16/07/2026
Dutta Priyojit: (Part1) Going to Puri for the first time at the age of 30 wasn’t on my to do list. Guess such things don’t happen according to our to-do list. I got this opportunity because of a friend who invited us to their home and made us experience Rath Yatra in the best way possible.
On the day of the Yatra, we left for Puri from Bhubaneswar around afternoon after having lunch. We took a two wheeler and only mobile phones to stay in touch with one another in the bustling crowd of Puri. Any more belongings is subject to theft or loss.
We started our ride around 2-2:30 pm and our first stop happened to be at a friend’s place, who were to join us as well. We sat there for a while and his mother offered us Abhora, the bhog that is prepared at every household during Rath Yatra.
In the next 30 mins, we hit the road, 1 hour ride, gliding through cars, buses and trucks on the highway. Lord Jagannath was generous enough to soften the scorching heat. Almost 90% of the vehicles were pacing to Puri! All for the love of Lord Jagannath.
We took a short tea break for 5-10 mins after 40 mins of riding. Then again our journey began. On reaching the outskirts of Puri, we could see huge gatherings, stalls feeding the poor, distributing Abhora.
People boarding up and down their buses, cars parking here and there until traffic volunteers interfere and manage the traffic. We could feel the energy rising and the crowd accumulating as we were 8-10 km away from our destination.
