Guptipara's Rath Yatra reflects Bengal's unique blend of Vaishnav and Shakta traditions

The sight of dozens of bare-chested men pushing and jostling to get into a mandir should normally be cause for some alarm. Only there there were smiles and expressions of eager anticipation on the faces of the huge crowd gathered around the "Mashir Bari" (aunt's house) on the drizzly penultimate day of the Rath Yatra at Guptipara, the ancestral town of my in-laws. And once the idols of Brindavan Chandra Jiu and Krishna Chandra Jiu arrived on palanquins, the 'loot' began.

The dhoti-clad men surged forward and as the gates of the temple "treasury" symbolically gave way, they rushed in to grab the valuables. Only these were not jewels or coins but earthen pots of khichuri, the bhog prasad that Lord Jagannath and his siblings Subhadra and Balaram had been enjoying so much for the past week at their aunt's house that they did not want to return to their own home, in this case the beautiful 17th century terracotta temples at the other end of town.

Bengal is famous for its Shakta tradition, worshipping the fierce devis Kali and Durga, with rituals in some places still including animal sacrifice. However, now that UNESCO has included Durga Puja in its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the state has become almost synonymous with Her in popular perception. Most do not know that Bengal also has an equally strong Vaishnav tradition, from the time of Sri Chaitanya and the Bhakti movement,


So, Rath Yatras also happen in practically every neighbourhood and also in homes. At a cousin's home last week, I watched as the children of his family tugged a little rath around their courtyard, enacting a small version of the grand event at Puri. Many Bengalis, not only those living in Bengal, pull small wooden painted raths containing the images of the deities and then store them away safely till the next year. For years even I did so in our postings abroad and in Delhi.

Rath yatra is also the time for Bengalis to buy plants for the home, from the local melas that happen as part of the seven-day festivities. That is presumably because monsoon is the best time to plant saplings and they also hark back to Lord Jagannath's own deep roots in nature. Over 200 types of plants and trees (wood) are used in the rituals connected with Him, so buying some saplings and seedlings for homes is a truly lovely way for lay people to connect to the Divine.

The seemingly contradictory tenets of Shakta and Vaishnavism are beautifully melded in Bengal, especially visible in Guptipara. When my in-laws' ancestors settled down on that forested and wild curve of the Ganga during the reign of Akbar, there was a primeval dasamahavidya temple. Today the "Desh Kali" (said to have been worshipped by dacoits) still stands at that spot, with no idol - just a flat surface adorned with a crown, vermilion and blood-red hibiscus flowers.

As Guptipara prospered, it became a seat of Sanskrit learning. The Sen family began their own Durga Puja soon after they built a fortified house, with a grand pavilion for her idol. The Bengali tradition of community pujas (rather than only in family homes) for Durga and Jagaddhatri also began there. Around the same time, the first terracotta Vaishnav temple, dedicated to Sri Chaitanya as an embodiment of Krishna also came up, signalling the twin streams of faith there. Three more Vaishnav ones followed in the next two centuries.

Watching those men eating the "loot" outside "Mashir Bari" as night fell, I marvelled at the seamless diversity evident in just one little town in Bengal.