Puri’s Ratha Yatra is legendary and there is no two ways about that. But Bengal has its own ancient Ratha Yatra which is celebrated every year in Mahesh, Serampore, Hooghly. The Mahesh Ratha Yatra is known as the oldest celebrations in Bengal having kicked off in 1396 and the second oldest in the world, after Puri. Every year in the month of July thousands of devotees gather to pull the holy chariot and offer their prayers to the idols, continuing a 630 year old tradition.
There are two interesting schools of thoughts which are associated with the origin of the Mahesh Ratha Yatra. The most popular is the lore of Drubananda Brahmachari who had visited Puri but was unable to offer bhog to Lord Jagannath. Seeing his devotee heartbroken, it is said that Lord Jagannath made an appearance in his dreams and asked him to travel to Mahesh instead. The Lord instructed that from the Hooghly river would come floating a Daru Brahma or a neem log which should be used to carve the deities – Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. This would also lead to the establishment of a temple and the celebrations there.
Another story goes that Kamalakar Pipilai, an associated of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was said to have been the force behind the start of the Mahesh Ratha Yatra in 1396. It is further enhanced in the stories of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu travelling here and entering a trance which led the place to get the name Naba Nilachal or New Puri.
All about the celebrations
While in Puri, one would see three different chariots pulling the deities, here there is only one chariot pulling all of them together. This chariot is said to have been built in 1885 by Martin Burn Company under the patronage of Krishnaram Basu. It is around 50 feet tall and weighs 125 tonnes. It is designed drawing inspiration from Bengal’s Navratna mandir and has 12 large iron wheels. Moreover, in Puri, the idols are newly constructed every 10-20 years but in Mahesh it is believed that people have been worshipping those very idols that were carved from the neem wood almost six centuries ago.
Following the Ratha Yatra and region also hosts an annual fair which draws thousands of visitors. From traditional sweets to folk performances, from stalls to amusement rides, one can find them all. It almost makes you enter a trance and relieve your childhood days when fairs were held in large open fields with vibrancy, face to face conversations, and items that dominated all five senses of the human, still prevailed.
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