An age-old tradition with a new perspective of developing heritage tourism of Orissa
Orissa (Odisha) which has been Kalinga of Mauryan age and Utakala of Mahabharata fame offers a delicacy of prosperous cultural as well as natural heritage in form of splendid architecture and magnificent beaches. The historical significance of this place lies in the fact that it completely transformed Mauryan emperor Ashoka after the massacre of Kalinga war, and the warrior became a great disciple of Buddhism.
Heritage of Orissa both tangible and intangible is fruit of the golden era, which, still stands today as evidence to a glorious past. The temples of Orissa are essential part of tangible as well as intangible cultural heritage of the state.
Amongst many splendid and marvelous temples of Orissa, the temple of Jagannath Puri holds a prominent place. Constructed during 11th -12th Century A.D in the reign of imperial Gangas the temple also known as Purushottam Jagannath is dedicated to Lord Vishnu’s incarnation as Lord Jagannath. It has been the centre of art and culture of Orissa, the culture that once developed with the community and the rituals and festivals, along with the idea of pilgrims has put a lot of emphasis on the integrative role of the temple. It can be put forth that its living traditions and the legacy which is carried forward for thousands of years has contributed to the development of heritage tourism of the state to a large extent. One such example is the grand Rath Yatra or car festival of Jagannath Puri which takes place every year during the month of mid June or first week of July. The Rath Yatra festival is part of the rich cultural heritage of Orissa and upholds age old tradition in its living form.
The popular belief behind the origin of this chariot or car festival is that every year during the month of Ashadh (June-July) the divine trinity i.e. Lord Jagannth (Krishna), his elder brother Lord Balabhadra, and their sister Devi Subhadra leave the temple in three ornate chariots for nine days to their aunt’s abode in Gundicha temple. Devotees pull the chariots all the way along the Grand Road of Puri to the temple. It is believed that divine trinity pours blessings on those who pull the chariots. Lakhs of devotees coming from long distances throng the temple to view the grandeur of spectacle.
The whole cycle of the car festival consists of the following rituals: (i) The Bathing Festival or Snana Yatra, (ii) Anasara, (iii) Netra Utsab, (iv) Naba Jaubana Darsana, (v) The ceremonial procession of images which is otherwise known as Pahandi, (vi) Sweeping of the floor of the chariots by golden broom by Gajapati maharaja of Puri, it is also known as Chherapanhara,(vii) Stay of the Deities in Gundicha Ghar for 7 days, (viii) The return journey of Gods which is known as Bahuda Yatra and (ix) The final return of lord Jagannath to the temple.
As far as heritage tourism of the state goes the car festival is one such major religio-economic activity which has contributed to the revival of intangible cultural heritage. Tourism is regarded as the driving force and promoter of cultural heritage, a medium of cultural conservation, and a source of revenue and employment generation. Since ancient times pilgrims from all over India used to come every year to witness the procession and pilgrims gradually developed relations with sevayatas of Sri Jagannath temple. They have been warmly attending the pilgrims and making all sorts of arrangements for them for the convenient Darshana of deity and the whole procession. Traditionally the sevayatas or temple priests are responsible for the promotion of Jagannath Dham. The priests of Jagannath Temple were sent across various parts of the country to propagate the glory of Lord Jagannath. At the same time they were entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining the flow of visitors and pilgrims. To the present day and time this tradition is being followed consistently. This has been the strategy to spread the splendor of Lord Jagannath and the temple, in addition people were persuaded to visit Jagannath temple and car festival. It can be said to be the present day marketing strategy to develop heritage tourism.
Earlier there have been separate priests or pandas responsible for separate groups of pilgrims flowing into temple from various states of India. They would guide the pilgrims during their visits to Puri, moreover they were well versed with the language of the particular pilgrim group assigned to them. All the native Pandas with this pilgrim business regularly used to visit these areas and promoted Jagannath cult as well as the destination.
With passing time a number of new systems developed and more and more organizations and Government Departments got involved in the marketing. Marketing helps to create new customers by way of first identifying their needs and then trying to satisfy these. Since, Sri Jagannath Temple Administration, with the cooperation of State Administration as a whole, organizes the Car Festival as a super event, State Tourism Department, India Tourism and various other Travel and Tour Operators try to market the event at various levels.
Since Car Festival is a living and a mega traditional event, it offers an exotic tourism product. The Temple Administration wholeheartedly organizes the event and takes care for its publicity. In fact Temple Administration has produced the chronology and sequence of the Car Festival well in advance and circulates it to all outlets set up in India. State Tourism Department and Orissa Tourism Development Corporation are major source for marketing of the mega events under the heading “Fairs and Festivals”. Although the activities of the organizations are well planned but not noticeable at the state level. As far as wide publicity is concerned, it needs a combined effort to market the destinations as well. The whole destinatioin which offers the beautiful art and architecture along with endless numbers of interpretations, legends, folk tales and history of this place, can be combined and amalgamated with this event. This combination in itself will boast of an exciting heritage tourism package.
Ragini Bhat
