Mysore/Mysuru: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), Mysuru, has organised 28th Annual Sri Krishna-Balarama Ratha Yatra Festival in city on Jan. 24.

Announcing this at a press meet at Pathrakarthara Bhavan in city this morning, Sri Karunya Sagar Dasa, Vice-President of ISKCON Mysuru, said that the Ratha Yatra will be inaugurated at Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple premises at the Mysore Palace North Gate, between 4.30 pm and 5.30 pm.

City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar will be the chief guest. Former MLC G. Madhusudan will be the guest of honour. Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of Worldwide Hare Krishna Movement, Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation and also President of ISKCON Bengaluru, will preside.

The Ratha Yatra will pass through Gandhi Square, Sayyaji Rao Road, Dufferin Clock Tower, D. Devaraj Urs Road, Narayana Shastri Road, Ramaswamy Circle, JLB Road, RTO Circle, Ballal Circle, New Kantharaj Urs Road, Jayanagar 2nd Main Road, before culminating at ISKCON Temple on 18th Cross, Jayanagar at 8.30 pm where Aarti will be performed along with Sankirtan.

Devotees can bring and offer flowers, fruits and coconut to Their Lordships, pull the chariot, wash the road en route the procession in front of their shop or home before the Ratha comes, beautify and sanctify the place with rangoli and honour the donne prasadam served behind the Ratha.

The entire atmosphere will be spiritually powered by the melodious and ecstatic chanting and singing of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra accompanied by dancing before the Lords chariot by hundreds of devotees. The prasadam, offered to Their Lordships, will be distributed throughout the journey behind the Ratha to about 40,000 people. About 10,000 plates of dinner prasadam will be served at the end of the Ratha Yatra Festival to all the assembled devotees.

Devotees from Bengaluru, Hubballi, Chitradurga, Ballari, Chennai, Guwahati, Vizag and many more places are coming for the Festival.

ISKCON Mysuru has been celebrating the Ratha Yätrå Festival in Mysuru for the last 27 years. Srila Prabhupada, the Founder Acharya of ISKCON, started the Ratha Yätra Festival in San Francisco in 1967 for the first time in the Western world and very soon, the Ratha Yatra spread to Los Angeles, Chicago, Buffalo, New York, Philadelphia and other places. This Festival is celebrated on the same lines as the famous festival of Lord Jagannath’s Ratha Yatra in Puri, Odisha.

Srila Prabhupada also introduced this Festival in many other countries across the globe like Canada, England, France, Germany, South Africa, Brazil, Japan and Australia. In fact, the Festival became so popular in America that July 25 was declared as the Ratha Yatra Day in San Francisco.

In fact, there is a great monument in London called the Nelson Column and because our Jagannatha Car was so high, a leading London newspaper, The Guardian, reported that the Ratha Yatra Car was more impressive than the Nelson Column.