Lord Jagannath Yatra photo exhibition in Bengaluru- A huge success

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Updated: Monday, July 4, 2016, 19:51 [IST]

Bengaluru, July 4: The two-day KISS Jagannath Rath Yatra photo exhibition in Bengaluru turned out to be a big hit.Hundreds of Bengalureans turned up for the photo exhibition and were awed by the fact as to how the only tribal Rath Yatra in the country was such a treat to watch.

Each year, millions of devotees travel to different Jagannath temples for being part of this mystic and spiritual Yatra. Yet, very less is known about the grandeur and culture of this Rath Yatra.

B'luru: Huge success in photo exhibition

So, in an attempt to bring the Jagannath Rath Yatra alive, the Bengaluru chapter of 'Art of Giving' chapter had organised the Rath Yatra model and a photo exhibition of the Yatra which concluded on Sunday at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat.

Sending his message on the occasion, KIIS and KIIT founder Dr Achyuta Samanta said, "I heartily thank Bengalureans for making this Rath Yatra such a huge success. I knew Bengalureans were always the first to welcome these kinds of initiatives.

The encouragement from the Bengalureans will add to the spirit of the KISS students who are all set to launch another Rath Yatra in their campus at Bhubaneswar starting from July 6."

The Rath Yatra organised at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) was a special one as this is the only Jagannath Rath Yatra in the country that is organised exclusively by the tribal students studying at KISS last year.

Caught by the lens eye of the photographers, Rath Yatra photo exhibition was a picture essay of a humanity soaked in devotion, determination, discipline and above all faith.

It may be recalled that the Rath Yatra photo exhibition was inaugurated by Legislative Council chairman Mr DH Shankaramurthy and Food and Civil Supplies Minister UT Khader on Saturday.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Mr UT Khader said he was amazed to see the photo exhibition which was an attempt to showcase many of the mysteries and interesting anecdotes associated with Lord Jagannath.

"For example, 125 carpenters work for 58 days to chisel 2,188 pieces of wood to make three chariots for Lords Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadhra. KISS Rath Yatra was the only car festival in the world that was entirely organised by the indigenous/tribal students of India."

"Most of these tribal students accompanied by their families have never stepped out of forests for centuries. The Lord Jagannath temple is the centre of attraction at KISS, the country's largest tribal campus which is spread across 400 acres in heart of Bhubaneswar", he added.

Currently, KISS is the largest tribal school in the world that houses more than 25,000 students who are provided free residential education from KG to PG.

Most of these tribal students have become well known sportspersons and celebrities. In fact, KISS is the only school in the entire India that produces the maximum number of sportspersons to Indian sports teams (In fact, Dutee Chand, a KIIT student was recently selected to participated in the Rio Olympics and is the first Indian to achieve this feat in the last 36 years).

The photo exhibition was an attempt to show case the unique Rath Yatra organised by these indigenous tribal students at KISS campus in Bhubaneswar.