By Ramesh Kallidai
“The largest Hindu carnival outside India? In London?” asked my reporter friend in disbelief. “Of course,” I retorted, “Where were you last year? All the major TV channels covered it. BBC 24 even did a live coverage.”
For those of you who missed last year’s TV coverage, here is the run-down: the 33rd Annual Carnival of Chariots, also called the Jagannatha Ratha Yatra, is organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The highlights of this year’s Carnival on 23rd June include a 60 feet colourful chariot pulled from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square, followed by a procession of floats, dancers, singers, musicians, masks, bullock carts, colourful Indian costumes, traditional worship, drama and a free Indian vegetarian meal to all 20,000 revellers. More than 5000 people are expected to march in the procession which begins at 12 noon, while another 15,000 are expected to converge later at Trafalgar Square.
I went to the Watford Hare Krishna temple to find out what preparations they were making for the Carnival and met Titiksu Dasa, one of the organisers. He turned out to be a devout priest, but a rather busy one. “I really have a lot to do,” he said breathlessly. “We are just painting the Chariot, and after that I have to check the food supplies for the feast. Then I must make sure the security arrangements are in place for the procession and also make a few hundred phone calls.”
I took the point, and asked him just one question - when did the Carnival first came to London?
“The Carnival of Chariots was first brought to the West by Swami Prabhupada, the Founder of the Hare Krishna movement, and has since become one of the more popular street festivals in the world,” he said, looking sideways at the same time to count the number of cooking oil tins piled up in a tent nearby. Arithmetic had never been my strong point, so I left him to his counting and looked around for Varsana Devi Dasi, the head of ISKCON’s National PR.
Access to Varsana’s office was through a winding spiral staircase that looked as impregnable as Mount Everest. When I emerged victoriously on top, I found an elegant sari-clad lady drowning in masses of paper. She extricated herself from her work and explained that the original Carnival of Chariots, called the Ratha Yatra, originated more than 5000 years ago to commemorate the return of Lord Krishna to His home in India.
“We organise this Carnival in more than 200 cities around the world. Hindus from all over Britain, and even some from Europe will participate in it,” she said. “Everyone is welcome to take part in the Carnival. The singing, dancing, food, floats and pageantry should ensure that it is a fun day for the whole family. Of course, many Hindus come to worship at the procession since we pull a Deity form of Krishna, known as Jagannatha or the Lord of the Universe in a colourful chariot through the streets of London.”
The Carnival Committee has a team of 40 people cooking the free meal that will be distributed to 20,000 people, more than 100 stewards for the procession, and over 50 volunteers who have been planning and organising the event for six months.
“Do you expect the same sort of media coverage as last year?” I asked Varsana.
“Well, the BBC told us that they are very busy covering the Indo-Pak war situation and don’t really have much time for the Carnival,” she sighed.
Bad news, I thought, always grabs more headlines than good news. I wondered if this was second nature to the media, or do they just cater to the collective demands of human nature?
“But anyway,” concluded Varsana, interrupting my flow of noble (!) thoughts. “Lord Jagannatha is the Lord of the Universe, and we are His eternal servants. Whatever results come about, are by His desire alone. If He desires, He can organise any miracle. So we just leave the results to Him, and will continue to work hard for His pleasure.”
I left with a feeling of elation. It certainly is hard to find devout community workers like Varsana nowadays. Does anyone know why?
For further details about the Ratha Yatra Carnival, please ring Varsana Devi Dasi on 07788 453756.
An oh, by the way, the Prime Minister is sending a message of good wishes for the Carnival. Attaboy Tony!