UNITED KINGDOM, June 21, 2023 (BBC): Rath Yatra — or Chariot Festival — attracts millions in India and has now been celebrated in Swindon, Wiltshire, for the first time. The festival procession started from the Swindon Hindu Centre. It featured a colorful chariot, a flag flown in from a temple in India and some special offerings, chanting and dancing. Amala Manjari Devi Dasi traveled from Reading for the event. She said: “Rath mean’s chariot and Yatra means procession. This is a chariot festival where the Lord of the Universe Jagannath is coming.”

Siddarth Patel from the Swindon Hindu Centre helped to organize the event. “Swindon has never had this Rath Yatra before. Other cities like Reading and Bristol have had it so it’s really a pleasure to have it in Swindon. “There’s a whole team of people who have put in a huge amount of effort. It’s taken three months to build the chariot and we’ve got some really great DIY engineers who have done a fantastic job.”

Colorful photos at source.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-65968724

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