Diaspora in UK, Scotland joins festivity

Bhubaneswar: As people in Odisha poured out into the streets during Rath Yatra after a two-year gap, a few groups in UK and Scotland also celebrated on Friday evening or will do so on Saturday as Friday is a working day for them. People drawn from other states of India also participated in the celebrations.
In Manchester, 50 Odia families and 200 Gujaratis, Bengalis and other communities, as well as 100 Isckon devotees, are involved in the celebrations that started in 2021. Being organised by the North-West Odia Samaj, UK, this year the celebrations will start on Saturday by 9.30 am at Gita Bhavan Hindu Temple. “The celebrations will continue into the afternoon. We expect around 500 devotees,” said Siba Ranjan Biswal, a committee member.
The committee has given out a systematic road plan to its devotees for chariot pulling that will start and end in the temple. Member Dr Siba Senapati will do the “Chhenra Pahanra” on the chariot that is 18 feet in height, while “Pahandi” will be executed by Jeeban Panigrahi, Bibek Babu and Biswal himself. The chariot was built by a local carpenter and volunteers last year. “We spent 2,500 pounds on it. The decorative items like the cover have been brought from Puri,” said Biswal.
The Odia community in Edinburgh, Scotland, started the celebrations around 6 pm. The festival is organised by 35 Odia families with the co-operation of Edinburgh Hindu Mandir & Cultural Centre.