On Sunday 24th June, London's streets came alive with festive displays of music, singing, dancing and chanting as Rathayatra (the festival of the chariots) made its way from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square.
Dating back 5000 years, the festival was brought from India to the West in 1967 by the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, His Divine Grace A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and is celebrated every summer in over 200 cities around the world. This year London celebrated the 50th Rathayatra coming to the city. The first London Rathayatra was held in 1969.
Every year thousands of Londoners, pilgrims and tourists line the route of the chariots, which carry the deities from Hyde park. These deities are from London’s Radha-Krishna temple at 10 Soho Street. The festival was a grand procession of the deities of Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladeva and Lady Subhadra. They rode in three enormous wooden chariots beautifully decorated and painted in vibrant colours, which were pulled by hand through the streets.
The English word ‘juggernaut’, meaning a large truck or vehicle, originated from this festival. Jagannatha means ‘Lord of the Universe’ – Lord Krishna.
The joyous and exuberant festivities transformed Trafalgar Square into a vibrant attraction for everyone. There were tents showcasing traditional music, dance performances and exhibitions on the Vedic culture of India and mantra meditation. The family-friendly festival also included stalls of face painting and henna for the children.
Over the years, the festival has grown in size to more than 5,000 people on the procession and 30,000 people in Trafalgar Square. Over 20,000 plates of prasadam (sanctified food) were distributed. Visitors experienced music, dance, drama, mantra meditation and were also provided with a complimentary delicious vegetarian food.
