Manchester: The idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Sudarshan were installed at Gita Bhawan Hindu Temple in Machester of United Kingdom (UK) on Saturday.
The rituals of the deties like Kalas Yatra, Dev Pujana, Abhishek, Murti Sthapana and Prana Pratishtha commenced in the morning amid pious and spiritual fervour.
At 2.30 pm, the deities were taken in Pahandi (procession) to colourfully decorated chariot parked on the premises of Gita Bhawan. The atmosphere reverberated with the recitals of hymns and slogans like Haribol and Jai Jagannath and sound of musical instruments like Kartala, Mardala, Jhanja and Mrudanga.
Dr Siba Senapati performed the traditional service of sweeping the chariot called ‘Chhera Pahanra’. Later, the chariot was pulled for two miles to Alexandra Park in the city and then pulled back to the temple premises.
The deities were offered ‘Prasad’ prepared by the ISKCON team in the evening and served to the assembled devotees. In evening, cultural shows were presented by several artistes.
To mark the auspicious occasion, the entire structure of Gita Bhawan Hindu Temple was decked up with different colours. Nearly 500 devotees along with their families congregated to participate in the ceremony.
The four idols made of Neem wood were carved in Puri of Odisha and brought to Manchester. The trustee of Hindu Cultural Society, the managing body of Gita Bhawan, Raj Kumar Kaushal extended his full cooperation and support for the installation of the deities at Gita Bhawan.
“With the installation of the deities, the long cherished dreams of the Odia residents of north West England have been accomplished,” said the main organisers and noted Jagannath devotees Dr Siba Senapati and Rekha Senapati.
The distinguished dignitaries present on the occasion included Dr Nishebita Das, Dr Ramesh Routray, Dr Rina Routray, Dr Nirendra Jena, Bidyut Jena, Dr Bibhuprasad Dash, Dr Sangeeta Dash, Mamata Nayak, Dr Jeenita Mohanty, Dr Prakash Dey and Dr Debakanta Behera.
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