sri Balaram and Subhadra, three God and Goddess in Hindu mythology) takes places in Puri of Orissa. The chariot festival of other places originated subsequently following the pattern and tradition of Puri Rathayatra. The Rathayatra of Mahesh in the Hooghly district of West Bengal is more than 600 years old. It is the second most famous Rathayatra only next to that of puri. Nearly two to three lakh people assemble in Mahesh every year to witness Rathayatra. Lord Jagannath goes to the Gundicha temple and take rest there till return journey which is called ‘ULTARATH’.

Famous Bengali novelist Bankim ch. Chatterjee gave reference of the Rathayatra of Mahesh in his novel ‘Radharani’. Many renowned personalities of Bengal like Srichaitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Ramakrishnadev, Dramatist Girish ch. Ghosh, Natyacharya Sisir Bhaduri and also Rabindranath Tagore came to this holy place on the occasion of Rathayatra.

Jagannath, Subhadra & Balaram

Jagannath temple

A brief history of the Mahesh Rathayatra is as follows:

Nearly about 614 years ago a saint named Drubananda went to Puri from West Bengal and wanted to offer ‘Bhoj’ (cooked food) cooked by himself to Lord Jagannath. But priests of the Sri Jagannath temple denied him the permission to do so. Infact, he was thrown out of the temple. The saint felt extreme pain in his mind and he decided to end his life by starvation. On the third night of his fasting Lord Jagnnath came into his dream and told him to break his fast and asked him to return back to Mahesh. Lord Jagannath also told the saint that he would get a Daru-Brahma (Neem-trunk) to be carried in by the current of the holy river the Ganga. Drubananda came back to Mahesh and on one stromy night he spotted the neem-trunk floating on the Ganga. He collected the wood and made the idols of Sri Jagannath, Sri Balaram and Subhadra from that neem-trunk. Temple of Jagannath was founded in Mahesh on the bank of the Ganga and Rathayatra began from that time. After his death the charges of the temple was handed-over to Kamalakar Pipolai a disciple of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprobhu. Infact, Srichaitanya Mahaprobhu came to meet Drubananda in his death bed. From that time the decendant of Kamalakar Pipolai family have been serving Lord Jagannath.

Chaitanyalila is depicting here

In every year in the month of July, two days after the new-moon Lord Jagannath come out of the temple to go to ‘Masibari’ by Chariot with a colourful procession. Many devotees pull the chariot. Initially the chariot was made of wood. But accidentally one day it caught fire and was destroyed. The present chariot made of steel with wooden deck was donated by a rich man Krishna ch. Bose of Shyambazar of North Kolkata. Till-date this Bose family of shyambazar bear the whole expenditure of the annual Rathayatra. This four-storied chariot is 50ft in height and it has twelve iron wheels. The chariot is decorated with colourful paintings. In the ground floor you can see the pictures depicting chaitanyalila. In the first-floor one can find paintings of Krishnalila. The second floor is decorated with paintings of Ramalila and in the third-floor the throne of Lord Jagannath is placed.

Gundicha temple

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explained to his devotees about the significance of Rathayatra. Lord Krishna killed his maternal-uncle ‘Kansa’ and became the prince of the Mathura. Once Gopinis of ‘Braja’ (Vrindaban) came to Mathura to meet Lord Krishna. They were very much surprised seeing the wealth of Krishna. They were also dissapoint for not being able to interact intimately with their beloved Krishna. Lord Krishna noticed the feelings of Goppinis. In order to pacify the anger of Gopinis Lord Krishna came out of his palace and went to the house of one of his Gopinis ‘Purnomasi’ and stayed at Vrindaban for nine day with all other Gopini’s. During this period Lord Krishna was called Gopinath, the master (Nath) of Gopini’s. After nine days Lord Krishna returned back to his palace in Mathura. This mythological story is repeated every year through the festival of Rathayatra of Lord Jagannath.

I visited Mahesh in this July 2011 just a day before ULTARATH (return journey). I could not see the procession of the Chariot. Mela ground was also closed at that time. But I saw the preparations of “UTARATH” and visited Gundicha tempel, Sri Jannath temple and also Sri Jagnnath Ghat.

Old Jagannath Ghat

 

Kali temple in old Jagannath Ghat

Shiva temple

New Jagannath Ghat

Moonsoon in Tagore's Songs

Rabindranath  Tagore  had  deep  love  for  nature. Monsoon  was  poet’s  most  favourite  season.  After  long  hot  summer  when  our  heart  cries out  ‘ There  is  thirst  in  my  eyes,/ My entire  being  pines  with  it’  then  monsoon  comes  down  in  the earth  like  a  ‘youthful  pride  in  her  gait’—Poet  Said,  

‘come  oh  verdurous  splendor

                                      Allaying heart,  slaking  thirst

                                      Grace  with  your  cooling  presence

                                      Gazing  longingly  at  skies

                                      Awaits  you  this  lovelorn  earth’ 

 

 Monsoons were greeted in Kabi Guru’s time in Shantiniketan with programmes termed as ‘Barsha Mongol’.   It means the blessings of rain. ‘Barsha Mongol’ was  first celebrated in Shantinikatan by Shameendranath, poet’s youngest son, in 1908 (Bengali year 1315).  Tagore himself introduced ‘Barsha Mongol’ celebrations in his ancestral home at Jorasanko on Bhadra 17, 1328 (1921). The charm and depth of those evenings with poet himself reciting and singing can very well be visualised.

The poet composed many songs on his favourite season monsoon. Classical Ragas namely Miyaki Mallhar, Megha Mallhar, Desh Mallhar, Gour Mallar, Des were extensively used in those songs. 

 

The mood of the rains as sketched by the poet having marks of different colours, reflects intricate human reactions to a season.

‘Aji  Jharo jharo mukharo badolodine’

‘Today, in drizzling rains and rumblings of a cloudy day

Know not I, know not why, why on nothing does the mind stay

With restless water laden winds, towards wondering clouds

Speeds this mind, yearns this mind, longing to know paths of a flights of gees

Time throbs to Rag Megha Mallhar all day long…..’

One is at once filled with a sense of pathos and boundless joy; Tagore caught the many glorious moods of the season of clouds and gave a lyrical and musical expressions to the innermost whispering of the clouds, the rains, the human soul. He heard and recreated the symphony of colour and music.

‘Mon mor megher sangi’

 Companion to the clouds, my heart

Soars beyond all horizins

Towards the wide open void…..’

Bel, Juhi, Kadam, Ketoki are the flowers of monsoon and poet frequently mentioned them with Sal-Piyal, Tal-Tamal trees in his songs on rainy season.

 

Abhisarika-Radha

In his musical drama ‘Bhanusingha Thakurer Padabali’  romantic poet Rabindranath depicted Radha’s secret journey for love (Abhisar) ignoring wild wind , thundering clouds and incessant fall of rain.

‘ Sawan Gagane Ghor Ghana Ghata, Nishitha Yamini Re.

  Kunjapathe  Sakhi  Kayese  Jaobo  Abalakamini Re….

‘In this difficult path of love tryst, in this drunken state of shravan, in this journey of love, thats the Raj Path. When tears flows down the eyes in sadness, then comes to the door of our heart, the Chariot of our lover. In Radha's journey of love this is the most auspicious moment and she can't wait for the call. Leaving aside all hurdles, Radha reaches the grove for union with her Shyam (Krishna) . But in this grove of love there's just rain of sadness. The Gopi's seeing Radha's condition now comes to Radha as her sisters to console her.’