Puri Ratha Yatra - Way to heaven (Part I)
We started from home around noon after watching the news about the inauguration of Ratha Yatra. This was initiated with a Ganesh pooja and a Shiva pooja. Now, Lord Jagganath is a form of Vishnu, or to be precise a form of his poorna-avatar, Sri Krishna. I was so shocked to hear that Shiva pooja initiates the Ratha Yatra. My cousin, whose house in IIT - Jatani I stayed in, told me that in north (Odisha is in the east but for anyone who comes from the five southern states of India, everything else is north India) it is very common. Down south, there is no question of Shiva and Vishnu deities in the same temple let alone one kick starting the rituals for another. So after watching a shocking news about the commencement of the Ratha Yatra, my cousin, his wife, his little girl and I started towards Puri to meet the Lord Himself and clarify things. Jagannath Temple at the end of the horizon We tried to go by train but it was raining heavily and we presumed that given the festival sea...